Spotlight on collections: the Cope illustrations

The Cope Collection is a rich trove of resources on the history of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and among its treasures are over a thousand printed illustrations, consisting mainly of engravings and lithographs. Compiled by Sir William Cope as part of his “Hampshire Collection”, they arrived at the Hartley Institution at his bequest in 1892 and have remained at the University of Southampton, in its various iterations, ever since. The range of subjects include portraits of local people of standing, landscapes and seascapes, country houses and family seats, churches, depictions of events, and more! Below are just a few examples of the illustrations; a full list can be found on the Cope illustrations libguide. If you’re familiar with Hampshire and/or the Isle of Wight, you’ll probably find illustrations of places you recognise!

Most of the illustrations are uncoloured, with a few exceptions, including this engraving of Freshwater and lithograph of the Undercliff on the Isle of Wight:

Rare Books Cope c 98.915 FRE (pr 227)

Rare Books Cope c 98.915 UND (pr 248)

The results obtained by the different printing methods are easily discernible in these two beautiful images. Engravers would cut the lines of the image into a metal plate; the lines would be filled with ink and then the paper would be pressed against the plate either by hand or with a roller. Lithographs were made using stone plates, with images created by the application of grease and oil-repellent ink. Lithography results in a “softer” image than an engraving, with fewer stark lines.

Staying on the Isle of Wight, here are two images that give a rare chance to see its lost or unusual aspects. Blackgang Chine as depicted in this lithograph no longer exists: ongoing coastal erosion and cliff collapse destroyed the coastal ravine by the early twentieth century. Scratchell’s Bay, on the south-west coast of the island, has always been accessible only by boat. It’s unlikely that many people in 1828, when this engraving was published, would have had the opportunity to see the Bay from this angle!

Rare Books Cope c 98.915 BLA (pr 208)

Rare Books Cope c 98.915 SCR (pr 242)

Before the use of photography became widespread, illustrations would have provided an important historic record of notable local events. This engraving of Southampton Audit House depicts the evening of 25th January 1842, when an impressive facade was erected to celebrate the christening of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VII (1841-1910). As well as providing an opportunity for people of the time to see the facade, this illustration gives the modern viewer chance to see the Audit House, which was completely destroyed in the Blitz in 1940.

Rare Books Cope c SOU 91.5 AUD (pr 927)

Looking at illustrations of since-disappeared buildings is fascinating and often quite poignant. Stratton Park, seat of the Baring family, was demolished in 1963. All that remains today is the portico, looking slightly incongruous next to the modern house that was built on the site. The house as depicted on this lithograph looks so solid and strong that it’s hard to imagine it being knocked down! What would Sir Thomas Baring have thought, if he’d known about the demolition of his home in the following century?

Rare Books Cope c STT 72 (pr 1003)

Another lost building is the Netley Abbey Hotel and Boarding House, later known as The Lake House. Its eventual fate is unclear; it certainly no longer stands, but this 19th century trade card depicts the House as thriving! Prints such as this were often used in local guidebooks, as advertisements. Netley Abbey had become a popular tourist attraction in the Victorian era, so a local hotel seems like an ideal business opportunity.

Rare Books Cope c NET 42 (pr 693)

The Abbey itself is particularly well-represented amongst the illustrations; understandably so, given the atmospheric and romantic nature of the ruins! The late medieval monastery was partly demolished in the early 18th century and became overgrown, providing inspiration to artists, poets and authors. There are around 50 prints of the Abbey in the Cope illustrations, showing many different aspects. This one shows the South Transept of the church.

Rare Books Cope c NET 26 (pr 647)

Another well-represented building, and one which hasn’t been demolished or ruined, is Winchester Cathedral. The figures shown walking in this print really add to the sense of the vastness of the nave.

Rare Books Cope c WIN 26 (pr 1039)

Southampton residents and visiting students are probably familiar with this building: the Cowherds Inn, on Southampton Common. This print is undated but it’s from a time when the Avenue was more of a track than the major roadway it is today, and isn’t recognisable at all! The Inn, however, retains many of the features depicted here, although it has undergone many alterations over the years. Some of the trees shown in this image may still be standing!

Rare Books Cope c SOU 63 (pr 877)

Finally, for something completely different: a plate depicting Anglo-Saxon antiquities discovered in Hampshire. This colour lithograph was published in Woodward, Wilks and Lockhart’s A general history of Hampshire (1861-69), a copy of which was also bequeathed by Sir William Cope to the Hartley Institution. The collection of Cope illustrations contain many other prints from this publication, which covers a wide breadth of Hampshire’s history.

Rare Books Cope c 93 (pr 74)

Sir William Cope’s bequest states, “I bequeath … all my books, pamphlets, papers, maps, prints and manuscripts relating to the County of Southampton … in trust for the Hartley Institution, Southampton there to be kept and carefully preserved and not to be removed therefrom.” We hope that he’d be very happy to know that the University safely keeps and preserves his “Hampshire Collection”, and adds to it, over 130 years after his death.

To find out more about Sir William Cope and the Cope Collection, please take a look at this blog post on Cope and another local historian, Thomas Shore…

Hampshire’s Local History Champions

…and to find out more about the conservation and preservation of the Cope illustrations, see this blog post about the 2016 illustrations rehousing project, which created a secure and stable environment for the prints:

Preserving and conserving illustrations from the Printed Collections

Spotlight on collections: the Cope Collection’s 19th-century periodicals

When promoting collections, libraries often highlight the number of books they contain, paying less attention to the periodicals. In this week’s blog post we try to remedy this by taking a look at some of the local periodicals in the Cope Collection, of which there are over 800.

Loosely defined as any ongoing publication, the periodicals range in date from the late 18th century to the present day and in holdings from a few shelves to a single issue. As far as the 19th-century periodicals in the collection are concerned, they demonstrate attempts to establish a county magazine, the activities of local organisations as set out in their annual reports and chart the growing number of titles with a subject focus that were published towards the end of the century. Although not all of the periodicals have local content, their existence helps to shed light on the history of the county and the concerns and interests of its inhabitants.

County Magazines in the Cope Collection

The Annual Hampshire Repository, published in Winchester in 1799, was the first periodical to include a substantial amount of information on Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Described as an ’historical, economical, and literary miscellany’, the literary element, although including reviews of books such as John Milner’s recently published history of Winchester, was comparatively small. Much of the volume was taken up with reports on different aspects of county life, covering recent events, lists of army officers and clergy, the state of the poor and of agriculture, amongst other things. The Annual Hampshire Repository proved to be short-lived, despite assuring its readers it would be continued occasionally, the 1801 volume was the last to be published.

Part of the title page of The Annual Hampshire Repository v.1 (1799) Rare Books Cope per 05.5

Later titles suffered the same fate, failing to establish a large enough local market despite extending coverage to neighbouring counties. In 1827, the editor of The Crypt, or, Receptacle for Things Past, printed in Ringwood, wrote on the qualities required in a county magazine, in response to the proposed new title Wheeler’s Hampshire and West of England Magazine.

“Let the first care in such an undertaking be employed in rendering it truly local; the second in adding just so much foreign matter as not to render it useless or unentertaining to a stranger. As to talent, mediocrity is never sufficient to produce excellence yet local subjects may be interesting of themselves without extraordinary ability in their execution.”

In practice, The Crypt, with its focus on antiquarian matters, contained many general articles as well as those of local interest, such as the reports on the Romsey Music Festival and the Southampton Picture Gallery. Wheeler’s Hampshire Magazine, published in Winchester, lasted for just a year before being absorbed by The Crypt, which in turn ceased publication at the end of 1829. Other casualties amongst the county magazines included Andover’s Hampshire Miscellany of 1819, which had only a little local content in its ‘provincials’ section and the much later Hampshire Magazine, published in Southampton in 1884. It was not until 1960 that a thriving county magazine was established, Hampshire: the County Magazine, surviving for just over fifty years.

Table of contents of The Crypt, v.1 (1827) Rare Books Cope per 05.5

A contrast to the county magazines in terms of both size and content are annual reports, published as a legal requirement by local charities and other organisations. Like today’s versions, they list the organisation’s objectives, its officers and activities, generally concluding with lists of subscribers and the annual accounts. Although issues of individual titles may be sparse, even a single report in the Cope Collection serves a purpose in highlighting the existence of an organisation and suggests the possibility of finding other reports or even the archives of the body concerned, elsewhere.    

