The LM/COR series chiefly comprise loose letters relating to successive members of the More and More Molyneux family and some associated families (eg. letters to Sir Thomas Cawarden (d.1559) in LM/COR/2/- and letters of the Gresham family, 1604-1691 (LM/COR/7/-) between c.1450 and the late 19th cent. Some of the correspondence is of a private, personal nature but much relates to the official business of members of the family and does not constitute an archive of documents with intrinsically separate functions to those documents in the main body of family records (LM/-) and the bound volumes of 'historical correspondence' (6729). Indeed many letters in LM/COR/- relate to exactly the same business as other items in the other two deposits and can be linked through the database described below.
The descriptions of all the letters between c.1450 and c.1689 held as LM/COR/1-6 & 8-9 (ie. excluding those relating to the Gresham family and held as LM/COR/7), together with the contents of the 'historical correspondence' volumes (6729) have been loaded onto a searchable and indexed database. This facilitates searching within date ranges, by author or recipient, by business to which the letter relates, or by subject. It also permits letters relating to the same subject but hitherto split between volumes, or between volumes and the loose correspondence, to be reconnected. The database is available at Surrey History Centre.
The following is a detailed summary of the contents:
LM/COR/1/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF CHRISTOPHER MORE (d.1549) AND EARLIER c.1450-1548
Christopher More bought the manor of Loseley in 1506-8; was knighted in 1540 and died in 1549. The connection of LM/COR/1/18-19 and of related papers of William Beauchamp, Lord St Amand, has not been established. There is no document with the reference LM/COR/1/12. See Zg109/2/1 for transcripts. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre.
LM/COR/2/ LETTERS FROM THE PAPERS OF SIR THOMAS CAWARDEN (d.1559) c.1545-1559
Thomas Cawarden was Master of the Revels and the King's Tents under Henry VIII and his three successors. He died in 1559, appointing William More as his executor. For the main body of papers relating to Cawarden, see LM/ section E.4 and Z/409 section 8. See Zg109/2/2 for transcripts. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre.
LM/COR/3/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF SIR WILLIAM MORE (1520-1600) 1552-1600 Succeeded his father Christopher in 1549. Knighted 1576. Died 1600. For transcripts see Zg/109/2/3. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre. LM/COR/3/631, Richard Heath to Sir William More II, has been renumbered as LM/COR/6/97.
LM/COR/4/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF SIR GEORGE MORE (1553-1632) 1600-c.1632 Son of Sir William More and succeeded this father in 1600. See Zg/109/2/4 for transcripts.
LM/COR/5/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF SIR POYNINGS MORE, BART (1606-1649) 1633-1648
Son of Sir Robert More (d.1628) and grandson of Sir George More, whom he succeeded in 1632. Died 1649. The letters include a small number of letters belonging to Thomas Hendley, which (among other records) must have come to Loseley in or after 1664, on the marriage of Mary Hendley to Poynings' son William More. Correspondents include John Monger of Godalming, who acted as Poynings More's agent (see inter alia LM/1127/4-5, section A.4.1, draft letters of attorney), and John Wight, probably of Braboeuf, Artington (d.?1657; probate PCC 27 Jan 1658), who also acted for More during More's residence in London. The letters -/-/1-32 are arranged chronologically (save for errors in recognising old style new year dates), 1633-1649; subsequent letters -/-/-/33-106 all from John Wight are arranged chronologically, 1644-1649. See Zg109/2/5 for transcripts. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre.
LM/COR/6/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF SIR POYNINGS MORE (1606-1649) AND SIR WILLIAM MORE (1644-1684) BEFORE 1649-1684
Sir Poynings More was succeeded by his son William, a minor in 1649. Sir William More died in 1684. See Zg109/2/6 for transcripts. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre.
LM/COR/7/ LETTERS OF THE GRESHAM FAMILY 1603-1609
This series comprises personal and estate correspondence of the Gresham family, principally Thomas Gresham (d.1620) and his wife Judith Gresham (nee Garrard, later Morley), and their son James Gresham, who married Ann More (b.1620, sometimes Anne More), daughter of Sir Robert More of Loseley. James and Ann lived first at Compton and then at Haslemere, where James frequently acted on behalf of Sir William More II in matters connected with the manor of Haslemere; James sat as one of the MPs for the borough of Haslemere, 1678-1679, and was an active justice of the peace. Correspondence relating to James Gresham's dealings with his in-laws at Loseley is included in LM/COR/6, and 8-9. The Gresham estates were principally in Lincolnshire, with some property in Fulham, Middlesex.
