Among the papers retrieved from Betchworth House were bundles of correspondence and assorted other papers relating to Henry Goulburn's long political career. Of particular note is the extensive series of letters from Goulburn's close friend Robert Peel (see 304/A1/1/2/-) and also significant groups of letters from other leading politicians, including the Duke of Wellington (304/A1/1/3/-), Lord Liverpool (304/A1/1/4/-) and William Gladstone (304/A1/1/13/-). Goulburn's service as Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1821-27, is represented by letters from the long-serving under-secretary William Gregory (304/A1/2/3/-) and from Goulburn's chief, the Lord Lieutenant Richard Marquess Wellesley (304/A1/1/5/-).
Henry Goulburn acted as executor or trustee for many friends, associates and members of his family (see 304/A2/-). Among those for whom he acted as executor, and for which activity significant groups of papers have survived, mention might particularly be made of his brother Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Goulburn (d.1837) who served as Colonial Secretary for New South Wales, Australia, between 1821 and 1826 (see 304/A2/8/-), and of Sir Robert Peel (d.1850) (304/A2/13/-): among the records accumulated by Goulburn as Peel's executor are the latter's commonplace books and journals and papers relating to the purchase of his renowned collection of paintings.
Goulburn himself did not keep a detailed diary, but he did begin to compile his memoirs after he left office and these survey his career to 1832. He also compiled a journal when touring Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular War in 1809-10 (see 304/A4/box 1).
Goulburn maintained a regular correspondence with his wife Jane (d.1857) and his children Henry (d.1843), Edward (d.1887), Frederick (d.1878) and Jane (d.1888) and his letters contain references to his political activities as well as to family and domestic concerns. This correspondence will be found in the second part of the catalogue of the Goulburn family papers, arranged in series according to recipient (see 304/D-H/-).
His correspondence and papers relating to his administration as an absentee landlord of his Jamaican estate and his papers relating to the accquisition and management of his Betchworth estate are 304/J/- and 304/K/- respectively.
Extensive records survive relating to the management of the Amity Hall estate in Vere, Jamaica (see 304/J/-). Goulburn was a conscientious and diligent owner and employer, but never managed to visit in person. This has meant however that the running of the estate by his agents is chronicled in meticulous detail in the regular reports he insisted upon. Estate and sales accounts also survive allowing a picture to be constructed of the profitability of the estate, both before and after the emancipation of the slave workers.
Among the records Goulburn acquired when he purchased the Betchworth House estate from Charles Bouverie in 1816 were those of the manor of East Betchworth, including court rolls from 1625 and a fine survey and map by William Cotham which dates from 1634 (see 304/K/-).
The catalogue also includes the papers of Goulburn's mother Susannah (d.1818) (304/B/-), spendthrift brother Edward (304/C/-), wife Jane (d.1857), née Montagu (304/D/-), and children Henry (d.1843), Edward (d.1887), Frederick (d.1878) and Jane (d.1888) (304/E/-, 304/F/-, 304/G/- and 304/H/-). Goulburn's son Edward, who inherited the estate, married Louisa Tower (d.1891) and her papers are held as 304/I/-).
Further records of the manors of Braughingbury and Gatesbury in Hertfordshire from 1647 and deeds of the advowson of Braughing from 1218 also came into the family's possession when Louisa Goulburn (nee Tower) inherited the estates on the death of her mother Maria Tower (304/M/-).
Among records relating to the Tower, Ellison and Montagu families, all related to the Goulburns, mention might be made of the diary of Harvey Tower during his service with the Coldstream Guards in the Crimea, 1853-54 (see 304/N/-), letters to Col and Mrs Ellison from the Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, 1834-39 (see 304/O/-) and a journal and letters written by William Montagu as a member of Lord Castlereagh's entourage at the Congress of Vienna, 1814-15 (see 304/D/- and 304/P/-).