Annual Reports in the Cope Collection

Many of the reports are from organisations based in Southampton and were originally part of the Library of the Hartley Institution, from which the University developed. They include a number of reports of charities, including that of the Southampton Boys Shelter (1892) which provided beds and meals for destitute boys, with the intention of improving their condition from being ‘the scum of society’ to ‘good and useful men’. The Southampton Gordon Boys Brigade reports (1888-1890) describe their parcel delivery service and efforts to find permanent work for boys aged between 14 and 16.

From: Southampton Gordon Boys’ Brigade Annual Report (1889-90) Rare Books Cope SOU 33

To improve the situation of poor girls, the Southampton Soup Kitchen, Lodging House and School of Cookery (1882-1893) provided safe lodgings and training for domestic service, at the same time providing food for the poor at low prices. A slightly different concern was the Southampton Charity Organization, a branch of the national society, which acted as a clearing house, investigating requests for support and referring them to the appropriate charity, their reports, (1876-7, 1884) include lists of charities with which they liaised.

Different aspects of town life are shown in reports from other organisations. The Annual Reports of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce (1886-) provide a blow-by-blow account of the dispute between Plymouth and Southampton as to which would be the best base for the West Indian Mail Service whilst that of the Free Library Committee (1888/9) lists not only issue figures for some of the books but also the occupations of the borrowers.

From: the Southampton Free Library Annual Report (1888/89) Cope per SOU 07

Annual reports from elsewhere in Hampshire include those of the Botley and South Hants Farmers’ Club (1845-68), Odiham Literary Institute (1874/5), St Thomas’ Diocesan Home for the Friendless and Fallen at Basingstoke (1879, 1883, 1885/6), Hampshire Reformatory School at Eling (1865) and the Hampshire Union of Workmen’s Clubs and Institutes (1882-3).

Towards the end of the century, the establishment of local societies by those with a common interest led to a new kind of local periodical. The journals or proceedings, as they were often known, might include an annual report, but the focus was on the members’ research in the form of papers read at meetings or those submitted for publication. Examples include the Papers and Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society (1885-), those of the Winchester and Hampshire Scientific and Literary Society (1870-1881), the Southampton Geographical Society (1899-1901) and Southampton Literary and Statistical Society (1870/71).  

Volumes of the Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in the Cope Collection

Today, some of the 19th-century periodical publications in the Cope Collection can be used as primary sources for the history of the period, but as the nature of periodical publishing changed and the range of publishers and subjects covered increased, titles of importance as secondary sources being to predominate, a trend carried forward in the 20th century.

Biodiversity and Revd. William Annesley

Biodiversity is emerging as a hot topic with much recent media focus on the scale of biodiversity loss and the urgency of wildlife conservation programmes. The Living Planet Index, which is maintained by the WWF and the Royal Zoological Society, has recorded dramatic declines for some species throughout the globe over recent decades and, closer to home, the State of Nature reports have shown us the challenges facing wildlife in Britain.

Many reasons have been given for the disappearance of wildlife from our lives: urban encroachment on natural landscapes; pesticide use; overfishing; climate change and the sheer scale and intensity of agriculture (according to some estimates more than half of all land in Britain is now dedicated to raising livestock and the production of crops).

Delving into the archives at the University of Southampton’s Special Collections, we find a manuscript volume containing a catalogue of plants growing wild near Andover, and other parts of the county of Hampshire. The catalogue was compiled by the Honorable and Revd William Annesley AM, who resided at Ramridge near Andover, where he died on 1^st November, 1830. [MS5/27]

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MS5/27: ‘Plants of Hampshire’ by the Revd William Annesley AM, c.1830

Annesley’s list appears to have been transcribed or edited later by someone named J. P. Jones, who added the following note: “This list was drawn up by the Honorable and Revd William Annesley AM […] Mr A. was a good botanist and accurate observer, and his habitats may be depended on. Where no particular locality is given, the habitat must be considered as being near Andover.”

The very first entry in Annesley’s catalogue is Adonis autumnalis, also known as ‘pheasant’s eye’ or ‘red chamomile’, which Annesley described as “not uncommon in cornfields and turnip fields at Weyhill & near Andover.” It is rather apt then, given today’s theme of biodiversity loss, that this beautiful plant is now classed as an endangered species on the UK Red List and has been marked as a UK BAP priority species.

Adonis autumnalis aka Pheasant’s eye or red chamomile, from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. V, 1796 (Tab 308) [Rare Books Salisbury Coll. QK 306]

Moving through the list we find many other species described as ‘in abundance’ near Andover, particularly those belonging to the genus Ranunculus, better known as the buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots, including Ranunculus parviflorus. According to the Plant Atlas this particular species appears to be stable within its core areas but had retreated into southwest England by the 1930s and is now rare and decreasing in Ireland.

Ranunculus flammula aka ‘Lesser spearwort’ from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. VI, 1796 (Tab 387)
[Rare Books Salisbury Coll. QK 306]

Berberis vulgaris, also known as the common barberry, was found by Annesley “among other bushes or the wooded part of Perham Down near Andover in abundance & apparently quite wild.” The plant is described as less common than it once was and the Barberry Carpet moth, which is entirely dependent upon this plant species, is now threatened.

Anemone nemorosa or wood anemone was, rather appropriately, recorded at woods near Andover. This plant is still common in Britain and as it spreads at a very slow pace (around six foot per century) it is a good indicator of the age of ancient woodland.

Anemone nemorosa aka ‘Wood anemone’ from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. V, 1796 (Tab 355)
[Rare Books Salisbury Coll. QK 306]

Annesley’s catalogue continues for some twenty pages and lists more than four hundred plant species. A full analysis of the volume, rather than the snippets included here, would give a more comprehensive picture of the two-hundred year trend in biodiversity at Andover; but given the examples highlighted and what we already know about the challenges for wildlife elsewhere in Britain, a story of decline would not be surprising.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Thanks to various conservation efforts and a growing awareness of nature under threat, Andover is nowadays home to a few local nature reserves as well as the Broughton Down Nature Reserve, managed by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, which is eight miles away (as the crow flies):

“This 25 hectare chalk downland nature reserve offers spectacular views across the Test Valley to Danebury Hill Fort and Stockbridge Down. The springy, flower rich turf attracts a plethora of butterflies, including the chalkhill and adonis blues, dark green fritillaries and rare silver spotted skippers – look closely and you may even spot a bloody-nosed beetle. Broughton Down is a botanist’s paradise, with horseshoe vetch, wild thyme and common rock roses growing in abundance, as well as fragrant, pyramidal and frog orchids. The woodland is home to tawny owls, great spotted woodpeckers, kestrels and buzzards.”

If you’re interested in learning more about wildlife conservation or volunteering there are a number of opportunities available, searchable by your postcode, with the Wildlife Trusts.

Bevois Mount House

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, a number of large houses were built around the edge of Southampton for wealthy owners, encouraged by the short-lived popularity of the town as a spa.  As the 19^th and early 20^th century progressed, their estates were gradually sold off for housing as Southampton continued to grow.  Some of the houses were re-purposed as schools or hostels, while some became increasingly dilapidated and were eventually demolished.

One of these houses was Bevois Mount House in Lodge Road.  The surrounding land was acquired in 1723 by Sir Charles Mordaunt, the third Earl of Peterborough, who improved and enlarged the existing farmhouse.  He had been among those who had invited William of Orange to invade England and take the throne from James II in 1688.  He became a Privy Councillor in 1689, but fell out of favour in 1697 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a few weeks, accused of conspiracy.  After the accession of Queen Anne, he returned to favour and led an expedition to Spain in 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession, where he captured Barcelona.

The grounds of the house contained an artificial mound, formerly part of Padwell Farm, which according to local legend had been built by the legendary knight Sir Bevois to defend Southampton against the Danes, or alternatively it had formed his tomb.  When he came to name his new house, Lord Peterborough was taken by this romantic tale.  Among his many friends was Alexander Pope, the poet, who visited Southampton several times and helped lay out the extensive gardens.  One of his favourite paths became known as Pope’s Walk and he described the place as “beautiful beyond imagination”.  The Earl loved to show off his grounds and the fine view, but preferred to do this at high tide when the mud in the River Itchen was concealed!