LM/COR/7/ Gresham family personal correspondence 1603-1691
Correspondence relates to the courtship of Thomas Gresham and his 'cousin' Judith Garrard, 1605; to suitors of Judith after the death of Thomas (d.1620), and (obliquely) to her subsequent marriage with Mr Morley of Chichester (from whom she appears to have separated after a short period). A substantial sequence of letters concerns the relationship of Judith with her younger son James during the late 1630s and during the early years of the English Civil War (and also relates to Judith's elder son John, whom James and Judith considered to have mismanaged her affairs, before his death in 1643). Later letters, 1644-1678, between James and Ann (nee More) document their relationship, and discuss Ann's management of ther estate while James is absent in London, and her acrimonious dealings with her family at Loseley, concerning her marriage portion.
LM/COR/7/ Gresham family estate correspondence 1607-1682
The correspondence principally relates to complex legal matters arising from the management of the Gresham estates in Tetney and elsewhere in Lincolnshire. Much of the business relates to the manor of Tetney and Tetney Grange, part of which was purchased by Gresham from Thomas Morison (otherwise Morrison or Moryson) in 1608, apparently in connection with an agreement for the marriage of their children (Penelope Gresham and Charles Morison: see LM/1083/14/1-3). Morison's debts and the management of the leases of other portions of Tetney Grange, to Edward Lacon, Francis Castleton, Lord Hertford et al, caused many difficulties for the Greshams over subsequent decades. For other records relating to the Gresham estates, see LM section G.7.10.
LM/COR/8/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF NICHOLAS MORE (d.1684) 1684
Nicholas More, a brother of Poynings More, inherited Loseley briefly on the death of his nephew Sir William More in 1684, but died later in that year. He was rector of Fetcham. See Zg/109/2/8 for transcripts. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre.
LM/COR/9/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF ROBERT MORE (d.1689) 1685-1688
Robert More was the son of Nicholas More, a brother of Poynings More. He inherited Loseley on his father's death in 1684, but only briefly survived him, dying in May 1689. See Zg/109/2/9 for transcripts. Descriptions of all letters are included in a searchable database which can be consulted at Surrey History Centre.
LM/COR/10/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF SIR THOMAS MOLYNEUX (1664-1719) 1689-1719 Thomas Molyneux (1664-1719) of Lancashire married Margaret More in Aug 1689, which brought him the seat of Loseley Park after the death of Margaret's brother Robert More. Margaret died in 1704, leaving six children: William known as More, Nathaniel the younger, Margaret, Elizabeth, Anne and Susanna. Thomas died in Dec 1719. During 1689 and 1690, the correspondence mostly concerns debts on the Loseley estate and the settlement to be made with Elizabeth More (d. Feb 1692), Margaret's sister and the other co-heiress of their brother Robert More. From Aug 1690, letters refer to negotiations for the letting of Loseley House to the Earl of Torrington, through Denzil Onslow as intermediary (for lease of Feb 1691, see LM/353/13/1-2 LM section G.2.2). The arrangement continued to cause problems until Torrington gave up the lease in Dec 1693. By early 1694 the Molyneux family, having failed to find a new tenant, had settled again at Loseley themselves. Throughout his tenure of Loseley, Thomas Molyneux appears to have been interested in improvements to the garden and park, with various letters relating to attempts to appoint gardeners until as late as 1717 and a reference to planting of mature trees. Other Surrey related topics include very brief references to Thomas's relationship with the Onslow family and dabblings in politics and local government; references to the Haslemere estate; also references to using the Wey Navigation for shipping goods from London during the 1690s. From 1695 a large proportion of the correspondence relates to the Molyneux estates and family in Lancashire. Thomas's father Nathaniel was initially (1689-1690) keen to provide Thomas with a generous settlement during his lifetime (despite the opposition of Thomas's mother), but Nathaniel became increasingly tangled in debt from 1691 (summarised in Thomas's later correspondence of 1717), loss of shipping trade during the 1690s (due to the French Wars) increasing his difficulties until he appears to have been in danger of imprisonment for debt. Lands which had been allotted to Thomas under his marriage settlement had been charged as security on Nathaniel's debts, and the management of these lands was disputed between them in the early 1700s. The relationship between father and son appears to have soured considerably in Nathaniel's last years (mostly spent in London), when Nathaniel was forced to rely on payments from Thomas for his keep. Both Molyneux parents died in early 1707. Responsibility for management of the Lancashire estate had apparently largely fallen on James Rogers, husband of Thomas's sister Elizabeth; the younger brother Henry, after a brief period in Barbados in 1696 (where he had acquired a plantation) had returned to England and was awaiting advancement from either his father or brother, but from 1707 he established himself in Lancashire and came into conflict with the Rogers family over their handling of the Molyneux family affairs. In receipt of letters from both sides of the dispute, Thomas eventually chose to appoint other agents to receive his rents. From 1710, Thomas's son More features as recipient and correspondent in the letters, initially incurring his father's anger at the debt he has fallen into (?in Oxford), but later as an agent for family affairs in London as Nathaniel Molyneux the elder's debt was brought to court in 1716, while Thomas became increasingly confined to Loseley with chronic ailments. The descriptions of the letters comprise summaries of the principal correspondence threads in each chronological group, citing individual document references. (Some documents bearing a-b suffixes have been added after the majority of the catalogue was complete; they are not sub-parts of other letters). Selected letters relating to family or Loseley affairs have been transcribed under ref Zg/109/2/10/-.
LM/COR/11/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF SIR WILLIAM MORE MOLYNEUX (1690-1760, KNOWN AS SIR MORE), INCLUDING CORRESPONDENCE OF CASSANDRA MOLYNEUX NEE CORNWALLIS (d.1754) AND JAMES MORE MOLYNEUX (1723-1759) c.1715-1785
Sir William More Molyneux, known as More (1690-1760), inherited Loseley on the death of his father Thomas in December 1719. He married Cassandra Cornwallis of Abermarles, Carmarthenshire, Wales, in 1722. Eleven children were born to the family: James More (1723-1759), Thomas More (1724-1776), Cassandra More (1725-1777), Emma (1726-1767, married William Green), Jane More (1729-1802, sometimes known as Jenny), Elizabeth (1730 d. inf.), Caroline (1732-1778), Margaret (1735 d. inf.), George (1740-1741) and Anne Cornwallis (d.1798, married Gen. Rainsford). The group portrait by Somers in the Great Hall at Loseley depicts this family in 1739. Only two of the daughters married, perhaps due to the family estates' insufficiency: Thomas More Molyneux's letter of 1755 describes them as 'so very slenderly provided for' (LM/COR/11/759). From the mid 1750s, More's eldest son James seems to have assumed much of the responsibility for the running of the estate, and at this time (further to his marriage) revived the More family interest in the parliamentary borough of Haslemere (he was returned MP in 1754, and was succeeded after his death in 1759 by his brother Thomas). The correspondence includes many letters from friends and relations of Cassandra Molyneux (d.1754), including her mother Emma Robinson (formerly Cornwallis, married Bishop Robinson in 1719), sisters Lettice (d.1741), Jane Vernon and Elizabeth Maude, and a cousin Cassandra, Lady Chandos (d.1735, 2nd wife of Lord Chandos, Marquess of Carnarvon and Duke of Chandos), the earliest of which predate Cassandra's marriage with More. The correspondence of Emma Catherall, a friend and cousin of Cassandra's, are also included, probably because she lived at Loseley for a period; much of her concern is for the care of her brother the Rev Samuel Catherall during his mental illness, who was looked after in private establishments and later at the Royal Bethlehem Hospital. Other correspondents and featured individuals include: the Rev John Fulham (d.1777), Rector of Compton and lord of the manor of Compton Eastbury; Arthur Onslow (1691-1768), speaker of the House of Commons, known