The Verney archive
Verney (Family)
Category
Archive Collections
Date
1260 - 1920
Materials
Collection
Claydon House, Buckinghamshire
NT 1446666
Summary
The Verney archive. Estate papers, legal, business and financial papers, correspondence and personal papers. The Verney papers comprise the Verney letters and the records of the Verney estate. The Verney letters, dating from the 17th and 18th century are recognised as one of the most significant series of personal correspondence in the world. They consist largely of the correspondence of Sir Ralph Verney, who seems to have kept every letter ever written to him, and some drafts of his answers as well. The letters provide a fascinating insight into the social and political climate of the day, especially during the Civil War, when Sir Ralph and his father, Sir Edmund, the King’s Standard Bearer, found themselves on opposing sides. There is no catalogue of the Verney letters, but many of them were published in Memoirs of the Verney Family edited by Parthenope Lady Verney and Margaret Lady Verney. Microfilms of the letters are available at the British Library, the Bodleian Library and the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies in Aylesbury; and also at Yale University. The records of the Verney estate include deeds, maps, rentals, estate correspondence, recipe books, drawings, personal papers and other documents one would expect a country house and its occupants to produce.
Makers and roles
Verney (Family) , creator