Engraving of Bevois Mount House, late 18th or early 19^th century  [Cope SOU 91.5 BEV  pr 942] 

Other guests included Jonathan Swift and Voltaire.  It is said that the Earl chased Voltaire out of the house with a drawn sword due to a dispute over money, but it is possible that this incident took place in London.  Swift described Peterborough as “the ramblingest lying rogue on earth”, while the historian and politician Macaulay called him “the most extraordinary character of that age”.

After Lord Peterborough’s death in 1735, his second wife, the opera singer Anastasia Robinson continued to live in Bevois Mount House until her death in 1755.  The house then passed through several owners including the Earl’s nephew, Sir John Maudaunt, who had commanded a brigade at the Battle of Culloden but was court martialled for the failure of an expedition he led against Rochefort.  After his death, the estate was purchased by the poet William Sotheby.  An account of 1753 describes the gardens in great detail, including “divers circular walks and labyrinths, so very intricate that it is hardly possible to avoid getting lost in them.”  There was “a bowling green or parterre adorned with fine Italian marble statues”, also a small vineyard, grottoes, alcoves and a summer house over a wine cellar.  The Sporting Magazine of 1804 contains a fulsome description of the house and its contents, beginning “The approach to this earthly paradise is a noble lofty gateway, once adorned with beautiful marble figures”.  Inside, there were further classical statues, a Roman altar, and a “well-stocked” orangery.

Estate in 1844 [Hants Field Club Proceedings Vol 5 p.109 Cope q06]

In 1844 William Betts bought the estate, then amounting to 103 acres.  He made extensive additions to the house and further adorned the gardens with lakes, fountains, arbours and greenhouses.  He also constructed the impressive stone gateway known as Stag Gates at the Avenue entrance.  This bore the legend “Ostendo non ostento” meaning “I display but boast not”, being Betts personal motto.  The gateway was presented to Southampton Corporation by William Burrough Hill in 1919 but was demolished not long afterwards to make room for a double tramway.  The donor was upset by what he regarded as an act of vandalism, so he removed the stags to a place of safety.  No-one knows for certain what became of them, but a piece of curved stone discovered in a garden in 1963 may have been part of one.  Some of the masonry from the pillars was reused in East Park for the bases of flower stands, and in path construction.  For many years the memory of the gates was preserved by the town in the name of the bus stop on the Avenue.  The gates are remembered in a recent mural at the junction of Cambridge and Alma Roads, completed in 2016.

Stag Gates watercolour by Peter Cook [Cope: Peter Cook postcards Box 3]

Betts had financial problems in the mid 1850s and was forced to sell the house and gardens to John Wolff who was a shipping agent and consul for several South American countries. Wolff was a patron of the arts, and bought many pictures from F. L. Bridell, a local artist. The rest of the estate was sold to speculative builders who were responsible for constructing Lodge Road and other nearby streets.  The memory of the house was preserved in the names Earls Road, Peterborough Road and Mordaunt Road.  Lodge Road was so named after the lodge that Betts built near the Avenue entrance to his estate close to the Stag Gates.

Plan of new streets [Hants Field Club Proceedings Vol 5 p.109 Cope 06]

In 1871 the house became a school for “young ladies” owned by Mr and Mrs Barns. By then the conservatory and the west wing, consisting of 13 rooms, had been removed, and the long decline began. Mrs Barns leased the house and its grounds to the University College in 1900, for use as a hostel for female students.

Lease of Bevois Mount House Lodge from Mrs Eleanor Barns to Sir F. Perkins J.P. and others, 1900 [MS1/ 2/3/3]

The lease lists the greenhouse, coach house, stable and garden as well as the main house.  In addition to keeping the buildings in good repair, the College must not cut down any of the trees in the grounds without written consent.  The Peter Cook postcard collection contains five different views of the house from this time, including the following:

Front view of Bevois Mount House [Peter Cook postcards PC1923a]

Rear view of Bevois Mount House with garden [Peter Cook postcards PC1926]

Interior (dining room) of Bevois Mount House [Peter Cook postcards PC1924]

At the end of each summer term, a garden party was given in the grounds of the hostel.  Women students were only allowed to attend evening functions if chaperoned by Miss Aubrey, the Supervisor of Women, or one of the female superintendents of the hostels.  Miss Aubrey was a former student and one of the University College’s first graduates and a lecturer in English.  Permission had to be obtained before arranging excursions or accepting any evening invitation.  They could not be out after 6 p.m. in winter or 8.30 p.m. in summer without permission.  Women students were forbidden to talk to men students outside the College precincts except at college functions, but this rule was widely disregarded.

In 1904 the thirty or so women students at Bevois Mount were wearing sailor hats trimmed with a red band, while their male counterparts wore maroon college caps with gold edging and a badge.  There was another women’s hostel for College students at Windsor House, but this was closed around 1911 and the remaining students were moved to Bevois Mount.  That hostel finally closed at the end of the 1911-12 session as the result of the College’s financial problems.  The number of residential women students had dropped by then, and students had to find approved lodgings instead.

After the outbreak of the First World War, the house was used to house German officer prisoners of war.  It is said that passengers on the top deck of the trams could see the inmates taking the air in the garden, and the barred windows.  After the war, St George’s School used it briefly, but by 1922 It was occupied by Borough Motors, who ran their garage business from the back garden.

Borough Motor Works [Peter Cook postcards PC1928]

By this time the house had gone a long way down in the world and was in a poor state of repair. It suffered the same fate of several other large houses dating from the 18^th and 19th centuries and was finally demolished in about 1940.  A sad end to a colourful history.

The nature of the mound on the highest part of the hill which gave the house its name is unclear, and various suggestions have been made.  For centuries it was linked with the legendary Sir Bevois of Hampton, and was believed by some to be his tomb.  It is said that a large skeleton was found when a summer house was constructed in the mid 18^th century, possible evidence for the mound being a burial barrow.  It could also have been a motte, part of a Norman castle, and perhaps this is the most likely explanation.  It has been suggested that it could have been constructed during the period of anarchy in the 12^th century during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.  The mound must have been quite large, as the description of 1753 details walks and labyrinths cut into it.  It is alleged that Roman coins were found, suggesting the possibility of a small Roman fort or watch station overlooking the Itchen.  However, the top of the hill was destroyed by quarrying in the late 19^th century, so it is likely that the true nature of the mound will remain a mystery.

“Everyone is in admiration of it”: visiting the country house

In the second of our Historical Association’s ‘Local and Community History Month’ blogs, we look at the development of tourism of the country house.

In  the modern times the country house has a significant British culture presence, with heritage tourism generating billions of pounds. Yet looking around country houses has long been a popular English pastime. The country house speaks of the power of the landed classes, telling of their interests from classical architecture to landscapes of the picturesque, agriculture and rural improvement, from old master paintings to model dairies. Such establishments were at the height of their importance in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. And during this period visiting country houses, including such houses in Hampshire, became an established form of tourism.

With the developments in the road network, which enabled easier and faster travel, the number of travellers to country houses increased. Visiting these establishments offered a glimpse at the lives of the rich, an opportunity to view fine collections of art and architecture and to tour the grounds.

“High Cliff in Hampshire, the seat of the Earl of Bute”: drawn by Callander; engraved by W.Watts, London, 1784 [Cope Collection cqHIH 72; print number pr599]

For the owners there was no financial incentive to granting access but it was seen as an indication of their politeness, as this letter from Mary Mee, Viscountess Palmerston, to her husband, second Viscount Palmerston, describing a visit by Lord Duncannon to Highcliff, shows.

Lord Duncannon had been in the morning to see Highcliff.  The servants refused him even entering the outward gate. He however sent in a note to Lady Bute and she ordered him to be admitted to the great astonishment of all the servants, but to the housekeeper in particular who could not refrain from exclaiming all the time she was shewing the house “Well I cannot conceive how you got in.  Its the most extraordinary thing I ever knew.  You are the first person that ever was admitted when my lord was down.” 

[MS62 Broadlands Archives BR11/11/1]

The growth of tourism within the UK saw a parallel development in travel writing and production of tour guides.  These guides included descriptions of country houses in their pages, elevating their status to that of public sites of importance.

John Bullar’s tour guide for the area around Southampton, for instance, included a map that listed the country houses. Although the county was essentially rural, comparatively few aristocrats had their principal residence in the area, and there were probably only around 50 families in the county with estates in excess of 3,000 acres.

