Wellington 40: Wellington Pamphlets (48)

In 1975, eight years before the arrival of the Wellington Papers, the eighth Duke of Wellington deposited the Wellington Pamphlets at the University Library. Consisting of over 3,000 pamphlets collected by or presented to the first Duke, the collection reflects the key issues of public debate during the first forty years of the 19th century.

Bookplate of the Duke of Wellington

Throughout this period, pamphlets were used by individuals, organisations and campaigners to publicise their views and to attract support for their causes. Prominent figures would circulate texts of speeches or engage in debate with other pamphleteers, but many writers were little-known outside their immediate circle and others chose to remain anonymous. Often printed in small numbers and on poor quality paper, pamphlets might be a few pages long or at over a hundred pages, difficult to distinguish from books. To ensure a wide circulation many were distributed freely but others were published for sale, sometimes as a means of raising funds. 

Wellington Pamphlets

Given Wellington’s stature as a military commander and a politician, it is not surprising that so many people sought his support or to influence his views by presenting him with with copies of their pamphlets – in some cases these were simply folded and sent to him. Once added to the collection the pamphlets were bound, individually at first but later in groups of ten or twelve. Although some pamphlets were grouped by subject this was not generally the case and two indexes, neither of which survive, were used to locate material.

A Short Letter from a Friend to the Agricultural Electors of North Northamptonshire [1832] addressed to Wellington
Rare Books Well. Pamph. 924

Many of the Wellington Pamphlets were written by people of a High Church, Tory outlook who wanted to preserve the existing institutions and ways of life, although on most of the subjects covered in the collection differing opinions are included. The issues of Catholic Emancipation and Parliamentary Reform loom large. Most of the pamphlets on Catholic Emancipation date from Daniel O’Connell’s election at County Clare in 1828 to the passing of the Act in 1829 and although some are supportive, others show the fears of papal supremacy and subversion of rights which Wellington had to overcome. More than half of the pamphlets on political issues deal with Parliamentary Reform and were published after Wellington’s declaration against it in November 1830 and before the Reform Act was passed in 1832. There are pamphlets by proponents of moderate reform, who feared the effects of too extreme a change in the voting system, others suggesting removing the worst abuses but with no extension of the vote, and many pamphlets opposing it altogether.

John Wilson Croker Objections to the Reform (England) Bill (1832)
Rare Books Well. Pamph. 986/9

The causes of the many social and economic problems facing the country were a popular subject for pamphlet writers, as was suggesting solutions to the problems. The agricultural depression of the 1820 brought calls for reform of the currency, taxation and the poor law and a series of pamphlets from the 1820s to the 1840s discusses the Corn Laws and the differing opinions on free trade and protectionism. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, generated further controversy and many pamphlets.  

John Symmons The Causes of the Present Distressful State of the Country Investigated (1822)
Rare Books Well. Pamph. 942/3

On international affairs, Wellington’s role as Commander in Chief and Ambassador to France from 1814 to 1818 accounts for the French pamphlets on the restoration of the monarchy, the Assembly, French finances, the freedom of the press and, more surprisingly, mineral teeth. Slavery was the main topic of debate in the pamphlets on colonial affairs, and these include discussion of its economic aspects and attempts to improve the conditions of slaves. On the question of abolition, some pamphleteers demanded that this should happen immediately, some called for gradual emancipation and others defended the system.

Joseph Phillips West India Question (1833)
Rare Books Well. Pamph. 934/6

As well as the pamphlets on well-known aspects of 19th-century life, others on a variety of subjects found their way to Wellington. There are reports from various charities, including several hospitals, pamphlets concerned with the adulteration of bread and biscuits, the quality of London’s water supply, the improvement of public clocks, the use of cast-iron pipes to heat the Houses of Parliament and Marc Brunel’s proposal for a tunnel under the Thames.

From: Marc Isambard Brunel A New Plan of Tunnelling, Calculated for Opening a Roadway under the Thames [1824]
Rare Books Well. Pamph. 1094

Although pamphlets were intended to have an immediate impact and not necessarily to be of long term interest, they were collected by societies and prominent individuals, especially politicians. The pamphlet collections of Arthur Mills (1816-1898), M.P. for Taunton and Exeter and Lord Bolton of Hackwood, are also to be found in Special Collections.

