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The collection comprises diaries of William Hugh Burgess, a fifteen-year old boy from a family of Huguenot descent, who lived in Marylebone in the late eighteenth-century. They are rare examples of historical diaries written by a child.

In what became part of his daily routine from January 1788 until October 1790, William wrote about himself and his everyday life, simply recording what he did and what he saw.

Records of Major Sir William Henry Champness, comprising journals recording his years as undersheriff and sheriff of the City of London, 1928-1938, autobiographical notes, 1873-1925 and personal diaries, 1926-1938.

Papers of Richard Clark, Lord Mayor of London, comprising diaries, agendas, invitations, memoranda and other papers relating to the year of his mayoralty, 1784-85.

Diaries of Frederic Sydenham Clarke, employee of the Borneo Company. The entries are mostly accounts of social activities and of letters received from family and friends in England. There are very few references to his work.

Records of the Codd family, including journal/diary of Harrison Gordon Codd, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, 1824-40, recording his involvement in society and government, giving for example, his thoughts on the Poor Law Enquiry 1832, and his friendship with Nassau Senior, and details of family life and events (including a list of his children and their dates of birth on page one); journal/diary of Sophy Shirley Codd, daughter of Harrison Gordon Codd, 1835-36, giving details of daily employment (reading, writing, drawing, singing) and places visited (including Regent's Park Zoological Gardens and several picture exhibitions), and describing the death of her sister, Emma; and journal/diary of Frances Anne Codd, daughter of Harrison Gordon Codd, 1840-1879, recording her daily routine but placing emphasis on visits and outings, including pressed flowers and numerous prints of places visited. Also some Codd family papers including obituaries, correspondence, photographs, event programmes and family history.

Diaries of Charles Frederick de Coetlogon, covering the years 1817, 1818, 1822, 1823, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1831, 1832, 1833-34 in part, and 1835. They are pocket sized and contain miscellaneous printed information. Each double page is divided into journal and account sections, and de Coetlogon meticulously records his personal accounts in the latter. His income is drawn from annuities and he constantly rebukes himself for living beyond his means. The accounts present a detailed picture of the price of food (fish sauce @ 2/-), domestic items (pins @ 3d.), servant's wages (£14. 14s. per annum), entertainment (opera ticket @ 8s. 6d.), and incidental expenses (hair cutting @ 1s. 6d.).

Personal papers of painter Andrew Brown Donaldson and his wife Agnes Emily Twining. The main series comprises diaries written jointly by Andrew and Agnes Donaldson. They start on the day of their wedding in June 1872, and end with Andrew's death in 1919, Agnes having died in 1918. The diaries provide a fascinating insight into middle class life in Victorian and Edwardian London, being mainly concerned with domestic matters, with occasional references to external events such as the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, and World War One.

The plays and poems appear mainly to have been written by Donaldson for his children. Many of the plays were performed by the family during Christmas and new year festivities.

The collection also contains a small amount of material relating to the Donaldson's third child, Leonard. He pursued a career in the Royal Navy and was ultimately made an admiral.

Records of Arthur William Dunk, Boer War soldier in the City Imperial Volunteers, comprising official papers; letters and postcards written home during his service; notebooks providing itinerary of travels in South Africa; and menu cards and programmes for dinners of the City Imperial Volunteers Old Comrades Association.

Diary of actor John Pritt Harley, 1858.

Diaries of Anthony Heap, 1928-1985. The intention of the diarist does not seem to have been to record all the details of his life nor of the world around him. Some major world events are noted, and it is possible to derive some idea of life in London during the Second World War though not of the progress of that war. He recorded the deaths of statesmen and of people connected with the theatre of whom he wrote brief obituaries. He also recorded strikes and similar national events. From the 1960s the increasing cost of living receives frequent comment. Local and national elections are noted.