as 'the Great Speaker'; William Leigh the younger, husband of Anne Molyneux, sister of More; John Hindley & Robert Hindley, agents in Lancashire; John Way (d.1749), attorney; Thomas Peace, attorney; Robert Heming, an agent for Loseley and Lancashire estate business (London based; an account book of his is in LM section A); and Richard Wyatt, solicitor of Cheam, who married Susannah Molyneux, More's sister (some of his accounts are in LM section A). A large number of the letters relate to estate management matters regarding Loseley and elsewhere, first addressed to Sir More and later to James his son. A further significant and much-discussed theme is electoral business in the parliamentary borough of Haslemere (related records are held in LM section D.3), and the relationship of the family with the irascible Philip Carteret Webb the elder (c.1700-1770) of Busbridge, who was elected to the other Haslemere seat with James. Discussions of the early military career of Thomas More Molyneux and letters from him as a young soldier are included here (for later letters dating from Thomas's inheritance of Loseley, see LM/COR/12/-). Topics include recruitment, military life, comments on campaigns, expenses, a dispute with Wadham College concerning his scholarship being incompatible with his military service, a camp at Peasmarsh, and analysis of an amphibious assault on the French coast. Other topics include: business relating to the manor of Godalming including the enforcement of the lord's rights (fair, waifs etc), enclosure, notably of the Peasmarsh, disputes relating to George Smith the gamekeeper, patronage (including of Arthur Onslow) and the exchange of favours, investments in company stocks, justice of the peace business, comments on the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, gossip concerning local families, marriage settlements, including that of James More Molyneux with Margaret Sherard, James More Molyneux's efforts to raise money, garden design, the employment of gardeners and the purchase of plants (including relating to Peper Harow). This very substantial series of around 1400 letters was subdivided for some time prior to cataloguing, firstly for the facilitation of paper repair to damaged documents, and secondly to provide access to groups relating to particular correspondents and subjects while they remained uncatalogued, namely the majority of the correspondence of women of the Cornwallis family with Cassandra Molyneux (d.1754, nee Cornwallis), letters of Emma Catherall, correspondence of the Sherard family of Nottinghamshire, related by the later marriage (in 1753) of Margaret Sherard and James Molyneux (1723-1759), and letters relating to the estates of General James Oglethorpe. This arrangement has for the most part reconstructed the chronological sequence of the main series of Loseley estate correspondence of Sir More Molyneux and his son James during his ownership of the estate (1720-1760), 1720-1759, but for the 1750s there remains some overlap of periods covered where documents had been separated for repair, or were undated and could only be fitted into chronological sequence by internal evidence: these are cross-referenced within bundle descriptions and researchers should be aware that subject matter recurring across a chronological period should be sought in all those bundles covering the relevant date. Some although not all correspondence relating to the Lancashire estate, 1723-1784, and the Welsh estate, 1730-1759, appears at the end of the estate sequence. A thread of correspondence related to disputes with General James Oglethorpe and protracted negotiations concerning the Puttenham estate, 1735-1785, has been kept as a single sequence despite its falling partly into the date range of the correspondence otherwise covered in LM/COR/12/-. This Loseley estate series appears first; it is succeeded by correspondence principally of Cassandra Molyneux nee Cornwallis (d.1754) and the Cornwallis family, c.1715-1755, then further letters belonging to Emma Catherall. A small series of letters of the Sherard family of Nottinghamshire, 1729-1744, of whom Margaret married James Molyneux in 1753, appears last. Please note that some documents are referenced by sub-letters: this was done merely to facilitate infill of letters within the chronological sequence and is not intended to imply a relationship with the foregoing letter.
