IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0103 BROUGHAM WB
Held at: University College London
Title: Brougham Papers: William Brougham, 2nd Baron Brougham and Vaux, correspondence and papers
Date(s): 1813-1886
Level of description: sub-fonds
Extent: 119 boxes
Name of creator(s): Brougham | William | 1795-1886 | 2nd Baron Brougham and Vaux
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Born, son of Henry Brougham and Eleanor (née Syme), 1795; a member of the Brougham family of Brougham Hall, Westmorland; educated at Jesus College, Cambridge; BA, 1819; involved with the activities of his brother Henry, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, and partly responsible for his local political affairs; MP for Southwark, 1831-1835; took over the management of the Brougham estate, previously managed by his brother James, 1833; married Emily Frances Taylor, 1834; three sons, three daughters; a master in Chancery, 1835-1852; succeeded to his brother Henry's title, as 2nd Baron Brougham and Vaux, 1868; died, 1886.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Correspondence and papers of William Brougham, 2nd Baron Brougham and Vaux, dating from the 1810s to the 1880s. A large series of c10,000 letters to William Brougham from c1,500 organisations and individuals outside the Brougham family, among them aristocrats, including members of the Edwardes family, Barons Kensington, and of the Lowther family, Earls of Lonsdale; churchmen; and some political figures. A series of letters to William from his brother Henry, 1813-1860 and undated, on wide-ranging subjects, among them family finances and property, including Henry's property at Cannes; personal news of relations and acquaintances and their health; William's early studies and Henry's career; political news; and their activities, whereabouts and travels. Miscellaneous letters from William, and a few other personal items. The correspondence reflects William's main focus as a country gentlemen rather than a major political figure, and about half, relating to his management of the Brougham estate, deals with his administration and improvements at Brougham Hall and its grounds between the 1830s and the 1860s, and with local concerns and organisations in Penrith, Westmorland and Cumberland, such as the Eden Valley Railway, the volunteer defence movement, the police force and the magistracy, also reflecting his interest in the archaeology of the district and touching upon his other interests including charitable and educational organisations, such as Eton school, and various railway companies and mining companies. Family correspondence, comprising letters to William from his mother Eleanor, his wife Emily and their children, his brother John Waugh Brougham, and other family members; letters from William to Emily; and copy letters from William to family members. Diaries, comprising his student's journal, Nov 1816-1817; diaries covering travel in Italy and Sicily, Aug-Sep 1827; travel in Germany, Aug-Oct 1835; brief entries on family and the weather, Apr-Dec 1836; travel in Germany and Switzerland, Jul-Sep 1837; and entries on family, the weather, and occasional political references, Jan 1837-Aug 1840, Mar 1844-Jun 1870, Aug 1871-Jul 1873, Aug 1874-Dec 1875, Mar-Nov 1877. Various personal papers on financial matters, accounts and investments; legal affairs; domestic matters, the Hall and chapel, including its triptych, and the estate; medical matters; parliamentary affairs; local affairs and people; Westmorland elections; and other subjects. Papers of William Brougham relating to his brother Henry's publications and memoirs.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Correspondence comprises non-family letters to William, arranged alphabetically by correspondent (90 boxes), with further miscellaneous or unidentified letters and other papers (2 boxes); letters to William from his brother Henry (9 boxes); letters from William (2 boxes); family letters, arranged by correspondent (10 boxes). Diaries are arranged by date (2 boxes). Personal papers comprise files largely arranged alphabetically by subject (3 boxes) and papers relating to Henry Brougham's publications and memoirs (1 box).
Conditions governing access:
Open.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Normal copyright restrictions apply.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
For non-family letters to William there is an outline handlist of correspondents arranged alphabetically by writer, giving names but not dates, quantity or subjects of letters, in draft at University College London Special Collections, available online at http://www.a2a.pro.gov.uk. Each letter to William from Henry Brougham is separately indexed in the Brougham card index at UCL, with a note of date and summary of content. Letters from William are uncatalogued. The diaries are listed at volume level. Family letters to William and some personal papers are listed at box or file level.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Part of the Brougham Papers.
Immediate source of acquisition:
Received by University College London with the other Brougham Papers in 1953.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
Other sub-fonds of the Brougham Papers at University College London Special Collections contain letters from William, to his brother Henry (in the numerical sequence of Henry Brougham's in-correspondence), to his brother James (Ref: BROUGHAM J), and to James Atkinson (Ref: BROUGHAM A); and letters to William from James Brougham (Ref: BROUGHAM J) and John Waugh Brougham (Ref: BROUGHAM JW). The sub-fonds family and estate papers contains further information on the family estates and local affairs. UCL also holds papers of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, which include six letters from William Brougham, 1842-1843 (Ref: SDUK); copies of his letters to Charles Babbage (Ref: MS ADD 292); letters relating to University College London, 1826-1828 (Ref: COLLEGE CORRESPONDENCE). British Library, Manuscript Collections, holds William Brougham's correspondence with W E Gladstone, 1864-1884 (Ref: Add MSS 44403-88 passim); letters to Sir John Archibald Murray, 1858 (Ref: Add MS 40687). Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Palace Green Section, holds 13 letters, 1865-1871, to Henry George, 3rd Earl Grey (Ref: Grey of Howick collection). National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division, holds eight letters from Anthony Trollope and 38 letters from John Blackwood, 1870-1871 (Ref: MS 9817).
British Library, Manuscript Collections, holds William Brougham's correspondence with W E Gladstone, 1864-1884 (Ref: Add MSS 44403-88 passim); letters to Sir John Archibald Murray, 1858 (Ref: Add MS 40687). Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Palace Green Section, holds 13 letters, 1865-1871, to Henry George, 3rd Earl Grey (Ref: Grey of Howick collection). National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division, holds eight letters from Anthony Trollope and 38 letters from John Blackwood, 1870-1871 (Ref: MS 9817).
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Sources: Dictionary of National Biography (entry for Henry Brougham, Baron Brougham and Vaux); The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 1826-1848: a handlist of the Society's correspondence and papers, compiled by Janet Percival (London, 1978); National Register of Archives. Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.
Date(s) of descriptions: May 2001