The following is a detailed summary of the contents:
304/A1/ HENRY GOULBURN (1784-1856): POLITICAL CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS c.1803-1856
In this section correspondence received by Goulburn from the Crown and individual politicians is followed by other letters and papers arranged according to the stages of his political career. For letters from Goulburn to his wife and children, which often include political comment, see 304/D-H within Part II of the catalogue; for his memoirs, c.1853, see 304/A4/-.
304/A1/1/ CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE MONARCH AND WITH POLITICIANS 1812-1855
304/A1/1/1/ The Crown 1830-1847
304/A1/1/2/ Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850) 1812-1850
Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1812-1817; Home Secretary, 1822-1830; Prime Minister, 1834-1835, 1841-1846.
For papers relating to Peel's affairs accumulated by Goulburn as his executor see 304/A2/- below.
304/A1/1/3/ Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), 1st Duke of Wellington 1819-1850
Master General of the Ordnance, 1818-1827; Commander-in-Chief, 1827, 1828, 1842-1852; Prime Minister, 1828-1830, 1834; Foreign Secretary, 1834-1835; Cabinet Minister without portfolio, 1841-1846.
Wellington always refers to Goulburn as 'Goldburne'. Letters from Wellington to Colonel and Mrs Ellison, 1834-1839, are in 304/O/box 1.
304/A1/1/4/ Robert Banks Jenkinson (1770-1828), 2nd Earl of Liverpool 1821-1826
Prime Minister, 1812-1827.
304/A1/1/5/ Richard Wellesley (1760-1842), Marquess Wellesley 1821-1834
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1821-1828, 1833-1834. For other letters and papers relating to Goulburn's service as Chief Secretary for Ireland, including letters from William Gregory, Under-Secretary, see 304/A1/2/3/-. Correspondence between Goulburn as Chief Secretary and Richard Marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Chiefly letters by Goulburn to Wellesley, returned by the latter with his observations and decisions subscribed. Many enclosures. Letters from Wellesley as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to Goulburn as Chief Secretary, originally filed separately to those above and clearly written when either Wellesley or Goulburn was in England, have been integrated into this series.
304/A1/1/6/ Henry Hardinge (1785-1856), Viscount Hardinge 1828-1852
Clerk of the Ordnance, 1823-1827, 1828; Secretary at War, 1828-1830, 1841-1844; Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1830, 1834-1835; Governor General of India, 1844-1848; Master General of the Ordnance, 1852; Commander-in-Chief, 1852-1856.
304/A1/1/7/ Edward Smith-Stanley (1799-1869), 14th Earl of Derby 1831-1844
Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1830-1833; Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1841-1845; 14th Earl of Derby from 1851.
304/A1/1/8/ Edward Law (1790-1871), 1st Earl of Ellenborough 1832-1833
Chief Clerk of Pleas, King's Bench. Created Earl of Ellenborough, 1844.
304/A1/1/9/ Robert Saunders-Dundas (1771-1851), 2nd Viscount Melville 1833
Lord Privy Seal (Scotland), 1814-1851.
304/A1/1/10/ Sir James Graham (1792-1861) 1833-1843
1st Lord of the Admiralty, 1830-1834; Home Secretary, 1841-1846.
304/A1/1/11/ George Hamilton-Gordon (1784-1860), 4th Earl of Aberdeen 1833
304/A1/1/12/ Thomas Hamilton (1780-1858), Earl of Haddington 1834-1847
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1834-1835; 1st Lord of the Admiralty, 1841-1846; Lord Privy Seal, 1846.
304/A1/1/13/ William Gladstone (1809-1898) 1836-1853
Vice-President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint, 1841-1843; President of the Board of Trade, 1843-1845; Colonial Secretary, 1845-1846; Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1852-1855. For a letter of Gladstone to Henry Goulburn junior, 1840, relating to the possibility of establishing a Church Missionary Society mission in Africa, see 304/E/box 1.
304/A1/1/14/ Sidney Herbert (1810-1861), Lord Herbert 1842-1853
Secretary to the Admiralty, 1841-1845; Secretary at War, 1845-1846, 1852-1855; created Baron Herbert of Lea, 1861.