On the personal side the events which the diarist recorded, apart from reviews of performances and books, fall into a few main categories. He recorded expenditure and savings; his physical ailments (including the near-fatal attack of peritonitis which led to him being in hospital at the outbreak of war and which, with a later rupture, rendered him unfit for military service); the scouting and outdoor activities which he pursued as a youth and young man; his friendships, both male and (far fewer) female, and his family; and the weather.

From 1937 (Acc 2243/10) the diaries are kept in bound notebooks which the diarist paginated. The diarist recorded his attempts to secure a supply of these. The first diary is a pocket diary (Acc 2243/1) issued by Henekys Ltd., wine merchants, and the Sound and third (Acc 2243/2-3) Boy Scouts pocket diaries. Those for 1931-1932 are bound notebooks (Acc 2243/4-5) and those for 1933-1936 (Acc 2243/6-9) are Letts's office desk diaries. The first and second diaries are written in pencil, the third in ink, and the fourth and fifth in ink and indelible pencil. All the others are in ink. Every diary has been covered in brown paper by the diarist. All are in very good condition. There is evidence that the diarist corrected some entries throughout (usually spelling) but it is not known when.

This exceptionally interesting collection consists of the archives of a London business family, the Howards, and their relations by marriage, the Eliots. The family were based in London, with homes in the City and various places round about, but they also had property and connections in several other parts of England.

The chief interest of the collection is in its quality as the personal record of a group of prosperous manufacturing and merchant families who were members of the Society of Friends. The Eliots were merchants and their account books, which cover both business and private expenses, together with letters and memoranda, reflect a picture of "City" life in the Eighteenth century. They attended the Change, Lloyd's and Child's and Jonathan's and other Coffee Houses, and dealt with a variety of business including trade overseas in cotton and duck cloth and Cornish tin and invested in "a voyage to Lima" and other merchant shipping ventures (including that of the Tuscany, unfortunately "Taken by the French and carried into Marseilles" in 1757). (See especially numbers 905, 928, 929, 944, etc.).

There is interesting material relating to John Eliot's estates supplemented by John Eliot's letters (e.g. Numbers 988-1011), which also mention a "good season" for pilchards, the decline of the docks at Topsham, the appropriation by the Government of some sugar pans near Exeter to use for French prisoners, etc. John's sister Mariabella also purchased in 1765 Pickhurst Farm, Hayes, Kent (Nos. 376-475).

There are amongst this collection a few letters and papers of later Howards, including an interesting pocket diary in which Samuel Lloyd Howard, grandson of Luke, jotted (unfortunately rather roughly in pencil) memoranda and sketches of impressions of his visit to America in 1854 (No. 1618). At sea his ship rescued the crew of the Hannay of Whitehaven, loaded with salt and flying a distress signal-"lay to and took all off, boy, baggage, chronometer, barometers and all".

At all periods the family kept in close touch with their relations in all parts of the country, including the Hows of Aspley, Bedfordshire, the Paces of Westmorland and London, the Leathams of Yorkshire as well as with fellow Quakers. This gives the collection a national rather than a local interest-indeed the family were not primarily associated with any one locality.

A curious document amongst the collection is a receipt dated 1824 for 8. 15s from R. Smith for freeing Hamma Fie, slave to Bentoo Demba, and signed with the mark of Madeba, Alcaide of "Birkow" (No. 1617/p.12). The Society of Friends Committee for African Instruction supported some missions, and Richard Smith, a friend of Luke Howard, was in Africa in the 1820's.

Quaker marriage certificates, of which there are several examples (eg. Nos. 117, 565, 1273, 1274, etc) give full details of both parties and are signed by members of the Meeting as witnesses. Birth certificates (e.g., Nos. 1275-1286, 1390-1393) give the date of birth and name, and were signed by witnesses to the baby's birth. The Society of Friends was in advance of both the State and established Church in respect of such documentation.

Two diaries of the Reverend C Wilfred Howard.

