Showing 10 results

Papers of Sir William Sidney Smith, consisting of loose letters and notes written between 1790 and 1840 by many of the important naval figures of the day. There are notes on his experiences as a prisoner of the French, a number of letters relating to the Mediterranean, 1799 and some to his brother John Spencer Smith, who was Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople, 1798 to 1801. Finally there are many letters received by Smith during his retirement abroad.

General Records: This group contains a large vellum-bound volume of Spanish diplomatic papers, mainly dating between 1603 and 1672, but with a section dealing with the Armada, 1587 to 1588; two English documents relating to the expedition to Cadiz, 1596; an enquiry into the loss of ships in the convoy guarded by Sir George Rooke (1650-1709) and the Streights Squadron, 1693; a gathering of Italian papers relating to the capitulation of Malta, 1799 to 1807. There are also a number of items relating to Lord Nelson and his family, 1805 to 1845. (PHB/: PHB/P: 2 vols: 3 items) Merchant Shipping Records: relating to merchant shipping, including the journal of the Blackham on a voyage to Constantinople, 1696 to 1698; the log of H.E.I.C.S. Ceres, 1743 to 1745; of H.E.I.C.S. Wager, 1745 to 1746; and an account in verse of H.E.I.C.S. Ceres, 1812 to 1814, on a voyage to China. There is also a memorial of 1774 by a Harwich pilot to the Treasury, seeking to establish an excise cutter there. Among the documents are Bills of Sale, 1651, 1695, 1775; Letters of Marque, 1780, 1799. (PHB/: PLA/P: 4 vols: 12 items) Royal Navy: Administration: This group consists of nineteen volumes and four documents relating to the administration of the Navy. It includes the naval accounts from 1422 to 1427 of William Soper (fl.1410-1459), Clerk of the King¹s ships; a list of ships' stores 'wasted' in the Prymrose after the Rochelle expedition, 1573; a volume of the records collected by Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631), the antiquarian and collector, containing summaries of papers on naval matters and defence from the time of Henry III to Elizabeth I; a copy, dated 1638, of the first 'Discourse of the Navy of England' by John Hollond (fl 1624-1659); regulations for the Ordnance Office, 1683; an account, written by a clerk, of the dispute between Samuel Pepys and Colonel Middleton (d 1672) about the importation of cottons and kerseys, 1667 to 1668; two lists of official documents transferred by Pepys to his successor on leaving the Admiralty, 1689; two volumes of Navy Board orders to Deptford and Woolwich dockyards, 1644 to 1722; and eleven volumes of papers, bound by Phillipps in no particular order, relating to general administrative matters, including sea-men's pay, 1711 to 1790; however, among these papers are three letters from Vice-Admiral Benbow (1653-1702) written from Jamaica, 1699. Finally, there are a number of lists; of Admiralty Commissioners, 1673 to 1782; of ships, 1625 to 1636, 1705, 1706 to 1745, and of foreign navies, 1755 to 1778 (PLA/: PLA/P: 2 1/2ft: 76cm) Royal Navy: Law and Prize Money: This group consists of a volume, 1658 to 1673, containing a collection of sentences and decrees made at the Court of Admiralty; a volume of 1685 chiefly concerning the powers and rights of the Lord High Admiral, with an abstract of the judgements of Oleron, translated from the French; a further seventeenth-century volume concerning maritime customs and law from the time of Henry III; a French treatise of maritime law, 1690; a volume containing bound letters from senior naval officers expressing their opinion on the prize money dispute between Lord Nelson (q.v.) and Lord St Vincent (q.v.), 1801 to 1802; vindication of the conduct of Surgeon D.T. McCarthy, court-martialled 2 lines 1 field in 1804.

Papers of Sir William Henry May, comprising logs, 1864 to 1873 and, for the Nares Expedition, there is a detailed weather log, a personal journal, a sledging journal and some bills of plays performed in the ALERT during the Arctic winter. There are also reports on torpedoes, 1884; the international situation, 1908 to 1909 and 1914; naval manoeuvres, 1912 to 1913; the Dardanelles Commission, 1916 to 1917 and on Reconstruction and other post-war problems, 1919.