304/A1/1/15/ Edward Burtenshaw Sugden (1781-1875), Baron St Leonards 1844-1845
Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1841-1846; created Baron St Leonards, 1852.
304/A1/1/16/ Richard Butler (1794-1858), Earl of Glengall 1844
304/A1/1/17/ Edward Cardwell (1813-1886) 1855
Created Viscount Cardwell in 1874.
304/A1/2/ PAPERS RELATING TO HENRY GOULBURN'S POLITICAL CAREER C.1803-1856
These papers have been sorted to reflect the successive stages of Goulburn's political career.
304/A1/2/1/ Early career and Under-Secretary, Home Office c.1803-1811
304/A1/2/2/ Under-Secretary, War and Colonial Office 1812-1821
304/A1/2/3/ Chief Secretary for Ireland: correspondence with William Gregory, Under-Secretary 1822-1827
For correspondence with Richard Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, 1821-1828, see 304/A1/1/5 above.
304/A1/2/3/ Chief Secretary for Ireland: other papers c.1814-1837
304/A1/2/4/ General Election 1826
In the General Election of 1826 Goulburn was defeated in his bid to represent Cambridge University, but was returned for the city of Armagh.
304/A1/2/5/ Chancellor of the Exchequer 1828-1830
304/A1/2/6/ General Election 1830
304/A1/2/7/ Opposition 1832-1838
304/A1/2/8/ General Election 1831-1832
Goulburn was returned as member for the University of Cambridge in the General Election of 1831; as in 1826, Goulburn's candidature was opposed because of the treatment of the negro slaves on his Jamaican estates. Correspondence of Goulburn relating to this attack include with Zachary Macaulay (author of the attack) and Thomas Pringle, both of the Anti-Slavery Society; James B Wildman, proprietor of a neighbouring estate in Jamaica; the Rev J Smith, Rector of Vere, Jamaica, and the Bishop of Jamaica, concerning religious instruction for negro children on Goulburn's estates.
304/A1/2/9/ Home Secretary 1834-1835
304/A1/2/10/ Opposition 1838-1840
304/A1/2/11/ Chancellor of the Exchequer 1841-1845
304/A1/2/12/ Late Career 1845-1856
304/A1/2/13/ Miscellaneous 1822-1850
304/A2/ HENRY GOULBURN: EXECUTORSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP PAPERS 1747-1870
These papers are arranged in chronological order of executorship or trusteeship.
304/A2/1/ HUGH PERCY (1784-1856), BISHOP OF CARLISLE 1857
304/A2/2/ MRS SUSANNAH GOULBURN (D.1818) 1818-1821
Mother of Henry Goulburn.
304/A2/3/ LADY FRANCES STEWART 1820
304/A2/4/ GENERAL G A CHETWYND STAPYLTON 1822-1836
Papers relating to Henry Goulburn's trusteeship [from 1820] of settlement of Colonel, later General G A Chetwynd Stapylton, of moneys raised through the sale of his and his wife's estates in the County of the City of York, 19 Jun 1819.
304/A2/5/ ARCHIBALD PRIMROSE (1783-1868), EARL OF ROSEBERY 1818-1870
Papers relating to Henry Goulburn's trusteeship of the Earl of Rosebery's settlement of his Norfolk estates of 19 May 1808.
304/A2/6/ MATTHEW MONTAGU (1762-1831), 4TH BARON ROKEBY C.1831
Rokeby was father of Jane Montagu, who married Goulburn in 1811.
304/A2/7/ RICHARD CHETWYND (1800-1879), 6TH VISCOUNT CHETWYND OF BEARHAVEN 1832-1838
Papers and correspondence relating to Henry Goulburn's trusteeship of Richard Lord Chetwynd's marriage settlement of 1822.
304/A2/8/ LIEUT COL FREDERICK GOULBURN (D.1837) C.1819-1863
Brother of Henry Goulburn; Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, Australia, 1821-1826.
