Palmer Papers

The papers, which have yet to be fully sorted and arranged, are largely family letters, of interest for travel accounts, including a visit to the Holy Land, and church and social work in the late 19th and early 20th century. They include letters of Lady Sophia's father, Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne, and notes by her on his parliamentary activities. There are also letters of her brother, William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, written from the Transvaal, 1896-99, discussing the crisis between the British and the Boers, and from Johannesburg, 1906-10, while he was High Commissioner for South Africa. Material of social interest includes an 1881 account by Lady Sophia of social work with young women in poor areas of London. The papers also include manuscript recipe books and loose recipes. There is also an incomplete memoir of Lady Sophia by her husband, Charles, comte de Franqueville.

Lady Sophia Matilda Palmer, comtesse de Franqueville (1852-1915) was the daughter of the 1st Earl of Selborne, and aunt of Mabel, Countess Grey, wife of the 5th Earl Grey. She married Charles Franquet, comte de Franqueville (1840-1922) in 1903.

Roughly grouped to some extent by topic or correspondent, but not yet fully sorted.

Open for consultation, although uncatalogued material may not be producible.

Part of : Earl Grey Papers

Manuscript accession list.

Lambeth Palace Library, London: Papers of Roundell Palmer (1812-1895), 1st Earl of Selborne.