Map of the country around Southampton printed for John Bullar A companion in a tour round Southampton comprehending various particulars, ancient and modern, of the New Forest Lymington, Christchurch, Ringwood, Romsey, Winchester, Bishop’s Waltham, Titchfield, Gosport, Portsmouth, etc., with notices of the villages, gentlemen’s seats, curiosities, antiquities, etc. occurring in the different roads described; and various biographical sketches fourth edition (Southampton, 1819) [Rare Books Cope 04; copy number 52-293007]

Bullar was to describe Broadlands, the seat of Lord Palmerston, in the following terms:

 About a mile from Romsey, we cross the Andover canal, and approach Broadlands, the sate of Lord Viscount Palmerston. The house is highly finished, in a style of elegant simplicity. There is a fine collection of paintings. The park and gardens are excellent. Few dairies are more singular tha[n] that of Broadlands. The cattle are all of the same breed, and are curiously belted round the body with a broad stripe of white. The river Test runs through the park; and the neighbouring bridge across it, is a good object from the house.

“Broadlands, seat of the Rt. Hon. Lord Viscount Palmerston” [London, Ackermann, 18- ] Aquatint 11.4 x 18.1 cm. Plate 14, vol. 6 of Repository of Arts, 1809-1818. [Cope Collection cq72 BRO; print number pr 41]

The Brayley and Britton guidebook The beauties of England Wales likewise focused on the simplicity of the Broadlands house and its fine art collection

The house is a neat edifice of white brick, standing on the eastern side of the river Test, which flows through the park; it was rebuilt by the late Lord Palmerston, who ranked among the most eminent connoisseurs of his time. The collection of paintings made by this nobleman and preserved in this mansion, is extremely fine.

In their description of Paulton’s, another Hampshire county house, they focused instead on the grounds. Paulton’s grounds, like Broadlands, had been landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, and they “present a pleasing specimen of his skill, the area being judiciously opened into ample lawns, which too thickly crowded with timber: the house is in a low and secluded situation”.

[Edward Wedlake Brayley and John Britton’s The beauties of England and Wales; or, delineations, topographical, historical and descriptive...: vol. 6 (London, Vernor & Hood, 1805) Rare Books Cope 03; copy number 59225007]

Lithograph of “Paultons, the seat of William S.Stanley esq.” printed by Engelmann, Graf, Coindet & Co. [c.1830] [Cope Collection cq72 PAU; print number pr60]

Whilst the number of visitors in no way compares to those experienced by heritage sites of today, it could certainly be claimed that by the early nineteenth century, country-house tourism had become a significant cultural practice.

Protest stories (1): We Protest! – 19th-century protests

Join us in the next three blogs as we explore highlights of the Special Collections exhibition We Protest! which is now closed to visitors due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

In putting together this exhibition we took as its starting point the Cato Street Conspiracy, the bicentenary of which was in February. This so-called “horrible conspiracy” fitted into the pattern of unrest over a range of social, economic and political issues at the end of the eighteenth and start of the nineteenth century, issues that were also to factor in the two other nineteenth-century protest movements that we feature.

The exhibition has proved an opportunity to utilise some little-known material relating to these protests within both the Wellington and Palmerston collections. Pages of notes taken by Lord Palmerston as the Cato Street conspirators were examined before the Privy Council in March 1820 were one such exciting discovery. Whilst the Wellington Archive provided not only samples of handwriting of the conspirators, but a hand-drawn map of the “Swing” riots in Hampshire and amongst the intelligence collected and sent to him about Chartist activity, a fascinating and slightly macabre illustration of the Chartist ‘rising’ in Newport in 1839.

Cato Street Conspiracy

Illustration of Cato Street from a view published in Old and New London (1820)

On 23 February 1820, the Cato Street Conspirators were arrested. This small group, led by the prominent radical Arthur Thistlewood, included individuals from England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as one Jamaican man, William Davidson. Influenced by radical ideas, and responding to repressive measures by the government to previous protests, their aim was to assassinate the cabinet. By this action Thistlewood hoped they would trigger a massive uprising against the government.

Unfortunately for the group, they had been infiltrated by a police spy, George Edwards. The authorities stormed the room at Cato Street and arrested the conspirators. During the fracas Thistlewood shot and killed a policeman.

The Cato Street Conspirators were tried at the Central Criminal Court in London, but as the document below shows also were questioned before the Privy Council. This extract records that Arthur Thistlewood had nothing to say, whilst James Ings expressed a hope that he might be comfortable since he had not previously had “the necessities of life” such as a clean shirt.

Extract of notes taken by Lord Palmerston when Thistlewood and Ings, alongside the other conspirators, were examined before the Privy Council, 1820 [MS62 PP/HA/A/4]

Thistlewood along with James Ings, John Brunt, William Davidson and Richard Tidd were executed on 1 May 1820 after being found guilty of treason; other conspirators were transported.

Sample of the handwriting of Arthur Thistlewood, written at Newgate Prison, 27 April 1820 [MS61 WP1/660/1]

“Horrible conspiracy and murder!”: report of the Cato Street Conspiracy in the Gentleman’s Magazine (1820) [Rare Books Per A]

Report from the Gentleman’s Magazine (1820):

“HORRIBLE CONSPIRACY AND MURDER!

                Wednesday, Feb.23.

                In consequence of private information received by the Civil Power, that it was in the contemplation of a gang of diabolical ruffians to make an attempt on the lives of his Majesty’s Ministers, whilst assembled at the house of Earl Harrowby, in Mansfield-street, to a Cabinet Dinner, this evening, R. Birnie, Esq. with a party of 12 of the Bow-street patrole, proceeded about eight o’clock to the place which had been described as the rendezvous of these desperadoes in Cato-street, John-street, in the Edgeware-road; where, in a kind of loft, over a range of coach-houses, they were found in close and earnest deliberation. The only approach to this Pandemonium was by a narrow ladder. Ruthven, one of the principal Bow-street Officers, led the way, and was followed by Ellis, Smithers, Surman, and others of the patrole. On the door being opened, about 25 or 30 men were seen within, all armed some way or other; and, for the most part, they were apparently engaged, either in charging fire-arms, or in girding themselves in belts similar to those worn by the military. There were tables about the room, on which lay a number of cutlasses, bayonets, pistols, sword-belts, pistol-balls in great quantities, ball-cartridges, &c. As the Officers entered the room, the conspirators all immediately started up; when Ruthven, who had been furnished with a warrant from the Magistrates, exclaimed, “We are Peace-officers! Lay down your arms!” In a moment all was confusion. A man, whom Ruthven described as the notorious A. Thistlewood, opposed himself to the Officers, armed with a cut-and-thrust sword of unusual length. Ruthven attempted to secure the door; and Ellis, who had followed him into the room, advanced towards the man, and, presenting him pistol, exclaimed, “Drop your sword, or I’ll fire instantly!” The man brandished his sword with increased violence; when Smithers, the other patrole, rushed forward to seize him; and on the instant the ruffian stabbed him to the heart. Poor Smithers fell into the arms of his brother Officer Ellis, exclaiming “Oh God!” and in the next instant was a corpse. While this deed was doing, the lights were extinguished, and a desperate struggle ensued, in which many of the Officers were severely wounded. Surman, one of the patrole, received a musket-ball on the temple; but fortunately it only glanced along the side of his head, tearing up the scalp in its way. The conspirators kept up an incessant fire: whilst it was evident to the Officers that many of them were escaping by some back way. Mr. Birnie exposed himself every where, and encouraged the Officers to do their duty, while the balls were whizzing round his head. At this moment, Captain Fitzclarence (one of the gallant sons of his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence) arrived at the head of a detachment of the Coldstream Guards. They surrounded the building; and Captain Fitzclarence, with Serjeant Legge and three files of grenadiers, mounted the ladder and entered the room, now filled with smoke, and only illuminated by the occasional flashes of the fire-arms of the conspirators. A ruffian instantly approached the gallant Captain, and presented a pistol to his breast; but as he was in the act of pulling the trigger, Serjeant Legge rushed forward, and whilst attempting to push aside the destructive weapon, received the fire upon his arm. Fortunately for this brave man, the ball glanced along his arm, tearing the sleeve of his jacket from the wrist to his elbow, without wounding him. It is impossible to give a minute detail of the desperate conflict which followed, or the numerous instances of personal daring manifested by the Peace-officers and the military, thus brought into sudden contact with a band of assassins in their obscure den, and in utter darkness. Unfortunately, this darkness favoured the escape of many of the wretches, and the dreadful skirmish ended in the capture of only nine of them. These were instantly handcuffed together, placed in hackney-coaches, and brought down to the Police-office, Bow-street, under a strong military escort; and Mr. Birnie, having arrived at the same moment, instantly took his seat upon the Bench, and prepared to enter into the examination of the prisoners. They were immediately placed at the bar in the following order:- James Ings, a butcher; James Wilson, a tailor; Richard Bradburn, a carpenter; James Gilchrist, a shoemaker; Charles Cooper, a bootmaker; Richard Tidd, a bootmaker; John Monument, a shoemaker; John Shaw, a carpenter; and William Davidson, a cabinet maker.