A number of pamphlet collections have been donated to university libraries, including the Earl Grey Pamphlets at Durham, the Hume Tracts at University College London and the Earls of Derby‘s Knowsley Pamphlets at Liverpool. A JISC project saw the contents of over 49 pamphlet collections in university libraries (including the Wellington Pamphlets) catalogued on Library Hub Discover and digitised copies of 26,000 titles are available online.

Wellington 40: Events

In this week’s blog we’re taking a look at various public events – conferences, lectures, exhibitions and drop-ins – the University has hosted over the years to share the Wellington Papers and make the collection accessible to all.

Madding Crowd: Dancing at the “With Wellington We’ll Go” concert on Friday 10 April 2015. Photo: Alan Weeks

Wellington Congress

The University of Southampton has hosted seven international Wellington Congress events with the first being in 1995. The following year the first of the Wellington Studies volumes published some of the papers given at that conference. The Congresses have usually been held at the University’s Avenue Campus. In the early years delegates stayed in the University’s Highfield hall of residence which provided convenient, but somewhat Spartan, accommodation.

The Third Wellington Congress was held in the glorious summer sun of July 2006. It brought to Southampton delegates from four continents to hear the latest in Wellington scholarship. In total thirty-eight papers were given on all aspects of Wellington’s career. Delegates had the option to visit Stratfield Saye and the Royal Armouries Museum at Fort Nelson. There was a private view of the “War Against Napoleon” exhibition. On the final evening there was a memorable walking tour of Southampton, concluding at the fifteenth-century Duke of Wellington public house.

The Uniform of Marshall Wellington’, a comedy in one act, by Kotzebue enclosed in a letter from Letter from Philip Henry Stanhope, Viscount Mahon, Hatfield House [MS61/WP2/7/30]

While the wide variety of papers has always been at the core of the conference, a highlight is the entertainment. The Fourth International Congress, held in 2010, included a reading of “The uniform of Marshal Wellington”: a one-act comedy by August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue. It was translated and sent to the Duke by Viscount Mahon. The “actors” (we use the term loosely!) included Special Collections staff and one student volunteer. Selected papers from the conference were published in Wellington Studies V.  

One afternoon, the delegates had the option to visit to Strafield Saye or the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth. The evening entertainment consisted of a rousing musical performance by local group, Madding Crowd, who provided a superlative introduction to songs “with Wellington” as their theme.  Interspersing music with extracts from manuscripts, contemporary newspapers and other historical sources, the songs and stories were a well chosen mix, exhibiting a great appreciation of the impact of a good anecdote and a fine tune.  They balanced a fascinating picture of the patriotism of the period and Wellington as the military hero with an exploration of his associations with Hampshire and more personal connections.

Prior to the Saturday night Congress dinner there was a reception in the Hartley Library and private view of the exhibition in the Special Collections Gallery: ‘“Victory searches for her son”: defending Spain and Portugal against Napoleon, 1810’.

Advertisement for the Sixth Wellington Congress in 2015

The fifth Congress (2013) offered delegates the chance to visit Tudor House, Southampton as well as a piano recital by David Owen Norris. One delegate gave the following feedback after their attendance:

Just a brief note to say how much I enjoyed the Congress, I met up with a couple of old friends and made some new contacts. Some of the papers were also very interesting and entertaining in some cases as well. It was not quite the ‘dry academic’ event I thought it might be.

Congress delegate

You can read all about the Sixth Wellington Congress in a blog we produced in 2015.

The Duke of Wellington’s dancers; they provided entertainment at the 2019 Wellington Congress

The Duke of Wellington’s dancers provided entertainment at the seventh Congress. This event also included the 2019 Wellington Lecture, “Wellington, the “Scum of the Earth’ and the army in the Iberian Peninsula” given by Chris Woolgar.

Wellington Lecture

This event, given on the aspects of the life and times of the first Duke of Wellington, is somewhat of an institution at the University, and most years takes place in October or November.

The First Wellington Lecture was given in 1989 when Michael Carver spoke on “Wellington and his brothers”. There have been so many lectures, it would not be possible for us to give details of them all. The earlier lectures, however, were published and print copies are available in the Hartley Library University Collection. Highlights over the years include when some 300 people filled the Turner Sims Concert Hall on 29 November to hear the lecture, given by Lord Hurd of Westwell, on the theme “Wellington and Peel: from Tory to Conservative”.

