Personal papers of the Brutnell family of Nottingham collected by George Squibb (1906-1994), 1815-1982

The collection comprises a small quantity of papers acquired by George Squibb, a descendant of the Brutnell family of Nottinghamshire. They primarily relate to property ownership and the settlement of family trust funds but include also items of personal ephemera. Most of the papers date from the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th. The largest series contains correspondence between Mrs. E. Amery of Hastings and her solicitors regarding the trust fund of Elizabeth Brutnell.

Personal papers and family ephemera include: correspondence, 1859-1982 (MS 660/1); child's album of drawings, and poems belonging to Edna Mary Thurman, 1909-1922 (MS 660/2); apprenticeship indenture of William Brutnell, 1817 (MS 660/3); copy wills of John Dusty, 1859 and Maria Thurman, 1946 (MS 660/4); 19th-century certificates or copies for marriage, birth, vaccination, burial, and examinations (MS 660/5-9); poetry (MS 660/10); genealogical notes (MS 660/11); ephemera, including specimen of hair, invitations to memorial services, prescriptions, and photograph (MS 660/12-14, 22).

The papers concerning property include: schedules of deeds, 1816-1876 (MS 660/15); mortgage payments account, 1815 (MS 660/16); certificate for the contract for the redemption of land tax, 1860 (MS 660/17); household insurance certificates 1903-1926 (MS 660/18); and printed particulars of sale of land in Nottingham and New Radford, sometimes including plans, 1833-1868 (MS 660/19);

Financial records comprise a ledger, 1907-1920 and cash book, 1907-1914 (MS 660/20-21).

The collection contains a short family tree (MS 660/11/6) for the Brutnell family of Nottingham compiled by Mrs J. Atkinson. The tree begins with William Brutnell (born 1801), a joiner of New Radford, Nottinghamshire and his wife Sarah (ne Bailey). Of their children, two are of particular interest to this collection: William Brutnell, who became a builder in Nottingham; and Sarah Brutnell (1830-1904) who married George Drewry. William Brutnell, junior married Maria Goulder. Their son was Arthur William Brutnell. Sarah Drewry (ne Brutnell) gave birth to Richard Walter Drewry and Mary Elizabeth Drewry (died 1930).

George Drewry Squibb was the son of Mary Elizabeth Drewry and R.A.H. Squibb. He was born on 1 December 1906. He became a solicitor and ultimately Queen's Council, working in London. He married Bessie Whitaker. Their son, E.A.M Squibb, married J.L.K. Atkinson, who compiled the family tree in the collection. George Squibb published extensively on topics of legislative precedent and legal history. His work included transcriptions and editions of 16th-century visitations to various English counties, undertaken for the Harleian Society.

The collection has been divided by document type into 22 series. Within these series, items have been arranged chronologically.

ACCESS: Generally accessible to all registered readers but some items closed pending full cataloguing and processing. Advance appointment is essential.

LANGUAGE: English

• This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright on the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The collection was given to the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in April 1996.