Papers of Edward M. Wrench (1833-1912) of Baslow, Derbyshire, surgeon, from his grandson Francis Anthony Wrench; 1759-1952

Much of this collection is comprised of correspondence which includes letters from Edward M. Wrench to family and friends whilst serving in the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. The letters from the Crimea reflect the harsh conditions in the trenches and the difficulties encountered in providing medical care The letters are closely related to other letters which are present amongst the material acquired from Edward Gillam Wrench and many of them are transcribed in the typescript volumes complied by him (see the Wre sub-fonds).

However, most of the letters in the correspondence series were written to Edward M Wrench from family members, medical colleagues, former army colleagues, local dignitaries and many others. These letters include references to family and social news, national and local events , health and medical cases, education and travel, reflecting the wide-ranging interests and activities of Edward M Wrench.

The collection also includes fifty-seven diaries which were kept from 1856 until his death in 1912. These diaries supplement the letters, providing references to events of national and local importance, and to family and medical concerns. Edward M Wrench used his diaries to retain newspaper cuttings, letters, photographs and various ephemeral items. These ephemeral items are of much interest, reflecting not only the life and interests of Edward M Wrench, but also many aspects of life in Victorian England.

The collection also includes genealogical papers mainly relating to the Kirke family, notes and notebooks, printed books and papers, photographs, sketches and miscellaneous and ephemeral items, some of which relate to the Crimea and India and supplement the correspondence from the Crimea and India.

The bulk of this collection represents the first part of the Wrench Collections to be acquired by the University of Nottingham. Subsequent transfers from other family members established the necessity to retain the different transfers as separately identifiable entities. This collection is, therefore, a sub-fonds within the overall Wrench Collections. See the fonds entry for the Wrench Collections (Wr-Wre) for details about the family.

The collection is divided into series according to form of material and arranged chronologically within sections. Some elements are described at item level but it has not been possible to include descriptions of the content of most of the letters.

Edward M Wrench used his diaries to retain various letters, photographs and printed and ephemeral items. Many of these were pasted into the diaries, and these have been left as they were. (Please note that it has not been possible to list all the items which are pasted within the diaries, although it is anticipated that more work will be undertaken in this area in the future). However, all the loose items have been removed from the diaries for conservation reasons. Loose letters from the diaries have been placed within the series of letters, loose photographs within the series of photographs etc. The remaining loose printed and ephemeral items are individually listed with the diaries. Where any item has been removed from a diary, the place from which it has been removed has been recorded as part of the description of the item.

Accessible to all registered readers.

Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus:

2 Typescript Catalogues

At the National Register of Archives, London:

Typescript Catalogue

On the World Wide Web:

Catalogues accessible on the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue. The correspondence is under the reference WrC, and the diaries and other documents are under the reference WrDX.

The catalogue is also available online on the national A2A (Access to Archives) website.

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

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).

Most of these papers were acquired between 1960 and 1963 with subsequent small additions.

See also the Kirke of East Markham (Ki) collection; the fonds entry for all the Wrench collections (WrWre); and the other sub-fonds and series which make up the Wrench Collections (WrBT, WrC, WrDX, Wre and WrKi).