Lord Hurd delivers the 2006 Wellington Lecture

The lecture took the form of a musical presentation for the first time in 2007. “Songs of Wellington’s Wars” was an evening of musical entertainment by the award-winning folk singer Martin Carthy, his partner Norma Waterson and brother-in-law Mike Waterson. While very different from the more conventional lecture format, this event provided a readily accessible route to the study of Wellington and his world. The enthusiastic reception accorded by the capacity audience was an appreciative testament to the programme’s success.

Another highlight is from 2012 when Peter Snow, one of Britain’s best-known journalists and presenters, gave the 24th Wellington Lecture “To War with Wellington – from the Peninsula to Waterloo”. The 2015 lecture, the year of the bicentenary of Waterloo, was aptly given by the Duke himself, Charles Wellesley, the seven times great grandson to the first Duke.

The most recent Wellington Lecture was given in October 2022 when Beatrice de Graaf spoke on “L’Homme de l’Europe’ Revisited: The Duke of Wellington and the Fight against Terror in post-Napoleonic”. The lecture continued in virtual form through COVID times and all the more recent lectures have been recorded and are available on YouTube.

The Wellington Prize is often awarded by the Duke at the Wellington lecture. It recognises the best dissertation or thesis submitted by an undergraduate or postgraduate candidate for a university qualification on a subject in the general area of Iberian Studies or Military History or British Political History or Government. Entries for the prize are submitted by Heads of Departments or Boards of Examiners to the secretary of the Wellington Prize Committee by the last day of the Summer Term. The award will be made by Senate on the recommendation of the Wellington Prize Committee.

Exhibitions and drop-in events

In addition to the congresses and lectures, the Special Collections has organised numerous exhibitions to showcase this collection, many of which have been linked to other events and already mentioned in this blog.

November 2008, for example, saw “Wellington and His Papers” to coincide with Professor Chris Woolgar’s  inaugural lecture as Professor of History and Archival Studies “Wellington, His papers and the Nineteenth-Century Revolution in Communication”. This was part
of the celebrations to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the allocation of the first Duke’s papers to the University of Southampton under the national heritage legislation.

Twentieth Wellington Lecture left to right: Professor Nick Foskett, Professor Richard Holmes, Professor Bill Wakeham, Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton, Professor Chris Woolgar and Marquis of Douro

A particularly special anniversary celebration was, of course in 2015, which saw many commemorative events to mark the bicentenary of the Duke’s most famous victory. They included the exhibition “Wellington and Waterloo: ‘the tale is in every Englishman’s mouth’”. That year Karen Robson and Professor Chris Woolgar presented a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) they had co-created relating to Wellington and Waterloo. This was re-run in 2017.

The Special Collections has also hosted smaller, more personal Explore Your Archive drop-in events which have given people the opportunity to look at a selection of material in the searchroom and seminar room space.

Visitors in the gallery for the Wellington and Waterloo exhibition, 2015

One such event was on 28 October 2015, in conjunction with that year’s Wellington lecture by the Duke and the Wellington and Waterloo exhibition.

A commemorative cake for the Wellington and Waterloo event: it was eaten well away from any archive material!

We hosted a similar explore the Wellington Archive open afternoon, the following year, on 19 October 2016, in conjunction with the 28th Wellington Lecture by Bernard Cornwall.

Visitors in the Special Collections seminar room at the drop-in session on 19 October 2016

In 2017 the Wellington Lecture event was extended to include an exhibition, entertainment by the Duke of Wellington’s dancers and cake!

A dancer in regency dress photographed in our exhibition gallery

Future events

If this has whetted your appetite, you’ll be pleased to hear we’re planning various events for 2023 and beyond! Throughout March @HartleySpecialC will be tweeting #Wellington40. We’ve ask various people to select their favourite item from the collection to help us celebrate; and we couldn’t resist choosing some of our own! If you’re a Twitter fan watch out for our popular #WellingtonWednesday tweets which we share all year long.

We’ll be hosting a Behind the Scenes at the Archives event in July 2023. Tickets are free but booking is essential: secure your place now on Eventbrite.

