The papers largely relate to property in Kilham (including manorial records); it is a collection rich in maps and plans, though there is also a small amount of interesting family correspondence as well as eighteenth-century business records. In addition there are nineteenth-century papers of the Reverend Robert Rigby, vicar of St Mary's church in Beverley.
Property papers are catalogued in the following sections: Bellasize parish of Eastrington (1804-1806); Beverley (1803-1806); Blacktoft (1804-1806); Burniston, North Riding (1649-1687, 1746, 1832); Cherry Burton (1787, 1824); Cloughton, North Riding (1700-1768) being papers relating to tithes of the rectory; Cowden (1821-1839) including the will of Elizabeth Williamson (1821); Drewton (1727-1820) including the will of Robert Blanshard; Gransmoor parish of Burton Agnes (1785-1838) including a plan of the estate of William St Quintin in 1785, tenancy agreements and papers about vicarial tithes in the early 19th century; Hunsley, Little Weighton and Riplingham (1759-1837) including the will of Thomas Duesbery (1837), a volume of papers about enclosure 1793-1803, an 1802 plan of land in Swanland, 18th century valuations of Rowley, Hunsley and Riplingham tithes, some average prices of wheat 1780-1801, some 18th century legal correspondence and accounts, 18th century land tax assessment accounts, an 1800 sketch plan of the parish of Rowley and some valuations of the property of Thomas Duesbery; Myton (1651, 1825); North Ferriby (1737-1812) including 18th century papers about tithes, some papers of the Coltman family and the wills of Thomas Wakefield (1785) and Jane Wakefield (1787); Scalby, parish of Blacktoft (1804-1806); Scalby, North Riding (1731-1801) including tithe accounts and valuations of the property of Catherine Younge in the 1790s; Scarborough (1718-1832) including papers of the family of Catherine Hudson (Duesbery) and the will of William Robinson (1750); Staintondale, North Riding (1839-1884) being 16 plans of farms, estates and waste moorland largely 1868-9.
Papers for Kilham (1543-1876) are considerable and they include the medieval descent of title from Archbishop William Melton in 1335, the 1633 sale of the manor and manor house by Lord Darcy, the descent of title in the Sykes family and Duesbery purchase documents of 1814 and 1816, an abstract of the title of the manor 1633-1814, a plan of Thomas Duesbery's lands in 1813 and a valuation of his manor and estate in 1825, the Kilham enclosure act of 1771 as well as related papers and enclosure awards, copies of the wills of William Saville (1691), Thomas Rokeby (1697), John Smithson (1698), Christopher Smithson (1702), Eleanor Smithson (1711), Mary Mawd (1719), Phatnell Foord (1723), William Iveson (1725), John Iveson (1725), John Rickard (1725), Robert Simpson (1739), David Sinclair (1756), John Sinclair (1762), Christopher Bainton (1760), Robert Simpson (1768), Richard Thompson (1794) and Richard Hopper (1825; and a plan of his estate dated 1829), 18th century marriage, burial and baptism certificates of the Conyers, Outram, Smithson, Owston, Yates and Watson families, an 1815 copy of the 1729 plan of Kilham township by George Philliskirk, land tax assessments, early 19th century accounts for bookbinding carried out by M Turner and Matthew Sever of Beverley, accounts relating to the tolls at Kilham fair 1814-16, tenancy agreements and farming receipts and vouchers as well as day books for 1814-15 and vouchers for estate building work, fencing, household fittings, tolls, fairs and rents and an 1872 plan of Grange Farm. For the manor of Kilham (1530-1867) there are jury papers 1703-1813 and 1856-1863, 18th century estreats, two rolls of pains 1620-1734, 21 pains 1793-1811, call rolls 1704-1866 (intermittent) and some miscellaneous papers.
An accounts section in U DDDU largely comprises the 18th century business and personal accounts of the Duesbery family and includes the day book of Robert Duesbery 1757-1777 and his bank accounts, an account for a post-chaise, an account for jewellery and the funeral accounts of William Duesbery from 1776.
Correspondence (1763-1821) in the collection largely comprises letters to and from Robert Duesbery (including one of 1774 from the Marquis of Granby) and his son, Robert Duesbery junior, and daughter, Catherine Duesbery (Langwith, and later Younge). A few letters of Robert Duesbery junior to his sister from London and St Petersburg in the 1770s where he acted as an agent in the family business. There are also a few letters to Thomas Duesbery of Leeds, London and Beverley, including six in the 1780s from Catherine Younge. These all contain news of family and estates in Scarborough and surrounds.
Various deeds and documents (1733-1885) in U DDDU include Duesbery family awards and entitlements, a schedule of the title deeds of Robert Duesbery 1636-1778 and acknowledgement of receipt of them by Catherine Younge in 1790, an 1837 copy of 'The Scarborough Herald and General Advertiser', an original bundle of papers relating to Duesbery family investment in a ship called the 'Thomas and Hannah' in the 1730s and 1740s, an original bundle of papers in the Chancery case of Pearce -v- Edmeades 1841-1885, an original bundle of papers relating to the affairs of Catherine Duesbery (Langwith, later Younge) which includes papers about the partnership of her brother, Robert Duesbery, with Hugh Atkins in London as merchant traders with Russia in the 1760s, the marriage settlement of Catherine Langwith nee Duesbery with Robert Younge (1782) and the proposals for their separation in 1786, the will of Catherine Younge (1796) and various accounts relating to the settlement of her estates as well as miscellaneous accounts including those for the funeral of Robert Duesbery junior.
Papers catalogued as 'various townships' (1758-1846) include some 18th century papers of the Preston family of York and Cambridge and 1846 surveys and rentals of the estates of William Duesbery Thornton Duesbery. A section of wills (1735-1875) comprises those of Robert Thompson (1735), D'Arcy Preston (1748), William Northend (1765), Robert Duesbery junior (1772), Robert Duesbery senior (1775), Catherine Younge (1796), Thomas Duesbery (1837), William Duesbery Thornton Duesbery (1875).
The section of wills in the collection also contains an original bundle relating to the affairs of the Reverend Robert Rigby, vicar of St Mary's in Beverley, and his family. The papers here include a copy of his will (1818) with probate granted in 1823, his private accounts in the early 1820s including his household accounts, burial fees received, and donations to various charities and the poor, as well as 18th century papers relating to tithes, the rebuilding of the vicarage of St Mary's and administration of local personal charities including those for alms houses and educational charities in both Beverley and Bishop Burton. There is a little bit of correspondence relating to local church affairs as well as inventories and memoranda about church incomes (see entry in religious archives).