304/A2/9/ THOMAS SCOTT (1783-1838), 2ND EARL OF CLONMELL [1805]-1849
Papers relating to Henry Goulburn's executorship of the will of Thomas Scott, 2nd Earl of Clonmell.
304/A2/10/ HENRY ('HARRY') GOULBURN JUNIOR (1813-1843) 1843-1844
Eldest son of Henry Goulburn; lawyer. For further papers relating to Henry Goulburn junior, see 304/E/-; for letters from him to his parents and siblings see 304/A4/-, 304/D/-, 304/F2/-, 304/G/- and 304/H/-.
304/A2/11/ MARY ELLISON AND CUTHBERT ELLISON 1849-1850
For further papers of the Ellison family see 304/O/- below.
304/A2/12/ MRS LYDIA PAYNE BOTHAM (D.1838) C.1821-1838
Papers relating to Goulburn's executorship of the will of Mrs Lydia Payne Botham of Hazelwood, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire.
304/A2/13/ SIR ROBERT PEEL (1788-1850), 2ND BARONET 1747-1855
For political correspondence from Peel to Goulburn see 304/A1/ above.
304/A2/13/1/ Notebooks and other personal papers 1825-1850
304/A2/13/2/ Financial affairs 1820-1855
304/A2/13/3/ Title to and management of estates 1747-1851
304/A2/13/4/ Purchase of Paintings 1822-1850
304/A2/13/5/ Executorship 1850-1855
304/A2/14/ JOHN N FAZAKERLEY (D.1852) OF BURWOOD 1828-1852
Papers relating to Henry Goulburn's executorship of the will of John N Fazakerley of Burwood.
304/A2/15/ LADY ROBERT SEYMOUR (1765-1855) 1832-1856
Papers relating to Henry Goulburn's executorship of the will of the Hon Lady Robert Seymour (nee Hon. Anderlechtia Clarissa Chetwynd).
304/A3/ HENRY GOULBURN: FINANCIAL AFFAIRS 1801-1856
304/A4/ HENRY GOULBURN: PERSONAL 1801-1854
304/A4/ MEMOIRS c.1853
304/A4/ JOURNALS 1801-1810
304/A4/ CORRESPONDENCE 1810-1854
For letters from Goulburn to his mother, wife, brother and children see 304/B-H/-.
304/A4/ PRAYERS 1ST HALF OF 19TH CENT
304/A4/ MEDICINAL RECIPES 1821-1844
304/A4/ PORTRAIT 1851
304/B/ MRS SUSANNAH GOULBURN (d.1818) 1809-1814
Mother of Henry Goulburn; for papers relating to Goulburn's executorship of her will see 304/A2/- in part 1 of catalogue.
304/C/ EDWARD GOULBURN 1803-1869
Brother of Henry Goulburn.
304/D/ MRS JANE GOULBURN (d.1857) 1809-1846
Daughter of Matthew Montagu, Lord Rokeby; married Henry Goulburn in 1811.\r\nFor letters of Jane Goulburn to her husband Henry and children see 304/A4/- (in part 1 of catalogue), 304/E/-H/-; for further letters to Jane Goulburn, including from her children, among others to her husband Henry, see 304/A4/- (part 1 of catalogue).
304/D/1/ LETTERS FROM HER HUSBAND, HENRY GOULBURN 1811-1839
304/D/1/1/ Early letters 1811-1814
304/D/1/2/ Letters 1815-1843
304/D/ OTHER CORRESPONDENCE c.1809-1846
304/D/ DIARIES AND OTHER WRITINGS 1811-1844
304/D/ BILLS AND PRESCRIPTIONS 1836-1837
304/E/ HENRY ('HARRY') GOULBURN JUNIOR (1813-1843) c.1816-1843
Eldest son of Henry and Jane Goulburn; lawyer. For letters from Henry Goulburn junior to his parents and siblings see 304/A4/- (in part 1 of catalogue), 304/D/-, and 304/F/-H/-; for papers relating to Henry Goulburn senior's executorship of his will, see 304/A2/- (in part 1 of catalogue).