The next Wellington-focused exhibition will be in autumn of 2023 in both the Special Collections and Level 4 Galleries in the Hartley Library.

2023 will see the 34th Wellington Lecture: details will be available nearer the time on the University’s Distinguished Lecture Series page and, finally, the next Wellington Congress is scheduled for 2025.

The scale of his archive left impressed the Duke as much as others. And so to close, we’ll leave you with some words of the great man himself:

I did not believe it possible that a correspondence which I preserved at first solely as memoranda and for reference, and afterwards from idleness and the desire to avoid the trouble of looking over the papers to see which might be destroyed, could ever be turned to a purpose so useful to one profession and the publick interests.

[Wellington, writing to Colonel Gurwood, editor of the Dispatches on the conclusion of their publication in 1838.]

Wellington 40: Conserving the Wellington Papers

The Wellington Papers came to Southampton with a major challenge of conservation: some ten percent of the collection was so badly damaged it was unfit to handle and 10,000 documents were in a parlous condition. The University has made good progress: more than seventy percent has been conserved and is now available for research, including papers for 1822 (for the Congress of Verona), for Wellington as Prime Minister in 1829 (the year of Catholic emancipation), and for all of the Peninsular War.

Fundraising

A campaign to raise funds for the conservation of the Wellington Papers was launched in October 2010. Grants from the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, the J.Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust and the Rothschild Foundation as well as modest funding from alumni have supported the conservation of the badly degraded and mould-damaged papers from 1832.

A document from the Wellington Papers

Paper is susceptible to many hazards — water, mould, vermin, all have made an impact on the collection. As early as 1815, part of the archive was damaged in a shipwreck in the Tagus, when the vessel bringing back Wellington’s papers sank as it crossed the bar leaving Lisbon. Many parcels of letters were delivered to George Canning, the British ambassador in Portugal, and other British officials, and Canning ‘endeavoured to quicken the zeal of finders by promises of reward’. One package had passed through the hands of the Portuguese government, although the ambassador was unclear whether it had contained anything to gratify their curiosity. Seawater is not the best preservative of paper: many items were either completely lost at that stage or have become more susceptible to deterioration because of the damage they sustained in 1815.

Fragmented bundles

By the late nineteenth century, much of the correspondence was arranged in tightly-folded bundles in chronological order, month by month. Some of these bundles are now badly damaged and very fragile. Most of this damage is the result of storage in a damp environment during World War II. Mould growth has severely weakened and stained the paper, leaving some letters in a fragmentary state. The pattern of damage through the bundles is the consequence of the way in which they were stored, with mould typically occurring along the side or fold of the paper on which the bundle was resting. Certain years have been damaged — 1822, 1829 and 1832 — and within 1822, only bundles of letters to the Duke, and not those from him, have been affected.

Fragmented bundle from the Wellington Papers

The conservation project has focused on the treatment of the mould-damaged bundles from 1832. The conservators began by working with the less severely damaged materials so that they were able to build up expertise in conserving this type of exceedingly fragile material before tackling the most fragmentary bundles.

Fused paper

A number of bundles from 1809 and 1811, the period of the Peninsular War, had been unfolded and interleaved with twentieth-century lined paper. Original papers and interleaving sheets are now both severely weakened due to fungal growth. This has penetrated through the layers of paper, causing areas to fuse together. Microscopic examination shows the long thin filaments of the fungal structure intertwined with the paper fibres. Documents were separated manually and collated. Separation, particularly of the most severely damaged bundles, is a painstaking and time-consuming task. In some instance papers have fused together due to compression whilst damp and great care is necessary to prevent disintegration of the paper.

Fused Wellington Papers

Fibre analysis

Each bundle was documented before and during conservation treatment, noting paper characteristics, such as watermarks. Microscopic examination was used for fibre analysis and to determine the extent of mould damage. Most of the paper is European, but there are also oriental papers and very thin Western paper, used for making copies. Fibre analysis indicated that the majority of the British papers contained hemp and linen fibres with a small number of cotton fibres seen in some of the later papers. These would have been made from linen and cotton rags as well as possibly old rope, canvas and sails. A high proportion was made by the firms J. Whatman, S. Pike and J. Larking. These papers are generally quite thick, with dense and closely packed fibres and have a thick application of size, a gelatine, like glue, that strengthens the paper. They are usually off-white in colour, though there are a number of blue/grey papers. The smaller percentage of European, mainly Spanish and Portuguese papers, are of a similar composition, though some contained other plant fibres. The paper is usually quite thin and is either lightly sized or unsized. They are generally off-white to beige in colour.

