David Thomas and Kate Rose, Archivists, write: In early October 2023 it came to the attention of Kresen Kernow that a private vendor in the home counties was offering for sale on eBay a quantity of manorial estate records from the Manors of Arwenack and other associated land holdings, part of the Kimberley/Wodehouse estate. We contacted the vendor and successfully persuaded him to withdraw the collection from open public sale, pointing out the legal stipulations and obligations relating to manorial documents. The Friends were also immediately contacted and very generously agreed to support the purchase of the archive for the full sum of £4,000.
The former Cornwall Record Office at Truro had already received no fewer than five deposits of Kimberley estate records in 1972-1973, with three further substantial accessions of items from the Kimberley family in 2010 and 2012. Additionally, in early 2019, Kresen Kernow was able to acquire from an East Anglian book dealer a quantity of some 260 estate archival items consisting of Arwenack Manorial rentals and accounts for 1740-1900. These records had originally been sold by a Swindon auction house in 2009. Furthermore, in late 2019 FNL very generously provided grant assistance of £500 towards the purchase of an additional quantity of Arwenack estate records, including a very fine survey book of c.1737 which had been offered to Kresen Kernow, having been tracked down by an enthusiastic local historian who wished to ensure their permanent public availability and preservation.
In spite of the acquisition of this material by Cornwall’s archive service, it was believed that there were still other ‘missing’ Kimberley estate items which had so far ‘escaped the net’ and the collection now under review indeed proved to fall within that category. Supporting paperwork indicated that it had originally been sold by Sotheby’s in December 1991. The archive consisted of a very large vellum bound ledger of leases, dated 1648 on its front cover, as well as a similar volume commencing in 1786. In addition, there was a mid-18th century survey book for the manors of Arwenack, Mylor, Tregenvor, Trevethan, Trescobeas, Prisla and Treganiggey. Other records include 25 letters from the 1730s from Martin Killigrew to a Mr Hall, three undated lists of Falmouth houses, a manor of Arwenack field book for 1820-1821, a report for new buildings and improvements at Falmouth in 1812-1826 and seven rentals from 1877-1899.
Kresen Kernow was keen to acquire the items, as the 17th-century material represented some of the earliest known surviving estate management archives for Arwenack Manor. The collection is also significant for the study of the family, community and property history of the Falmouth district. The port of Falmouth, as a Packet Station, rose to maritime pre-eminence in Cornwall during the period represented by the collection, which archivally charts its municipal growth. We were determined to rescue this additional portion of the estate archive from potential dispersal on the open market, making it available for public consultation, and we very gratefully acknowledge FNL’s timely and generous assistance in enabling us to achieve that goal.