                Davidson is a man of colour, and a worthy coadjutor of Messrs. Watson, Thistlewood, and Co. upon many occasions. At the meeting in Finsbury market-place a few months ago, he was one of the principle speakers.

                Ings is a hoary ruffian, a short squat man, apparently between 50 and 60, but of most determined aspect. His hands were covered with blood; and as he stood at the bar, manacled to one of his wretched confederates, his small fiery eyes glared round upon the spectators with an expression truly horrible. The rest had nothing extraordinary in their appearances. They were for the most part men of short stature, mean exterior, and unmarked physiognomy.

                The office was crowded with soldiers and officers, bringing in arms and ammunition of various kinds, which had been taken on the premises; muskets, carbines, broadswords, pistols, blunderbusses, belts, and cartouch-boxes, ball-cartridges, gunpowder (found loose in the pockets of the prisoners), haversacks, and a large bundle of singularly-constructed stilettoes. These latter were about 18 inches long, and triangular in form; two of the sides being concave, and the other flat; the lower extremity having been flattened, and then wrung round spirally, so as to make a firm grip, and ending in a screw, as if to fit into the top of a staff. Several staves indeed were produced, fitted at one end with a screwed socket; and no doubt they were intended to receive this formidable weapon.

                The depositions of a number of officers, most of them wounded, and several of the soldiers, having been taken, their evidence substantiating the foregoing narrative, the prisoners were asked whether they wished to say any thing. Cooper and Davidson the black were the only ones who replied; and they merely appealed to the officers and soldiers to say, whether they had not instantly surrendered themselves. Ellis, the patrole, who received the murdered body of his comrade Smithers in his arms, replied, that Davidson made the most determined resistance. At the moment when the lights were extinguished, he had rushed out of the place, armed with a carbine, and wearing white cross-belts. Ellis pursued him a considerable distance along John-street, and, having caught him, they fell together; and, in the deadly struggle which ensued, Davidson discharged his carbine, but without effect, and Ellis succeeded in securing him.

                Capt. Fitzclarence had seized and secured one or two of the prisoners with his own hands; and he was not only very much bruised, but his uniform was almost literally torn to pieces.

                At eleven o’clock, the deposition having been taken, as far as the circumstances of the moment would permit, the Magistrate committed the prisoners for further examination on Friday; and they were then placed in hackney-coaches, two prisoners being placed in each coach, accompanied by two police officers, with two soldiers behind and one on the box, and the whole cavalcade escorted by a strong party of the Coldstream Guards on foot.

                The following morning an extraordinary Gazette was issued, offering 1000l. for the apprehension of Arthur Thistlewood. He was taken by Bishop and a party of police officers, about 12 o’clock the same day, at No. 10, White-street, in Little Moor fields.

                The house is kept by a person named Harris, who is foreman to a letter-founder; at the time of the apprehension Harris was from home, and supposed to be at his work; but the offices took his wife with them to Bow-street. The house is full of lodgers; none of whom were aware of Thistlewood being on the premises till the officers entered; nor was he ever seen there before.

                The following are circumstantial particulars of Thistlewood’s arrest. At 9 o’clock in the morning, Lavender, Bishop, Ruthven, Salmon, and six of the patrole, were dispatched; and, arriving at the house, three of the latter were placed at the front, and three at the back door, to prevent escape. Bishop observed a room on the ground floor, the door of which he tried to open, but found it locked. He called to a woman in the opposite apartment, whose name is Harris, to fetch him the key. She hesitated, but at last brought it. He then opened the door softly. The light was partially excluded, from the shutters being shut; but he perceived a bed in a corner and advanced. At that instant a head was gently raised from under the blankets, and the countenance of Thistlewood was presented to his view. Bishop drew a pistol, and presenting it at him, exclaimed, ‘Mr. Thistlewood, I am a Bow-street officer; you are my prisoner:’ and then, ‘to make assurance double sure,’ he threw himself upon him. Thistlewood said, he would make no resistance. Lavender, Ruthven, and Salmon, were then called, and the prisoner was permitted to rise. He had his breeches and stockings on, and seemed much agitated. On being dressed, he was handcuffed. In his pockets were found some ball-cartridges and flints, the black girdle, or belt, which he was seen to wear in Cato-street, and a sort of military silk sash. A hackney coach was then sent for, and he was conveyed to Bow-street. In his way thither he was asked by Bishop what he meant to do with the ball cartridges? He declined answering any questions. He was followed by a crowd of persons, who repeatedly cried out, ‘Hang the villain! Hang the assassin!’ and used other exclamations of a similar nature. When he arrived at Bow-street, he was first taken into the public office, but subsequently into a private room, where he was heard unguardedly to say, that ‘he knew he had killed one man, and he only hoped it was Stafford,’ meaning Mr. Stafford, the Chief Clerk of the office, to whose unremitting exertions in the detection of public delinquents too much praise cannot be given. Mr. Birnie, having taken a short examination of the prisoner, sent him to Whitehall, to be examined by the Privy Council. Here the crowd was as great as that which had been collected in Bow-street. Persons of the highest rank came pouring into the Home Office, to learn the particulars of what had transpired. The arrest of Thistlewood was heard with infinite satisfaction he was placed in a room on the ground floor, and vast numbers of persons were admitted in their turn to see him. His appearance was most forbidding: his countenance, at all times unfavourable, seemed now to have acquired an additional degree of malignity: his dark eye turned upon the spectators as they came in, as if he expected to see some of his companions in guilt, who he had heard were to be brought thither. He drank some porter that was handed to him, and occasionally asked questions, principally as to the names of the persons who came to look at him. Then he asked, ‘To what gaol he should be sent? – he hoped not to Horsham.’ (This was the place in which he was confined in consequence of his conviction for sending a challenge to Lord Sidmouth.)

                At two o’clock he was conducted before the Privy Council. He was still handcuffed, but mounted the stairs with alacrity. On entering the Council-chamber he was placed at the foot of the table. He was then addressed by the Lord Chancellor, who informed him that he stood charged with the twofold crime of treason and murder, and asked him whether he had any thing to say for himself? He answered, that ‘he should decline saying any thing on that occasion.’ He was then committed to Coldbath-fields prison.

                The other prisoners, apprehended the night before, were likewise taken before the Privy Council, and recommitted. In addition to the Cabinet Ministers, there were present, Viscount Palmerston, the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer of Scotland, Sir William Scott, Mr. Sturges Bourne, the Attorney and Solicitor-General, Sir John Nicholl, &c. They continued in examination of the prisoners till past six o’clock, when the prisoners, who had been kept in separate rooms, were removed in hackney-coaches to the House of Correction, escorted by a party of the Life Guards, amidst the execrations of those assembled round, and Thistlewood was loudly hooted and groaned at when he was taken from Bow-street Office.

                In the course of the day, further arrests took place. Among others secured is a man of the name of Brunt – who is stated to have been second in command to Thistlewood. He was apprehended at his lodgings in Fox-court, Gray’s-inn-lane; in his room a vast quantity of hand-grenades, and other combustibles, were found.  These were charged with powder, pieces of old iron, &c., calculated, upon explosion, to produce the most horrible consequences. A great number of pike-blades, or stilettoes, such as were discovered in Cato-street, and a number of fire-arms, were likewise found. The whole of these, together with the prisoner, were taken to Bow-street. He was afterwards sent to Whitehall, and then committed to Coldbath-fields.

                Firth, the person by whom the stable was let to Harrison, has likewise been arrested. He admits that he has attended some of the Radical meetings, but denies any knowledge of the conspiracy. Warrants have been issued for securing six others, whose names and descriptions are known.