Fibre analysis

Inks

The majority of the writing is in iron-gall ink, which varies in colour according to the ink recipe used, from light brown to nearly black. In some instances it has faded or is obscured by staining, and in others it has corroded. Although iron-gall ink is stable in water, corrosion is accelerated by moisture causing the ink to ‘burn through’ the paper. Before undergoing water-based conservation treatments, the documents were treated with calcium phytate to inactivate any soluble iron (II) and iron (III) ions.

Close up examinations of ink used in the Wellington Papers

Steps in conservation

Surface cleaning: Letters were cleaned where possible using soft, goat or sheep’s hair, Chinese brushes. Chemical sponges were used to remove dried, powdery mould residue.

Aqueous treatments: pH tests showed that most documents were fairly acidic. They were washed in cold and warm water to remove discolouration and soluble degradation products. The papers were then deacidified using calcium hydrogen carbonate.

Repair: Documents were humidified and loose fragments realigned where possible. The paper was then lined with Japanese tissue, adhered with Shofu, a Japanese wheat starch paste. The lining acted as a support to both hold fragments in position during the repair process and also to prevent tearing of the original at the weakened, mould-damaged edges. This can occur as the result of tensions between new and old papers as they dry at different rates.

Surface brushing

Missing areas were infilled using a technique known as leaf-casting. This creates new paper made from pulp similar in nature to the original paper. The result is a sympathetic repair, which strengthens the weakened area, without putting undue stress at the repair edge.

Repairs were trimmed to the document which is then strengthened by an application of size, either gelatine or methyl cellulose.

Storage: Documents were stored in 100% cotton, acid-free folders and boxes.

A document lined with tissue and a document on papermakers’ felt after leaf-casting

The expertise gained by the conservators in leaf casting has enabled them to concentrate on the most fragile items with work underway on the separation and stabilisation of more than 10 bundles of 407 documents. These present some of the most severe conservation challenges as the separation of fragmented material can take several months to complete before any treatment is possible.

Public access

Many of the fragmented bundles for 1832 are now accessible for the first time since the 1940s. This is historically very significant material as it includes the first Duke of Wellington’s papers relating to the first Reform Act. As Wellington was the leader of the Tories in the House of Lords during the progress of the Act, by enabling archivists to access and catalogue the material, the whole picture of the debate is now available. The catalogue descriptions produced, which include detailed item level descriptions of each paper, are currently being added to our online catalogue.

The papers themselves will be made available to researchers in a number of different ways. The original material can be consulted in the Archives and Rare Books Reading room or via our digital appointment system. Digital copies also are used as part of the Special Collections online exhibitions and as part of teaching resources for student sessions.

Substantial progress has been made with this project, the largest conservation task the Special Collections Division has undertaken.

Please look out for our next blog post marking 40 years of us holding the Wellington Papers, which will focus on events.

Wellington’s signature

Wellington 40: celebrating 40 years of the Wellington Archive at Southampton

Envelope addressed to the Duke of Wellington, 1840 [MS61/WP2/71/11]: his archive contains thousands of letters from a wide cross section of society

In 2023 Archives and Special Collections is celebrating a special anniversary – it is forty years since the arrival of the papers of Arthur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington, to the University of Southampton. The collection arrived on 17 March 1983 to be housed in newly built Archives accommodation in a wing of the Turner Sims part of the Library. The arrival of this collection brought to Southampton the University’s first major manuscript collection and marked the development of a major strand of activity within the University Library.

Part of the Wellington Archive stored in the strongroom

Official opening of the Wellington Suite Archives accommodation: Bernard Naylor, University Librarian, Professor Smith, Department of History (hidden), Chris Woolgar, Archivist, and the Duke of Wellington looking at display of papers, 14 May 1983. [MS1/Phot/39/ph3526]

Arthur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), was a long serving politician as well as the premier soldier of his generation. He became a public figure after the Battle of Waterloo and at his death in 1852 was treated as a national hero. His archive dates from the great age of government by correspondence. Composed of around 100,000 items, that cover the Duke’s career as a soldier, statesman and diplomat from 1790 to his death in 1852, the collection bears witness to great military, political and social events of the time. It is exceptional among the papers of nineteenth-century figures for its size and scope.