304/F1/ COLONEL EDWARD GOULBURN (d.1887): EXECUTORSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP PAPERS 1856-1889
Second son of Henry and Jane Goulburn.
304/F1/ The Hon Henry Goulburn (d.1856) 1856-1857
Father of Col Edward Goulburn; politician; for his papers see 304/A1-4/- (in part 1 of catalogue).
304/F1/ Baron Gremp 1863
304/F1/ Lt Col Cuthbert George Ellison (d.1867) 1865-1870
For other papers relating to the Ellison family see 304/A2/- above and 304/O/- below.
304/F1/ Mary Frances Ellison (d.1870) 1870-1871
For other papers relating to the Ellison family see 304/A2/- above and 304/O/- below.
304/F1/ The Hon Mary Ellison (d.1877) 1870-1883
For other papers relating to the Ellison family see 304/A2/- (in part 1 of catalogue) and 304/O/- below.
304/F1/ Henry Montagu (d.1883), Lord Rokeby 1883-1884
304/F1/ Lt Col Harvey Tower (d.1870) and Mrs Maria Tower (d.1886) 1864-1889
Maria Tower was mother of Louisa Goulburn, wife of Col Edward Goulburn; for further papers of members of the Tower family see 304/I/- and 304/N/-.
304/F2/ COL EDWARD GOULBURN (d.1887): PERSONAL PAPERS 1820-1892
Second son of Henry and Jane Goulburn.
304/F2/ Military service 1832-1855
304/F2/ Marriage settlement 1856-1892
304/F2/ Financial affairs 1841-1884
304/F2/ Personal correspondence and papers 1820-1877
For letters of Edward Goulburn to his parents and siblings see 304/A4/- (in part 1 of catalogue), 304/D-E/- and 304/G-H/-.
304/F2/ Miscellaneous 1828-1878
304/G/ FREDERICK GOULBURN (1818-1878) 1818-1878
Third son of Henry and Jane Goulburn; chairman of Board of Customs. For letters of Frederick Goulburn to his parents and siblings see 304/A4/- (in part 1 of catalogue), 304/D-F/- and 304/H/-.
304/H/ MISS JANE GOULBURN (d.1888) 1822-1887
Daughter of Henry and Jane Goulburn; for letters of Jane Goulburn to her parents and siblings see 304/A4/- (in part 1 of catalogue) and 304/D-G/-.
304/I/ MRS LOUISA GOULBURN (d.1891) 1870s-1890s
Daughter of the Rev William Tower and Maria Tower; wife of Col Edward Goulburn; for letters to Louisa Goulburn see also 304/F2/- above; for further papers relating to the Tower family see 304/N/-.
304/J/ ESTATES: AMITY HALL, VERE, AND THE BOGUE PEN, JAMAICA (1686)-1861
Correspondence and accounts relating to the administration of the estate at Amity Hall, parish of Vere, Jamaica, inherited by Munbee Goulburn from his father and uncle, and settled to the trusts of his marriage settlement in 1782. After Munbee's death, intestate, in 1794, the estate, apparently heavily encumbered, was put in Chancery, and was so administered until his son, Henry, attained his majority in 1805. During this period, the family's agents in Jamaica maintained a correspondence with Mrs Susannah Goulburn, Munbee's widow. From 1802 Henry Goulburn took an increasing part in the correspondence, and from 1805, and throughout his life (a period which included both the abolition of the slave trade, and the emancipation of slaves in the British colonies) he was in continuous, if necessarily very distant, contact with his agents and factors. He was not himself ever able to afford the time to visit the estate. His brother, Edward, however, visited Jamaica on his behalf in 1818, and partly as a result of his report, Thomas Samson, estate manager since 1801, was replaced by a man, George Richards, more sympathetic to the needs of the negro slaves. The estate apparently brought little if any profit at any period and Goulburn eventually decided in 1852 to attempt its sale. He was not successful, and correspondence with his attorney continues to his death in 1856. The estate was finally disposed of by 1861. For an introduction to the microform and digital editions of the Jamaican records produced by Microform Academic Publishers see Guide to the microfilm edition of papers relating to the Jamaica estates of the Goulburn family of Betchworth House by Professor Kenneth Morgan (2008).