                John Harrison, who hired the room in Cato-street, was apprehended in his lodging in Old Gravel-lane. He was 10 years a private in the Life Guards, from which he was discharged about six years ago.

                Robert Adams, who had been five years a private in the Oxford Blues, and Abel Hall, have also been taken. Adams is a middle-aged man, and of respectable appearance.

                The lodgings of Thistlewood, and of all the others who were in custody, have been searched, and several important papers, and quantities of arms, have been discovered and seized.

                It is a singular fact, that when Thistlewood was arrested, he had not a farthing of money in his possession. The same observation may be made with respect to his comrades, all of whom were in the most wretched state of poverty.

                A man was apprehended by Taunton and Maidment, charged with making handles for the pikes which were seized at the stables. He was committed for further examination.

                Wm. Symmonds, a footman, at No. 20, Upper Seymour-street, was apprehended by Lavender and Bishop, charged on suspicion of being concerned with the assassins. He is suspected of giving them information respecting the transactions of the higher orders. He was detained.

                Since obtaining the preceding intelligence, the following particulars have been received: –

                A detachment of thirty of the Cold-stream Guards was ordered from Portman-street Barracks a quarter before eight o’clock (the men thought it was to attend a fire); Captain Fitzclarence headed them. On coming into the neighbourhood of Cato-street, Capt. F. commanded them to halt and fix bayonets, and every man to be silent. Almost immediately afterwards they heard the report of a pistol: they were instantly commanded to advance in double quick time, upon the spot from whence it proceeded. On reaching the stable, a man darted out and was making off, but was prevented: finding his retreat intercepted, he pointed a pistol at Captain Firzclarence; Serjeant Legge broke his aim knocking the pistol off at the instant of its discharging, and was thus himself wounded in the right arm; the man was then secured. The Captain then ordered the men to follow him into the stable; their entrance was opposed by a black man, who aimed a blow at Captain F. with a cutlass, which one of his men warded off with his firelock: he exclaimed, “Let us kill all the red-coats; we may as well die now as at any other time;” he was also secured. They then entered the stable. Captain F. being first, was attacked by another of the gang, who pointed a pistol, which flashed in the pan: the soldiers took him likewise, to whom he said, “Do’nt kill me, and I’ll tell you all about it.” The soldiers then mounted into the loft; there they found the body of the murdered officer, and another man lying near him; the latter, who was one of the gang, was ordered to rise; he said, “I hope you will make a difference between the innocent and the guilty. Don’t hurt me, and I’ll tell you how it happened.” Five more were then secured, one of whom declared he was led into it that afternoon, and was innocent.

                Davidson was one of those who, at the last meeting in Smithfield at which Hunt presided, paraded the streets of the metropolis with a black flag, on which was described a death’s head.”

Although the Cato Street Conspiracy was used by the government to justify the Six Acts of Parliament that it had passed two months previously — dealing with groups training with weapons, mass meetings, sedition and libel — this did not mark the end of protest for causes in the subsequent decades of the nineteenth century as we shall see.

The “Swing” riots

The “Swing” riots of 1830-1 saw agricultural workers protesting about low wages and the inadequate Poor Law allowances that were used to supplement these wages, as well as the use of threshing machines which they felt threatened their livelihood. Labourers became desperate and resorted to poaching to try and feed their families, leading to an increase in crime rates. William Cobbett had recorded in his Rural Rides his horror at the state of the rural poor in Hampshire, which had a sizeable population of agricultural labourers on subsistence wages. And Hampshire was one of the counties where these riots were most severe. It was also where the riots were most severely punished, as the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, the Duke of Wellington, was determined to crush any unrest. One of the particular characteristics of these riots was the threatening letters signed by “Captain Swing” sent to all landowners in Hampshire, including Wellington, an example of which is below.

Letter signed by “Captain Swing” to the Duke of Wellington threatening assassination, n.d. c.November 1830 [MS61 WP1/1159/114]

The alarm felt by the Hampshire gentry at the prospect of riots is illustrated in a letter from Henry Holmes, Romsey, to Lord Palmerston of 21 November 1830. Lord Palmerston was, of course, another Hampshire landowner and resident of Romsey.

“Your Lordship is of course aware that the country is in a very disturbed state generally…. We are (thank God) quiet as yet in this immediate neighbourhood, but when we see in several parts of this, and adjoining counties, frequent acts of outrage committed and know that a seditious spirit is openly exhibited almost everywhere, we think it proper to call your Lordship’s attention to the subject, and take the liberty of enquiring whether your Lordship thinks it probable that his Majesty’s Government will adopt any general measures for the preservation of the peace….

In the neighbourhood of Andover much mischief has been done as your Lordship will see by the papers. I have just had a man with me who saw the mob break open the gaol and rescue a prisoner.

I had written thus far this morning, when I was interrupted by my man servant whose father had left the mob at Compton near Kingsomborne, where they broke the thrashing machines of Mr. Edwards and extorted money and drink. They had previously attacked Mr Penleazes’ House at Bossington and Mr. Edwards’s at Horsebridge. I sent my son on horseback to reconnoitre – he arrived at Kingsomborne just as they had passed for Ashley. Mr Lutott is just arrived from London – he saw Sir William Heathcote and Mr. Stanley go from Winchester with a troop of cavalry towards Crawley which is not far from Ashley. We are swearing in special constables here, and I have conferred with Watson as to being prepared to defend Broadlands if it should be attacked – but as the troops are on the alert I dare say the mob will be dispersed.

If Government would let us have the old arms and accoutrements of the yeomanry we would equip a troop and act in concert in case of necessity – as it is we are almost defenceless, but if they come here I trust we shall be able to make a fight, and keep down our own disaffected who are very numerous I am sorry to say.”

[MS62 BR113/12/29]

The extent of the rioting that took place across the county on 22 November is illustrated in a hand drawn map sent to the Duke of Wellington:

Hand drawn map showing instances of riots across Hampshire, 22 November 1830 [MS61 WP1/1157/2]

Over three hundred men who had been involved in these riots were tried before the Special Commission at Winchester in December 1830. Despite over ninety men being sentenced to death, only two executions were carried out, those of Henry Cook of Micheldever, convicted of riot, robbery and aggravated assault and James Thomas Cooper of Fordingbridge, convicted of destroying machinery and a manufactory at Fordingbridge. Sixty-nine of the prisoners received prison sentences and a further sixty-eight were transported to Australia.

Copy of a letter from the Duke of Wellington, to Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Taylor, sets out the result of the trials, 30 December 1830

 There were 98 capital convictions. Of these the law has been allowed to take its course in relation to six. Three of them concerned in the destruction of manufactories aided by machinery, one in the destruction of poor houses, one for a robbery by night, one for a robbery by day – this last is the man who struck Mr. Baring. It will be recommended that the others should be transported for life.

 Several have been sentenced during the commission to transportation for life, and some for terms of years. But this morning twenty were sentenced to transportation for seven years, and ten to confinement and hard labour from twelve to eighteen months for destroying machines.

Upon the whole this commission has worked well, and has already produced a good effect and I hope that its consequences will be long felt.

It is very curious that throughout these trials we have scarcely heard of distress. Few of the people convicted have been agricultural labourers. They are generally publicans and mechanics. Of those left for execution, one was a hostler at an inn, another a publican, two blacksmiths, one carpenter and one bricklayer.

[MS61 WP4/2/2/58]

Chartists

The Chartist movement, which could claim to be the first mass movement driven by the working classes, grew out of the failure of the Reform Act of 1832 to extend the vote beyond the property owning classes. In 1838, a People’s Charter was drawn up for the London Working Men’s Association and this was presented to Parliament in June 1839. Its rejection led to unrest across the country, which was quickly and harshly dealt with by the authorities.

The Duke of Wellington was one of the members of the government who received intelligence on possible unrest and within his archives are examples of intercepted letters from Chartist activists. The following is a copy of a letter from a leading Chartist in the north which were passed on to the authorities by “one of the converted Chartists”, since he was concerned “that bloody scenes would soon break out in the middle and north of England, to the disadvantage of the operatives and the ruin of the country”.