Headed notepaper with a depiction of the Wellington Arch, Hyde Park, London, on a letter from J.W.Croker to Wellington, 24 November 1846 [MS61/WP2/150/61]

The arrival of the Wellington Archive in 1983 marked not only the establishment of an Archives Department within the Library and the appointment of its first Archivist, Mr Chris Woolgar, but the beginning of Southampton’s involvement in automated archive catalogues. The collection had firstly been arranged and a summary catalogue published. The second stage was to prepare detailed item level descriptions of the material within the collection. This was a substantial undertaking and it was decided that an automated system offered advantages in preparing descriptions, reducing indexing and enhancing the capacity to retrieve information from the archive. The Wellington Papers Database, which used STATUS software designed by the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, could claim to be one of, if the not the earliest, online archive catalogue in the UK.

Cataloguing of Wellington Archive in 1980s using BBC computers

The cataloguing was done “offline” by the archivists on BBC microcomputers equipped with rudimentary word-processing packages – but no memory – and all text was saved onto floppy discs. It was subsequently transferred to an ICL mainframe computer for incorporation into the database by batch programme. This being the days prior to the WWW, the initial database was made available by the Joint Academic Network (JANET) and the public switched telephone network. It was initially scheduled to be made available 156 hours a week, rising to 168.

In 2023 the catalogue of the Wellington Archive can be accessed in the Epexio Archive Catalogue, a new system that Archives and Special Collections launched in November 2021.

First page of a draft of a memorandum by Wellington, on the arrangements proposed for the introduction of Roman Catholic emancipation, 7 August 1829 [MS61/WP1/983/4/3]

Southampton’s focus on producing detailed item level catalogue descriptions of material within the Wellington Archive has created a rich resource with which researchers can engage. They can immerse themselves in unfolding military, political or other events or gain an insight to the vast array of subjects on which the public wrote to Wellington. It is possible, for instance, to follow a military campaign day-by-day or see the progress of the drafting of legislation, such as the Catholic emancipation bill of 1829. Wellington was also the recipient of correspondence from a wide cross section of society offering him their views on a whole range of subjects. The archive contains everything to a letter from Walter Scott sending a copy of his life of Bonaparte, to descriptions of new inventions, a discussion of a scheme of Irish emigration to Chile, to letters asking for patronage, promotion or assistance or even asking him to be the godfather of their children.

Illustration of John George’s steam war chariot, the details of just one of the proposed inventions sent to Wellington [MS61/WP2/40/119]

To find out more about the further work of the Special Collections on the Wellington Archive over the last forty years please do join us for the other blogs in this series: that for next week looks at conservation work on the collection.

Spotlight on collections: Parish Libraries

For the last fifty years Special Collections has been home to books from two Hampshire parish libraries, those of Droxford arrived in 1965 followed by Basingstoke’s Wheler Library in 1973. In both cases most of the books had been bequeathed by a previous incumbent for the use of his successors but with the study of early theological books no longer part of the daily routine of most twentieth-century parish priests, the collections were transferred to the University Library to provide wider access in more suitable accommodation.

Wheler Library

The Basingstoke Parish Library consists of books collected by Rev. Sir George Wheler (1651-1724), vicar of St Michael’s Church from 1685 to 1694. Wheler had been ordained in 1683, after spending the preceding decade travelling in Europe, his experiences described in A Journey into Greece (1682). Following his time at Droxford, Wheler moved to County Durham becoming rector of Houghton-le-Spring in 1709, where he remained until his death.

St Michael’s Church, Basingstoke, Rare Books Cope pc 294

Wheler’s will makes it clear that he had established a library at Basingstoke whilst vicar and that he wished his Divinity books to be added to the collection if they were not required by his son, Granville. The books in question were defined as “Fathers Ecclesiaticall History Schoolmen Criticks Commentaries and all relating to such Divine Learning” and they were “to be placed in the Library I began to make and finish in the Parish Church of the Towne … for the time being for the use of the said Vicar and the Clergy of the Deanery of Bason Stook”.