304/J/ Papers relating to title to and disposal of estate (1686)-1861
304/J/ Correspondence with agents and others 1790-1854
The earliest surviving correspondence relating to the estate is contained in a letter book 1790-1811, which contains copies of Munbee Goulburn's correspondence with his attorney, 1790-1791, and his son Henry's responses to similar correspondence, 1804-1811. Correspondence bundles, containing letters from attorneys, overseers and other interested parties in Jamaica, and copy responses from the recipients, survive from 1793, and in good series from 1797. In the whole period 1797-1854, correspondence lacks only in the years 1818-1825. The original bundles (apparently, from surviving labels, created by Henry Goulburn) have been retained, and the contents arranged in order of recipient's use (ie for in-letters, by date of receipt, not of dispatch, an important factor in understanding the recipient's views and responses when mails were disrupted - as they were, especially, in the early period by French attacks on British shipping). It should be noted that accounts, supplies lists and expenditure abstracts were generally separated by Goulburn from their covering letter, and filed in distinct bundles (whether upon receipt or later is unclear). Some however remained with the correspondence and have been left where they are found. As security, letters from Jamaica were frequently copied before being entrusted to the mail, and the copy sent with the subsequent letter endorsed on it. The brief list of letters gives date of original, and only mentions date of copy where this seems helpful.
304/J/ Estate Accounts 1802-1855
304/J/ Correspondence with Factors and Sales Accounts (1794)-1856
304/J/ Miscellaneous papers and correspondence relating to the management of the estate 1793-1855
304/K/ ESTATES: BETCHWORTH HOUSE ESTATE 1625-1958
Bought by Henry Goulburn in 1816.
304/K/ Manor of East Betchworth 1625-1893
For further records of the manors of East Betchworth and Aglands More from 1325 see 260/-.
304/K/ Betchworth Estate: acquisition and title 1765-1958
304/K/ Title: earlier deeds relating to portions of estate 1687-1837
304/K/ Betchworth Estate: administration 1812-1938
304/K/ Betchworth Estate: plans 1723-c.1840
304/K/ Betchworth Estate: local affairs 1819-1886
304/L/ ESTATES: LONDON HOUSES 1811-1888
Phillimore Place, Kensington, and 106 Eaton Square
304/M/ ESTATES: BRAUGHING, HERTFORDSHIRE, AND NORTH WEALD, WEST HAM AND CHIGWELL, ESSEX 1218-1902
Tower family properties, inherited by Louisa Goulburn from her mother Maria Tower.
304/M/ Manorial Records 1647-1846
304/M/ Title to estate 1218-1891
304/M/ Estate administration 1595-1902
304/M/ Maps 1888
304/N/ TOWER FAMILY 1813-1880s
Col Edward Goulburn married Louisa Tower, daughter of the Rev William Tower (d.1847) and Maria Tower (d.1886); see also 304/F1/-, 304/I/- and 304/M/-.
304/N/ The Rev William Tower and Mrs Maria Tower 1813-1880s
304/N/ Harvey Tower (d.1870) 1852-1870
See also 304/F1/-.
304/O/ ELLISON FAMILY 1826-1875
304/P/ THE MONTAGU FAMILY 1803-1873
Henry Goulburn married Jane, daugher of Matthew Montagu, Lord Rokeby, in 1811; further letters from members of the Montagu family will be found in 304/A4/- (part 1 of catalogue) and 304/D/- above.
304/Q/ PRINTED ITEMS AND MISCELLANEOUS 18TH CENT-1890