BRODRICK FAMILY OF PEPER HAROW AND MIDLETON (CORK), VISCOUNTS MIDLETON: FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS OF THE 4TH AND 5TH VISCOUNTS

The majority of this collection comprises volumes of letters assembled and bound by the 8th Viscount; it is probable that the loose papers of the 5th Viscount were in the process of being assembled on the death of the 8th Viscount in 1907. Also included is an out letter book of 4th Viscount (-/16), which forms part of a series; other volumes in the series are in G145.

A volume of correspondence of the 3rd and 4th Viscounts relating to the Irish estates, 1751-1784, appears first in this list (-/13), followed by two volumes of correspondence of the 4th Viscount, 1767-1836 (-/14 and -/15), and a letter book, 1776-1782 (-/16), of the 4th Viscount, all relating the Irish estates; six volumes of letters from the Rev Charles Brodrick to his brother, the 4th Viscount, 1784-1824, are at -/17 to -/22, and three further volumes of letters of the 4th Viscount relating to the Irish estates, 1774-1882, are at -/23 to -/25. The two final volumes are letters to the 5th Viscount relating to the Irish estates, 1838-1845 (-/25), and letters to the 5th Viscount, chiefly from Augustus Welby Pugin, relating to building works at Peper Harow and Midleton (Co Cork).

George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton (1754-1836), was the eldest son and heir of George Brodrick, 3rd Viscount (1730-1765). He was educated at Eton and in 1772 was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge; in 1796 he was created Baron Brodrick of Peper Harow (the family's ancestral seat in Surrey) and served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey 1814-1830. His daughter, Harriet, married her first cousin, William John Brodrick, Dean of Exeter, who became the 7th Viscount. The 4th Viscount was succeeded by his eldest son George Alan, 5th Viscount Midleton (1806-1848).

The 4th Viscount's younger brother, the Hon Charles Brodrick (1761-1822), was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge. His active life in the church began in 1787 with his ordination in Cloyne, after which he was appointed Rector of Dingindonovan (or Dangan) and Prebendary of Killenemer, and briefly Prebendary of Donoughmore. In 1795, Brodrick was consecrated as Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh and translated to Bishop of Kilmore in 1796. He was appointed Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in 1801, a position he held until his death in 1822. From 1811 to 1820 he was also responsible for the administration of the Diocese and Province of Dublin due to the mental incapacity of Archbishop Cleaver.

There are no access restrictions.

Deposited by Viscount Midleton per Simon Meade in October 1976.

An item level description of the archive is available on the Surrey History Centre online catalogue

For further collections of records relating to the Viscounts Midleton, see 1248 (PART 1), 1627-1800 [1st Viscount Midleton (1656-1728) to 3rd Viscount Midleton (1730-1765)]; 1248 (PART 3), 1796-1933 [6th Viscount Midleton (1781-1863) to 9th Viscount Midleton and 1st Earl Midleton (1856-1942)]; and G145, 1400-1936, relating to estates in Peper Harow, Wandsworth and Ireland.

Other relevant collections are 1286 (correspondence of the Brodrick and Woodward families, 1828-1839) and 5295 (travel journals, engagement diaries and correspondence, 1842-1899).

Records of the Midleton estate office, 1750-1953, are also held in the National Archives of Ireland (their ref 978).

For a family tree from the children of Sir Thomas Brodrick (d.1641) to 1809, see Manning and Bray, History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey Vol II.

For the descent of the major Surrey estates, see M & B Vol II and HE Malden, ed., Victoria History of the County of Surrey Vol III (Peper Harow) and Vol IV (Wandsworth).

For the history of and heirs to the Midleton title, see GEC, Complete Peerage.

James S Donnelly, The Land and the People of Nineteenth Century Cork: the Rural Economy and the Land Question (London, 1975) includes much about the Irish estate in the 19th century.

Margaret Belcher, The Collected Letters of A W N Pugin volume 1, 1830-1842 (OUP, 2001), volume 2 (OUP, 2003) and volume 3, 1846-1848 (OUP, 2009).