Hansard family papers

Scope and Content

Hansard genealogies, 1730, 1809, 1838 and 1905; family title deeds, 1755-1912; wills and associated papers, 1733-1916; family bible and 'Hansardiana' collected by the Hansard Society and by J.H.Hansard; copies of ledger entries for insurance of Hansard properties, 1809 and 1821; account book for Hughes and Hansard, 1799; Hansard valuations and balances 1802-23; copy of memorandums on public printing, 1859; manuscript copy of the autobiography of Luke Hansard, originally written in 1817 (Published as The auto- biography of Luke Hansard, written in 1817 ed. R.Myers (Wakefield, 1991); two volumes containing approximately 120 autograph letters of Luke Hansard mainly addressed to his eldest granddaughter and god daughter, Eliza, 1817-28. Material for the children of Luke Hansard including an inventory of the furniture and effects of James Hansard (1781- c.1849), his second son, together with accounts relating to James' estate; diaries (five volumes) of Luke Graves Hansard (1783-1841), his third and youngest son (Edited as Luke Graves Hansard, his diary, 1814-1841. A case study in the reform of patronage ed. P. and G.Ford (Oxford, 1962), as well as a narrative account of the firm of Hansard, 1828-38, written by Luke Graves Hansard. Manuscript diary, 1844-51, of Luke Henry Hansard, the second, but first surviving, son of Luke Graves Hansard, and letters from George Hansard, fourth son of James Hansard, to his father; travel diary, journal, sketchbook, and other papers of Marion Sarah Simons, wife of Arthur Clifton Hansard; archives of the St George family, including the journal and diary of Colonel John St George and his wife, Frances, 1807-1853; diaries, memoirs and journals of their eldest son, General Sir John St George, 1812-91; the notebook of an artillery officer in the Crimea; and memoir, diary and journals of his son, 1862-1912. Copies of letters of Leopold Charles Hansard, 1912 and 1913, and typescript memoirs and biographical material relating to a New Zealand branch of the family, 1933 and 1959. Papers and correspondence of John Henry Hansard, from 1913 onwards.

Administrative / Biographical History

This collection of Hansard family papers has been brought together from a number of sources. Of the earlier members of the Hansard family probably the two best known are Luke Hansard (1752-1828) and his eldest son, Thomas Curson Hansard (1776-1833), who were both printers, and the collection contains much to document parliamentary printing.

Access Information

The Special Collections Division is available for anyone to use, regardless of whether you are attached to an academic institution. Access to the Archives and Manuscripts and Rare Books reading room, however, is by prior appointment to access the manuscript material. See our website for more details.

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