Copy of a letter from an unnamed Chartist to Mary Anne, 6 December 1839

“My dear Mary Anne,

You are the prince of correspondents but [f.9r] I do not wish you to do so again unless you think it of importance and above all do not put even your initials, but take another name altogether as the name of the town is sufficient and I know your writing and allusions. Put any name you like but your own and write it at full length, as initials are suspicious should the letter be opened and I do not wish you to be brought into scrapes. I must see our friend, who is ill, at all hazards and that right soon, so, as early as you lay hands on him tell him to put himself in communication with me by letter addressed as your last. Matters are coming to a crisis and that in short space. Most shall not be tried or will have companions he little thinks of; keep this in mind and be astonished at nothing. Depend upon it there will be a merry Christmas. All here are already preparing for a national illumination, I presume in anticipation of the Queen’s marriage, but you know best. These [f.9v] Radicals are humble fellows; at least half a dozen emissaries have been sent to see what state the north of England was in and the universal feeling is that there is no county like [blank]. This is partly to be attributed to the vast extent of moorland which has generated a race of hardy poachers, all well armed and who would think themselves disgraced if they missed a moorcock flying seventy yards off. This, together with the number of weavers necessarily in want has made a population ripe for action, and its neighbourhood, to the Scottish border, with the facilities for a guerilla warfare are said to have determined [blank] to make it the headquarters for a winter campaign. That he is mad enough to attempt this you will easily believe even if there was no other movement in England because, from the feeling of the people towards him, they would follow him to the death and England has not troops [f.10r] enough to quell a border riot with that man at its head. It is too far away, however, to have any effect for a long time…..

[MS61 WP4/10/66 ff.8v-10r]

Wellington likewise received information about the ‘rising’ in Newport in November 1839 which saw thousands of armed Chartists march on the town. In this violent clash at the Westgate Hotel, an estimated twenty two Chartists were shot dead and many more were injured. It has been called the most serious manifestation of physical force Chartism in the history of this movement.

Illustration of the attack and defence of the Westgate Hotel, Newport, November 1839 [MS61 WP2/64/74]

Illustration of the ground plan of the Westgate Hotel, Newport, showing the position of the 45th Regiment defending the building and of fatalities from the battle, November 1839 [MS61 WP2/64/74]

The illustration of the Westgate Hotel includes images of the soldiers firing from a downstairs window to defend the property. Below it is a ground plan of the hotel which includes pikes to show the points where the Chartists entered the building, firelocks to show the points where the 45^th Regiment defended the building and there are stick figures on the plan showing as near as can be ascertained where individuals died.

For our next blog we shall be moving on to protests in the twentieth century and looking in particular at the “Battle of Cable Street”. We hope you can join us.

 

“Beware! Beware! Beware!”: Wellington and “Captain Swing”

Part of a threatening letter sent by “Captain Swing”, 1830 [MS61 WP1/1159/114]

In the winter of 1830, driven by grinding poverty, the agricultural workers of the southern and eastern counties of England, including Hampshire, were involved in uprisings. The combination of poor harvests, low wages and high food prices with high unemployment and inadequate poor law allowances, led to hunger among the workers and their families. The introduction of new technology, in particular the threshing machine, which took away one of the few remaining opportunities for work during the winter months, made their situation worse.

The protests started in Kent  and Sussex in August and spread fairly rapidly to surrounding counties. They reached Hampshire, where the first Duke of Wellington was the Lord Lieutenant, by November 1830. Hampshire was one of the most severely affected counties and also was the county in which the protest was repressed most severely.

The journalist and champion of traditional rural life, William Cobbett, recorded in his Rural Rides his horror at the poverty amongst the rural poor, making particular reference to the situation in Hampshire. And a letter of 22 December 1830 to the Duke in the Wellington Archive attributed much of the crime recently committed in Hampshire “to the influence of the published opinions of Cobbett” and of the radical politician Henry Hunt, both of whom had resided in the county. [MS 61 WP1/1157/3]

William Cobbett Rural Rides (1830) Rare Books Cope BOT 96 COB

The Swing riots took their name from “Captain Swing” – a made-up name that represented the anger of the poor labourers, but also was designed to spread fear and to protect the identity of the protest leaders. The organisation of the movement was on a local level with leaders or “captains” chosen from the community. The usual practice was for groups of men to travel from farm to farm demanding higher wages and soliciting donations from landowners, with the threat of destroying threshing machines if this was not forthcoming. But in some cases the protesters set fire to hay ricks or destroyed machinery: a threshing machine was destroyed in Rookley House in Hampshire by a large band of men and the “donation” money carried away.

Although the riots in Hampshire only lasted from around 10 to 26 November, they were more widespread and severe than in other counties: the extent of the incidents on 22 November is shown on a map sent to Wellington in December 1830.

Hand drawn map sent by Mr Hollis to Wellington of the riots that took place in Hampshire on 22 November 1830 [MS61 WP1/1157/2]

Wellington, alongside other landowners and farmers throughout Hampshire, was to be the recipient of threatening letters signed by “Captain Swing”. Similar letters had been sent out in both Kent and West Sussex in the earlier riots in these counties. A number of examples of those sent to the Duke can be found in the Wellington Archive at Southampton.

Letter from “Captain Swing” to Wellington, 4 November 1830 [MS 61 WP1/1159/93]:                                                                                         “Your base vile conduct and treatment of your fellow subjects; your determination to turn a deaf ear to their remonstrances, has made you an object of popular vengeance and of popular hatred. Take my advice, act openly and nobly, as becomes a Briton, reform that vile nest of corruption which is bred in Downing Street, destroy those vultures that prey on the public liver or beware, I say beware, beware, beware.”

As the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Wellington was responsible for the maintenance of law and order within the county. He established a Special Commission, which was held at Winchester in December, to deal with the rioters. The Commission handed out what was later considered overly harsh sentences to the accused. 95 of the 300 prisoners tried were formally sentenced to death – although in the end only 6 had their sentences confirmed – many others were imprisoned or transported overseas.

A report of the Proceedings at the Special Commission, holden at Winchester, December 20, 1830, and Eight Following Days (London, 1831) Rare Books Cope 35

Items on the Swing Riots form part of the We Protest! exhibition currently at the Special Collections Gallery. We hope you are able to come along.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Travels

After following intrepid travellers to far-flung places, in the last in our series of travel posts we look at those who stayed closer to home.

The south coast’s scenery and climate have attracted a range of visitors over the years – especially those in search of a picturesque view, a health cure or even a combination of the two.

Hampshire by John Cary (1793) Rare Books Cope c 90.5 1793

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the Isle of Wight became a magnet for artists keen to record its picturesque scenery, despite the fact that William Gilpin, the main proponent of the picturesque as an aesthetic ideal, found the Island sadly lacking in this this quality.

William Gilpin Observations on the Western Parts of England Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty, to which are Added, A Few Remarks on the Picturesque Beauties of the Isle of Wight (1798)

Gilpin wrote that whilst there were elements of the picturesque in the shipwrecks and in the sea-fowl which darkened the air, the Isle of Wight was really “a large garden or rather a field, which in every part has been disfigured by the spade, the coulter and the harrow”, the coastal views being “much less beautiful than we had expected to find them”.  Naturally, there was some consternation at this description locally and in the Hampshire Repository’s review of his book in 1799, Gilpin’s views were strongly rebuffed, the reviewer going as far as to retrace his footsteps and provide an alternative opinion on the scenery.

Others who visited the Isle of Wight were more impressed with what they saw. John Hassell, a London based artist who illustrated his Tour of the Isle of Wight (1790) with aquatints of his drawings (many with unusual colour washes), wrote of Carisbrooke Castle “it affords a fund of delight to the traveller whose mind is susceptible to the transports which picturesque scenes excite”.

Carisbrooke Castle from: John Hassell Tour of the Isle of Wight v.2 (1790) Rare Books Cope 98.91

A few years later Charles Tomkins recorded both the architecture and the picturesque views of the Island in his Tour to the Isle of Wight (1796), describing how Blackgang Chine “strikes the mind with horror at its dark and sable aspect” .

Blackgang Chine from: Charles Tomkins A Tour to the Isle of Wight v.1 (1796) Rare Books Cope 98.91

In 1784 and again in 1791 the artist and satirist Thomas Rowlandson toured the Island and taking a different approach, made sketches of the various incidents that made up the journey.  The sketches were lost for many years, reappearing at the end of the nineteenth century when they were reproduced in an article in The Graphic (Summer 1891), by Joseph Grego, who added his own commentary on the journey.