Records of the Legge family, earls of Dartmouth, including letters to the Countess of Dartmouth (Lady Frances Legg?) from her children and family members, 1809-1836; letters from Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, and her household, 1828-1856 (Lady Caroline Legg was lady-in-waiting to the Duchess); general family letters, 1820-1856; diaries and travel diaries (Italy and Germany) of Lady Caroline Legg, 1815-1836; papers of Lt Col Edward Legge including correspondence, travel diaries (Switzerland, Crimea, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Germany, France, Italy), 1853-1877; military notes, army diary and papers concerning service in the Coldstream Guards, 1855-1875, note books and memoranda books, undated; papers taken from Afghan commander Ayub Khan's camp at Kandahar, 1880.

The collection also includes notes on the history of the Legge family, some letters and scrap-books relating to other members of the family; and other papers relating to Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, including letters to her from Queen Victoria, Leopold King of the Belgians, and the Duke of Wellington, 1839-1841.

Records of William Mawhood, woollen draper, comprising: diaries, 1764-90; cash account and note book, 1771-2; estate, legal and family papers, 1606, 1709-96; and letters and other papers relating to the diaries, 1875-1910.

Personal diaries of Stephen Monteage, accountant, 1733-1764.

Records of Mark Noble, pump and fire engine manufacturer, comprising a diary and the donor's transcript and notes. The diary is unsigned, but the donor has identified the author from a patent mentioned in the text and from records at The National Archives relating to the activities described. The entries are mostly accounts of travel and meetings in London, Kent and Berkshire to arrange finance, materials and trials of a pump, with little technical or personal content.

Personal papers of Robert W Ramsey, including diaries (some with glued in event programmes, invitations and newspaper cuttings); commonplace books and household financial accounts; articles by Ramsey on historical and literary subjects; poems and sketches; Ramsey family pedigree, 1688-1904; research on the Cromwell family; and general correspondence.

This collection consists of the diaries of two members of the Scott Turner family, the widow of Major Henry Scott Turner and her youngest son Cecil. Mrs. Turner's diaries cover the years 1885 to 1888 and record social engagements, domestic incidents and local events. Her daily routine is highlighted by visits, walks and outings to church, parties, and occasionally the theatre. She mentions friends and neighbours by name. The activities of her sons are prominent, but she appears to reserve her deepest affection for Cecil, her youngest. She rarely records her innermost feelings in the diaries, and allows her sons to write up entries. In the first diary she writes "End of 1885 which has had its troubles-tho' they may not be recorded here" (ACC/1385/001a). Events of national interest are only noted in passing, for example the Queen's jubilee celebrations in 1887 and the death of the German Emperor on 9 March 1888. The diaries provide a glimpse into the day to day existence, at times dull and humdrum, of a middle class woman of the late Victorian era.

After an education at Rugby and Oxford, Cecil Turner became a solicitor in London where his uncle Harcourt was a partner in the firm of M and H Turner, 22 Sackville Street, Piccadilly (ref. Law list, 1889). A letter dated 1911 found in one of the diaries is addressed to M C S Turner Esquire, 199, Piccadilly (ACC/1385/039, 31 December). For the most part Cecil only mentions his work briefly, with an occasional reference to a law suit or other business. His diaries are a record of his daily activities for 59 years, from the age of 27 to that of 85. They contain accounts of social engagements, particularly outings to the theatre and art galleries, visits to and from friends and relations, the state of the weather, his health, and domestic incidents. He made many visits, both at home and abroad, including voyages to South Africa where his soldier brother Henry was killed in 1899. He had many friends among the gentry and spent holidays shooting, walking and bicycling and attended country house parties. In his later years he became a convert to the Roman Catholic faith and his diaries reflect the great comfort he gained from this. As the years pass he is increasingly reminded of mortality and, with the death of his sister-in-law Dora in 1946, he is the last member of his immediate family left alive. Although the diaries comment on outside events, such as the progress of the two world wars, they are essentially the personal record of a professional gentleman, reflecting the minutiae of middle-class life in a rapidly changing world.

