Brougham Papers

Papers of the Brougham family of Brougham, Westmorland. The bulk of the collection comprises the correspondence and papers of Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, primarily his incoming correspondence (c50,000 items) but also his working papers including legal and political material. Also includes the papers of his younger brother William Brougham, 2nd Baron Brougham and Vaux, in particular correspondence relating to the Brougham family and estate; and smaller collections of papers of their brothers James Brougham (1796-1833) and John Waugh Brougham (1809-1829); of their political associate James Atkinson, (1817-1835), and correspondence of Henry Charles Brougham, 3rd Baron Brougham and Vaux (son of William Brougham and nephew of the 1st Lord Brougham).

There is also material from Mrs Eleanor Syme Brougham (mother of Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham), Marianne Brougham (1st Lady Brougham and Vaux, wife of Henry Peter Brougham), Miss Eleanor Louisa Brougham (daughter of Henry Peter Brougham and Marianne) and Emily Frances Brougham (2nd Lady Brougham and Vaux, wife of William Brougham). The materials in these latter sections are primarily letters and diaries.

Finally, there are also a number of family and estate papers including deeds, family mementos and letters and other papers belonging to Brougham ancestors.

Members of the Brougham family of Brougham, Westmorland, included Henry, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868), who served as Lord Chancellor, 1830-1834; and his brothers James (1780-1833); John Waugh (1785-1829); and William, 2nd Baron Brougham and Vaux (1795-1886).

Most of the papers are unsorted and uncatalogued. The summary descriptions are for guidance only; the material has no formal arrangement. Please see the descriptions of each section for further information.

Certain restrictions apply

Parts of the collection are unsorted and uncatalogued. A name index is available for Henry Brougham's incoming correspondence. Please enquire for further information about the collection.

Acquired as part of the library of C K Ogden in 1953 with the assitance of the Nuffield Foundation.

There is a card index of correspondence, arranged alphabetically by correspondent. There are no finding aids for the remainder of the papers. Please contact Special Collections for further information.

Normal copyright restrictions apply.

The papers were stored at the family seat, Brougham Hall, which was sold by the 4th Baron Brougham & Vaux in 1934. The Brougham papers were sold through Sotheby's on the 15th May 1939 by the 4th Lord Brougham and were bought by C K Ogden for the Orthological Institute as Lot 215 for £205. At that time they were contained in 20 packing-cases. While at Sotheby's the papers were described as being disordered, but showing evidence of previous order. About half the papers were filed in annual bundles, but others were filed alphabetically or by subject, if at all.

During the Second World War the papers were housed at the University of Reading under the care of Professor Arthur Aspinall although Ogden may have kept some material at his home in Buxton, possibly the William Brougham (WB) material. The papers were removed to Gordon Square (i.e. the Orthological Institute) in late 1944 or 1945. The collection was described by Arthur Aspinall, who wrote a biography of Henry Brougham, as "jealously guarded" by Ogden, who apparently allowed no unrestricted access to it, although a few researchers were allowed to see the papers.

In 1953 the papers were offered for sale, and as a result were deposited at University College London on loan by the Nuffield Foundation as part of the larger Ogden Library to form the basis of a new Communication Research Centre. The initial loan was to be ten years, but the Nuffield Foundation presented the Ogden Library, including the Brougham papers, as a gift to UCL in 1956. The Rickman Godlee Research Fund financed the indexing of the Brougham letters, which make up around two-thirds of the archive. The same fund also financed the cataloguing of the Ogden books. The remainder of the papers was roughly sorted but left uncatalogued. The letters were left in the order in which they had been found and a card index (alphabetical by correspondent) was prepared.

In March 1958, 27 volumes of Lady Marianne Brougham's diaries and correspondence were bought by UCL from Sir Edward Malet, a descendant of the first Lady Brougham's eldest daughter. A further purchase of 350 letters from Joynson-Hicks & Co., solicitors was made some time between August 1969 and July 1970 (reported to the Library Committee 11 Jun 1970). This is likely to be the letters now part of section HB/4, described as 'foregin correspondence' (A134).