From:The Graphic Summer Number 1891 Rare Books Cope folio 91.5

Many of the Isle of Wight visitors travelled via Southampton, which offered tourists excursions to the gothic ruins of Netley Abbey as well as a mineral spring and sea-water bathing to restore their health. Royal patronage had made Southampton a fashionable resort in the later years of the eighteenth century, the Hampshire Chronicle printing a weekly list of arrivals during the summer season.  Southampton’s reputation as a spa waned during the early part of the nineteenth century, as its commercial importance grew, but other resorts developed to cater for the ‘health tourists’ of the day.

 Hampshire Chronicle (17th August, 1778)

Favoured by their sheltered locations and warm temperatures, both Ventnor on the Isle of Wight and Bournemouth (then part of Hampshire) developed as resorts largely thanks to their promotion in prominent publications. In the second edition of The Influence of Climate in the Prevention and Cure of Chronic Diseases (1830), Sir James Clark wrote of his surprise that the Isle of Wight’s Undercliff had been so long overlooked, given its scenery, dry air and a climate which allowed myrtle and geraniums, to flourish even in the colder months. He recommended it as a location superior to any other on the south coast for invalids with pulmonary disease.

Ventnor, Isle of Wight, from: Thomas Roscoe Summer Tour to the Isle of Wight (1843) Rare Books Cope 98.91

Some years later Bournemouth was mentioned very favourably (especially in comparison with Ventnor) in A.B. Granvilles’s The Spas of England and Principal Sea-Bathing Places (1841) “no situation that I have had occasion to examine along the whole southern coast, possesses so many capabilities of being made the first invalid sea-watering place in England”.

Bournemouth from the water, from: Philip Brannon The Illustrated Historical and Picturesque Guide to Bournemouth and the Surrounding Scenery 7th ed. (1863)

Both resorts developed ‘Sanditon style’ in areas previously sparsely populated. At Ventnor, development was piecemeal, resulting in buildings of varying styles. In A few Remarks about Ventnor… (1877), William Spindler, a  German industrial chemist who retired to the Isle of Wight, wrote “We have hotels, churches, shops, cottages and villas in every conceivable style and every outrageous shape” adding that an assembly room, pleasure garden and more planting for shade would be beneficial.

In contrast, Granville thought Bournemouth safe from speculative ‘ brick and mortar contractors’ as fewer landowners were involved in its development. He saw it as having commodious and well-arranged dwellings amongst the pine trees, suitable for invalids “of that class who happen to be wealthy”, with hotels and boarding houses catering for a superior class of visitor.

Ventnor and Bournemouth succeeded in their ambitions to attract wealthy visitors seeking the benefits of a mild climate and sea air, but eventually both resorts had to balance catering for this market with the needs of new tourists holidaying purely for pleasure and amusement.

Bournemouth from the Pier [postmarked 1904] Rare Books Cope pc 326

As the holidays are behind us and we return to the normal routine, we hope you have enjoyed the travellers’ tales from Special Collections.

World Poetry Day

For this year’s World Poetry Day, we’re celebrating the work of the little-known Hampshire poet, Burnal Charles Lane.

B.C.Lane was born at Hordle, near New Milton, Hampshire in 1900.  His father worked on a market garden belonging to Miss Anna Bateson and she instilled in Lane a love of nature, an interest in literature and also taught him to speak French.

Burnal Charles Lane aged 20 [MS 16 A655/5]

Lane wrote his first poem aged 16. He was called up for National Service in 1918 and, once it was discovered he could speak French, he worked as a interpreter, including in France and Belgium for the War Graves Commission.

This verse by Lane feels appropriate for the time of year. Note his aside; he must have been interrupted half way through!

[MS 16 A655/1/3]

 

Lane married Mabel in 1930 and they had one daughter, Sarah E. Lane, born in 1945.

Lane pictured with his wife Mabel and baby daughter Sarah in 1945 [MS 16 A655/5]

Following Miss Bateson’s death, Lane’s father bought the market garden and Lane became a partner.  Lane retired in 1965 which enabled him to devote much of his time to his biggest interest, poetry.  The five boxes of material housed in our strongroom attest to the fact that Lane spent as much time as he could writing!  He also loved walking in the New Forest, usually with his cairn dog.

Lane published some of his poems privately in 1975 with an introduction by the English poet and translator, John Heath Stubbs, of whom Lane had been a fan:

These are the poems of a countryman who was devoted very many years with a single-minded devotion to the making of verse… the best of them seem to me to be lyrics of the purest water.

A fitting close feels to be this rousing verse which Lane penned in about 1924, ode to his beloved home county.

My Own Hampshire

Rich county, I hail thee! the gem of the South!

Southampton, Winchester and sunny Bournemouth!

Thy forest, thy meadows, hills valleys and streams

Are a source of delight to all who dream dreams.

And, if not a dreamer or poet, you’ll find

That Hampshire folk know what is best for mankind.

So come, drink your glass of wine or good ale 

Or, if you prefer it fresh milk from the pail,

And then all together, O come let us sing:

“Of all England’s counties Hampshire is king!”

Fair mistress of England, where Alfred the Great

In Winchester city established his state;

Where stout-hearted Saxon fought Norman and Dane,

And Williams, called Rufus a-hunting was slain.

O, England remembers, remembers thee yet!

Can England her once royal county forget?

So come, drink your glass…

[MS 16 A655/1/1]

 

National Sporting Heritage Day: Sport Sources in Printed Special Collections

To mark National Sporting Heritage Day, we take a look at the sources we hold on Sport in Hampshire in our Printed Collections.

The Old Bowling Green, Southampton (Peter Cook Postcard Collection Vol 10)

The sources can be found in our Cope Collection, which is a major resource for the study of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

For studying the history of sport in Hampshire, A History of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Volume V, Victoria County History, (1912) is a useful text. In its chapter titled “Sport Ancient and Modern”, the volume tells the reader about the introduction of foxhunting, and the ancient origin of flat racing in Hampshire, as well as shooting, and angling. There is also a section on sport in the New Forest, written by the Hon. Gerald Lascelles:

“Fishing is not one of the special features of New Forest sport, although in the streams of the forest itself are to be found plenty of small brown trout, diminutive in size but excellent in flavour, and very good baskets have sometimes been realised, chiefly with the worm.” [Page 568]

The chapter finishes on cricket, where it explains how first-class cricket was born in the small village of Hambledon, which is located approximately 15 miles north of Portsmouth:

“The great players of the club in the latter half of the eighteenth century besides Richard Nyren, were John Small, sen., a shoe maker and musician, who is said to have pacified an angry bull in the middle of a paddock by playing on his violin. His cricket balls were celebrated for their excellence, and Mr. Budd bought the last half-dozen he ever made at a guinea a piece; he was the best batsman of his time.” [Page 574]

A Hampshire cricket team (pc4337)

Other useful historical resources relating to sport include the Hampshire Papers publication series, which cover cricket and football. In his work Association Football in Hampshire until 1914, Norman Gannaway explains how the first reference to football being played in Hampshire is in Vulgaria, a publication published in 1515 by Headmaster of Winchester College, William Horman.

After explaining the important contribution that public schools made to nineteenth-century football, Gannaway goes on to discuss Hampshire club football, where he confirms Fordingbridge Turks as being the oldest Hampshire football club in existence.

Hampshire Papers Publications

The Cope Collection also features the Sport in the South official directories, which date from the twentieth century. The publications feature strategic plans of the Sports Council, ‘Sport in the South’ award winners, lists of national sports centres in the southern region, and adult education sports opportunities.

Sport in the South official directories

As well as holding Hampshire sport histories and publications, we also hold an important visual record of sports teams and sports facilities. This can be found in the Peter Cook Postcard Collection, which contains over 3000 postcards of Southampton. These include images of cricket teams and bowling teams, and others showing the old Bowling Green. Examples can be seen at the beginning of this blog post, and below.

Sports facilities displayed include the Central Baths in Southampton, which were located in Harbour Road. Containing the Southampton Olympic Pool, competitors travelled from afar to use the 100 feet bath and diving tower with its various heights. Due to new regulatory standards, such as the need of a separate diving pool, the Central Baths were knocked down in 1964. The facility was replaced by what is now the Quays Swimming and Diving Complex.

Central Baths, Southampton (pc4345)

The postcard collection also features images of Southampton Football Club’s previous football ground, The Dell; and the Municipal Sports Centre in Bassett. The postcards provide a useful resource for studying the development of the city over time, and the leisure facilities provided.

Sports Centre, Southampton (pc4363)