Letters to Edward Gripper, Mayor of Nottingham, on the ceremonial occasion of the opening of University College Nottingham, 1881

The collection comprises a series of 47 letters addressed to the Mayor of Nottingham and the town council replying to an invitation to attend the opening of University College Nottingham on 20 June 1881. Despite the presence of letters from many prominent people of the day, the collection is limited in scope. Most of the letters are short, usually two pages in length, in which the writers thank the mayor and council for the invitation, accept or decline, and occasionally send congratulations to the council on the occasion of the opening of the college. Among those who were invited but could not attend was William Gladstone, the Prime Minister, who wrote in his own hand on 18 April 1881 (MS 678/10).

There are acceptances to the invitation from the following: Lord Newark (MS 678/4-5), Duke of Portland (MS 678/15), Lord Granville (MS 678/20), Arnold Morley (MS 678/21), A.J. Mundella (MS 678/28), Lord Belper (MS 678/29), Duke of St Albans (MS 678/31), Thomas Huskinson (MS 678/32), Viscount Galway (MS 678/35-36), Professor Tyndall (MS 678/37), Sir Sydney Waterlow (MS 678/38-39), Arthur Dyke Ackland (MS 678/41), James Smart (MS 678/43), Earl Manvers (MS 678/44), and the Bishop of Lincoln (MS 678/46).

Edward Gripper was born at Layer Breton Hall near Kelvedon, Essex in 1815. He was a farmer in the county until the age of 40 when he moved to Nottingham and took charge of the Mapperley top brickyard. In about 1866, Gripper and others negotiated for the exclusive local use of Hoffman's continuous burning kilns. With a Mr Burgess, he formed the Patent Brick Company and oversaw the mechanisation of the business. Output reached 27 million bricks in one year and The Patent Brick Company's bricks were sold to London County Council and to the Midland Railway for the construction of St. Pancras Station.

Gripper, an alderman, justice of the peace and chairman of the Water Committee, was Mayor of Nottingham for the year 1880-81. Gripper also served on the Nottingham School Board for 16 years and was chairman for 13 of them during which time 25 schools were built, transformed or extended.

University College in Shakespeare Street, Nottingham was opened by Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, on 30 June 1881. Lunch followed at the Albert Hall, Nottingham.

The letters in this collection have been maintained in the order in which they were received by the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

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: Permission to make published use of any material from this collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this is often difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

LANGUAGE: English

This series of letters relating to the ceremonial opening of University College Nottingham was separated from the rest of the family archive and given to The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in October 1997.