Papers of Adml Samuel Hood consisting of twenty-one official letterbooks, 1767 to 1794, and some five hundred loose letters, 1771 to 1815. Among Hood's correspondents were George III, 1778, 1782; Sir George Rodney (1719-1792), 1781 to 1782; Prince William Henry, 1786 to 1787; Lord Howe (q.v.), 1787; Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (q.v.), 1794; and Lord Nelson (q.v.), 1794. There are also a collection of charts of the Mediterranean, drawn between 1760 and 1761, and some papers relating to diplomatic affairs, 1793 to 1794, and to Hood's appointment as Governor of Greenwich Hospital. In the collection of Hood family papers presented by Commander Mackinnon in 1952 and Mrs Mackinnon in 1968, there are some private letters from Hood to Lord Bridport (q.v.), 1779 to 1802, and one from Hood to his sister after the battle of the Saints.

Papers of Sir Charles Boyles comprising an out-letterbook, 1810 to 1811, and copies of letters to the Sicilian court, 1811.

Papers of Adml Edward Hawker. They consist of logs covering Hawker's service afloat, two order books for the BELLEROPHON and BRITANNIA and a notebook of vessels captured 1805 to 1806. There is also a letterbook of his father, Captain James Hawker, kept during his command of the IRIS, 1779 to 1781, on the North America and West Indies Station.

Papers of Sir Graham Eden Hamond, including three diaries, 1834 to 1838, and about one hundred letters, most of which are letters received by Hamond and copies or drafts of his replies during his period on the South American Station. There are a few earlier and later letters but all are from the year 1819 onwards, except for copies of two letters written by his father. His correspondents included Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) and Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville (q.v.).

Papers of Sir William Hamilton, including a series of one hundred and fifty-five letters received by Hamilton between 1791 and 1800 and a series of sixty letters from Hamilton to Sir John Acton (1736-1811), Prime Minister of Naples, written between 1795 and 1800, was Hamilton's correspondents include Earl St Vincent (q.v.), Viscount Hood (q.v.), John Hampden-Trevor (1749-1824), British Minister at Turin, Lord Macartney (1737-1806) and the Marquis di Gallo, Secretary of State at Naples. There are also drafts of some of Hamilton's replies.

Papers of Sir William Wordsworth Fisher. This small collection of memoranda and letters, 1912 to 1936, consists of Fisher's ideas and opinions on policy rather than of material closely related to his career. The subjects covered include First World War operations, antisubmarine warfare, the Disarmament Conference, 1929 to 1930, comments on Invergordon, 1931, and papers concerning relations with Egypt and the Fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1919 to 1922, and in 1936.

Papers of the Elliot family including:

Papers of Lord Gilbert Elliot, 1st Earl of Minto, comprising sixty-two volumes and covering the official correspondence of Lord Minto when he was Commissioner at Toulon and Viceroy of Corsica. In addition, there is an account of the attack and defence of Toulon, 1793, a journal for March 1794, a few loose papers and some correspondence between Elliot, Nelson and Lady Hamilton.

Papers of Lord Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Earl of Minto consisting of correspondence and papers covering the period when he was First Lord of the Admiralty. There are forty volumes of in-letters and some draft replies in his own hand including the letters from commanders connected with the events of the Carlist war, 1836 to 1841. There are also loose papers which consist of reports and memoranda and correspondence on a wide variety of naval topics. Further naval papers of the 2nd Earl form part of the Minto collection in the National Library of Scotland.

Papers of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet, content is mainly official and consists of account rolls of the Treasurer of the Chambers, 1762 to 1770, and an account made as Treasurer of the Navy, 1776 to 1777. There are some miscellaneous papers and a few letters, some personal and some official, relating to the settlement of Elliot's naval accounts. There are other papers relating to Elliot as Treasurer of the Navy and as Lord of the Admiralty in the National Library of Scotland.

Papers of George Eliott, consisting of three cases of orders and letters relating mainly to the siege of Gibraltar.

Papers of of Hugh Elliot consisting of diplomatic correspondence, 1803 to 1806, and contain sixty-two letters from Nelson (q.v.), together with drafts and copies of Elliot's replies and correspondence with Admiral Collingwood (q.v.). There are also intelligence reports and other material which throw light on the diplomacy of the Neapolitan Court.

Papers of Adm John Elliot, consisting only of one volume, containing a biographical note and seventy-two letters sent mostly by Elliot to his father or brother, 1745 to 1805. There are also letters received, including some from Lords Sandwich (q. v.) and Barham (q.v.). Also included is a description by Captain Erasmus Gower (q.v.) of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China in 1793 and another of the First of June, 1794.

Three logs kept by Willaim Elliot between 1803 and 1810.

Papers of Sir Barry Edward Domvile, consiting mainly of a series of detailed diaries extending from 1892 almost until Domvile's death. There is also a collection of paper cuttings and photographs relating to the Greenwich Pageant of 1933 and to Anglo-German relations.