Once at Basingstoke, the books, which are mainly on Puritan theology but also include some classical texts, were listed and housed in a chamber over the south porch of the church, from which they moved briefly to the vicarage in the 20th century. Metal clasps can be seen on the front boards of some of the books suggesting that these had once been part of a chained library.

A metal clasp can be seen on William Whiston A Short View of the Chronology of the Old Testament (1702) Rare Books BS 2560.W4

On arrival at Southampton, the most important book in the collection was judged to be Walton’s Polyglot Bible published in six volumes in the 1657, which includes nine languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Ethiopic, Greek and Latin. Many of the books were in poor condition but still have some value in displaying the ways in which books of the handpress era were constructed – an aspect of book production usually hidden.

Brain Walton Biblia sacra polyglotta (1657) Rare Books Wheler F26

The dates of most of the eighty-two books and pamphlets suggest that they were part of Wheler’s collection but there is also a small group of later publications by Granville Sharp (1735-1813), the well-known abolitionist, who was Wheler’s grandson. In 2010 some of the volumes in the collection, including the Polyglot Bible, made a return trip to Basingstoke, to be part of the exhibition at the Willis Museum which marked 500 years since St Michael’s nave and tower were rebuilt.

Droxford Parish Library

Postcard showing Droxford Rectory and Church, Rare Books Cope pc481

The books in the Droxford Parish Library had belonged to Rev. Lewis Stephens (1689-1747), the rector from 1722 to 1747. A man who had seemed destined for high office, Stephens was chaplain to two Bishops of Winchester, Jonathan Trelawney and Charles Trimnell and to Lancelot Blackburne, Bishop of Exeter and later Archbishop of York. From 1724 to 1731 he was Archdeacon of Barnstaple, also being Archdeacon of Chester, 1727-1747 and he was a prebendary of York Minster, Southwell and Exeter Cathedrals. Admired for his abilities as a preacher – six of Stephens’ sermons were published, including that given at the funeral of Charles Trimnell – recent research has found that he also found time to write satires on the subject of ecclesiastical patronage in the 18th century church.¹

Lewis Stephens Sermon at the Funeral of Charles Trimnell (1723) Rare Books Cope p 22

That Lewis Stephens had formed an extensive library is clear from his will which records at least nine individual bequests of collections or individual books, the largest being to the Free School in Exeter. The books bequeathed to Droxford were a very particular subset of his collection:

“To the Parish Church of Droxford I give and bequeath all the Writers against Popery and all the Tracts against Popery which are in my Collection and which I have entered in my own Hand in the Parish Register to be put up in a Press in one of the Side Isles of the Church for the use of the Curate of Droxford when the Rector does not reside.”

Stephens had been associated with the Whig interest which then included a strong anti-Catholic sentiment and with the Jacobite Rebellion in full flow as he drew up his will in November 1745, it is likely that his bequest was influenced by the resurfacing of the fear of Catholicism.

William Sherlock A Preservative against Popery (1688) Rare Books BX 1763

A press was duly made in the south aisle of the church. The books were numbered and listed and remained in the church until they were moved to the rectory, where they were found in the attic in 1965. Eighty-one of the books and pamphlets that had been part of Lewis Stephens’ collection are now in Special Collections, later additions to the parish library remained at Droxford where they found homes with parishioners or were destroyed. Stephens books range in date from 1571 to 1727, with a concentration of publications from the period between the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the departure of James II in 1688.

Index librorum prohibitorum Alexandri VII, pontificis maximi iussu editus (1667) Rare Books quarto Z 1020

Both the Wheler and Droxford libraries were formed after the Parochial Libraries Act of 1708 which had established rules to ensure that such collections were preserved, hence the listing of the books by both the churches, and the consultations that were required two hundred years later before the books could be transferred to Southampton. Records for books in the Wheler and Droxford libraries can be found on Library Search by searching on “Wheler Library” and “Parish of Droxford” respectively and details of other parish libraries can be found in A Directory of the Parochial Libraries of the Church of England and Wales (2004).

¹ Daniel Reed ‘The Shadow of Patronage: Lewis Stephens and ‘The Ecclesiastical Climbers” Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies vol.41 no.2 (2018) pp.241-256