Search FNL grants since 1931

William Hay (1695-1755) of Glyndebourne was an extremely interesting owner of the estate, the archive of which is held by the office, who overcame severe personal difficulties. Hay suffered considerably disability – he had been born a hunchbacked dwarf and stood under 5ft in height. Nevertheless, he went on to gain considerable acclaim as a writer and parliamentarian.

Over 100 documents, mostly title deeds, ranging in date from 1589 to 1845. These represent many of Raper and Fovargue’s major clients. These join an earlier acquisition of material which had also been salvaged in about 1970 by the vendor, then a young articled clerk, from the stables in the office yard at Upper Lake, Battle.

Two years later the same vendor discovered a further deed box which he had overlooked and contacted ESBHRO with a view to negotiating a private sale instead of putting it up for auction. Then Covid-19 intervened, and it was not until the summer of 2021 that it was possible to inspect the new material, which was offered to the office for £1,750. We were delighted to receive the continued support of FNL for this purchase.

Among these acquisitions was a letter, dated September 1927, by Florence Hardy to a Mr. Lea of Bockhampton portending Thomas Hardy’s death.  A set of two letters concerning the arrangements of the burial of the author in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey. Also purchased was the author’s proof copy of The Three Dorset Captains at Trafalgar by Broadley and Bartelot, published in 1906

Derby Museums already holds the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of work by Wright, including works on paper and oil paintings, and a small selection of archival material including some correspondence. The collection of ten publications enhances and complements these holdings, providing as they do a window into Wright’s friendships with numerous poets and writers of the late 18th century, many of whose works in turn influenced some of the choice and treatment of the artist’s paintings.

Robert Baxter, Senior Archivist, writes: The family was extant at Huddleston, Yorkshire in the mid 13th century.

Euclid, The Elements of Geometrie.  Translated into English by Sir Henry Billingsley, with a preface by John Dee (London: John Day, 1570).

Pantglâs Hall was a splendid 19th century country house with landscaped gardens, located near the parish of Llanfynydd to the north-east of Carmarthenshire. In 1850, the 7,854-acre Pantglâs estate was purchased by David Jones (MP for Carmarthenshire, 1852 – 1968) where he built a large house there at the considerable cost of £30,000. What is particularly interesting about this document is that visitors who called at Pantglâs Hall were measured for their height and weight with the results (including their age) written into this specially-made book.

Any document relating to the Cook voyages is now extremely rare.  Imprest documents are unusual and only two others survive from those issued by Captain Cook on this voyage, neither of which are held in this country.

John Wickins was a friend, collaborator and amanuensis of Isaac Newton. The notebook contains transcripts of letters and other writings by Newton, including the longest example of Newton’s writing to be found in the past 50 years.

Joanne Fitton, Associate Director Special Collections and Galleries, writes: The Brotherton Library holds a significant collection of 17^th and 18^th century manuscript verse, developed over the la