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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.