Papers collected by the antiquary George Scott. As well as catalogues of Scott's library (and many printed books) the collection includes George Scott's financial accounts; extracts from forest laws; abstracts of Treasury accounts; register of Queen Elizabeth I's out-letters; orders relating to the Cinque Ports; and a book of prescriptions. Also a diary of scientist Robert Hooke, 1671-1683. Please note this diary is available only with advance notice and at the discretion of the Assistant Director (Heritage).

Personal diaries of John Thornton, merchant and member of the Clapham Sect. One journal has entries only on Sundays and records religious thoughts; while the others provide a record of daily events (including business, charitable activities and social events) interspersed with religious musings. Also drawing of the coat of arms of Lord Slane, described as an ancestor of the Thorntons.

The Sandhurst examination marks from 1913 (ACC/2360/005) appear to have no connection with the journals and the coat of arms.

Personal papers of Reverend Charles John Todd, navy chaplain, comprising certificates of ordination as a deacon and priest, 1878-79; commission as a Navy chaplain, 1881; letters written home from Navy ships from Zanzibar, Suez, Sudan, India, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], and Japan; diaries and notebooks describing hunting expeditions in Ceylon and East Africa; diary of a diplomatic mission to King John of Abyssinia [Ethiopia], 1884; newspaper cuttings; photographs of Todd; and a description of Todd's Navy service, 1976.

Personal papers of James Barr, employee of Trumans Ltd, including Transport and General Workers Union cards and papers, Truman's Sports Club rules and fixture lists, and papers relating to the company including redundancy scheme, annual excursions, regulations and agreements, 1939-1989; handbooks, programmes, rules, fixture lists and posters for the London Breweries Amateur Sports Association and the Highgate Harriers Athletic Club, 1951-1979; issues of company publications including 'The Black Eagle', the 'Truman Times', '1666', 'Truman News', 'Truman Topics', 'Watney Truman News' and 'Stag and Eagle' (Watney Combe Reid publication), 1948-1989; annual reports and pension scheme information, 1977-1989; and issues of 'The Master Brewer' and 'The National Brewery Museum Chronicle', 1968-1986.

Photocopies of the diaries of Elizabeth Tyrrell (1769-1835) and of her daughter Elizabeth (b 1802). Also photocopy of a Tyrell family pedigree spanning 1545 to the 20th century.

Records of the West family. This collection comprises papers, 1811-1911, many dating from the 1840s to the 1870s, including material relating to cotton presses, engines, pumps, etc, 1816-1891; printed reports of West's Patent Press Company Ltd, 1873-1911; papers, 1824-1870, largely relating to domestic and manufacturing premises in St Pancras, including notices of railway companies relating to intended lines; correspondence and various other family papers (accounts, bills, diaries, notes, drawings, probate papers, etc), 1811-1878, including material relating to voyages and time spent in India (including Bombay) by family members, also including material relating to the estate of Robert Stephen Kitson, and material relating to attendance of family members at King's College School, King's College London, and London University; letters patent and specification for improvements in working railway signals, 1863; bundle of letters from Mr W Notter (box-office keeper in Covent Garden), 1825-1839, 1853-1855.

Records of John Whitwell, general merchant, comprising account books, 1815-22; memorandum books, 1819-20; letterbooks, 1817-1818 and 1821-1823; business diary, 1821-1822 and correspondence with business associates and family, 1819-1829.

Diaries of Herbert M Willmott, covering his work in India, 1921-1923; his retirement including travels in France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Germany, Belgium and Austria, 1923-1939; and life in war-time Kensington, 1939-1947.

Records of the Wolley family of Clifton, Bristol, including diaries and notebooks of Thomas Lamplugh Wolley, including account of travels in Europe visiting Germany, Belgium, France and Italy, and account of military service; family letters; financial accounts; and genealogical notes.