LM/COR/12/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF COL THOMAS MORE MOLYNEUX (1724-1776) 1760-1778
Thomas More Molyneux, second son of Sir More Molyneux, inherited Loseley in 1760, his elder brother James having shortly predeceased their father in 1759. Thomas had served in the army from c.1747, and continued as an active officer on campaign in the Seven Years War during the early 1760s, participating in the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in Germany in Jun 1762; he was created Colonel in the 3rd Regiment of Foot in 1773. Thomas's sisters are significant correspondents in this series, including Cassandra (1725-1777), Caroline (1732-1778) and Jane (1729-1802), the latter being a frequent visitor to her maternal cousins the Maudes in Ireland during this period, while her sisters assisted in the management of the estate during Thomas's absences. Despite the urging of associates and his sisters, Thomas remained unmarried, whether by choice or due to the eccentricities of his character or his relatively unfavourable financial position. He gave support to his brother James's illegitimate son James Knight (later James More Molyneux, c.1759-1823) and to the child of the troubled marriage of his sister Emma Green, William Molyneux Green (d.1784), whose schooling is documented here, and left his much indebted estate to James, subject to his sisters' inheritance. Some letters included here relate to the period of his sisters' administration of his will, up to 1778 (LM/COR/12/654-725); a private Act of Parliament was passed in 1780 for the further administration and settlement of his debts and legacies (LM section A LM/2052). Thomas was a noted writer on military matters, in particular amphibious landings ('Conjunct Expeditions...carried out jointly by the Fleet and the Army' was published in 1759). While noted by his solicitor William Bray as a man of generosity (G52/8/10), he was also described as 'one of the few original men in the world', his unvarnished manners revealing 'many entertaining oddities' (G173, quoted in 'The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1754-1790' (HMSO)). Most of the letters here are in-letters to Thomas More Molyneux, but there are a number of letters from Thomas to his sisters written while on military campaign, and a few between the sisters. A predominant thread in the correspondence is the electoral business of the borough of Haslemere. Thomas succeeded his brother James as one of the MPs for the borough of Haslemere unopposed in 1760, but the election of 1761, in which he was returned with Philip Carteret Webb the elder (1700-1770), was strongly contested; Thomas's first speech in Parliament was a response to the petition opposing the result (LM/COR/12/127). Topics include: the political influence of women property holders holding 'votes' (notably Anne Shudd), the awkwardness and unpopularity of Mr Webb and the difficulties of settling the election accounts with him, gaining voters by the distribution of charity money and other incentives, the practice of vote-splitting by subdividing enfranchised plots, and the attractiveness of gaining a parliamentary seat to rich businessmen. Thomas's position as both landowner and MP involved him in major undertakings in the south west of the county, namely the proposed turnpike road through Haslemere (the associated controversies much discussed), and the Godalming Navigation. Issues relating to the More Molyneux estate include: management and attempts to sell property in Nottingham and Leicestershire, which descended from the marriage settlement of James More Molyneux (1723-1759) and Margaret Sherard (d.1768); purchase of an estate at Puttenham from the Oglethorpes (for the majority of this correspondence, see LM/COR/11/-); dispute relating to Eashing Bridge and problems with the Rev Mr Fulham, owner of the neighbouring manor of Compton Eastbury. Letters from military colleagues appear during the early 1760s, relating inter alia to efforts at recruitment, theatres of war including Canada, and regimental appointments. Frequent correspondents include: agents Thomas Peace of Roke (d.1763, relating to Haslemere), Richard Glover, and John Newhouse of Petworth; the Rev Thomas Sanderson of Haslemere; Richard Wyatt of Cheam, an uncle by marriage; and William Green of Findon, Sussex, errant husband of Thomas's sister Emma Molyneux
LM/COR/13/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF JANE MORE MOLYNEUX (1729-1802) 1779-1802 Thomas More Molyneux's will (see LM/2011/63) provided for the inheritance of his sisters, who were to be succeeded by his brother James's illegitimate son James (1759-1823), whom he had recognised and supported more publicly since the death of his sister-in-law in 1768. On Thomas's death in 1776, his sister Cassandra succeeded him, but died shortly after in 1777. Thomas left £12000 in debt (see 1974/46), which obliged the sisters to make substantial changes to the properties of the More Molyneux estate, most notably by the sale of the manor of Haslemere with its parliamentary electoral interest, which was eventually conveyed to Sir James Lowther in 1780. (Letters relating to the executorship of Thomas's estate are also to be found in LM/COR/12/654-725.) Jane, the next to inherit, commissioned a survey of the Loseley home estate, leased out the park and attempted economies in the running of the household before leasing the house itself in 1795 (LM section A.2, including LM/806 and LM/2161; section G.2 LM/358/110/1). She appears to have resisted the suggestions of her steward William Bray and others to effect land purchases to consolidate her local landholdings. Jane seems to have been willing to build a relationship with her nephew and heir, James (formerly James Knight) who had become a protégé and friend of William Bray. James Molyneux's many letters in this series demonstrate his reciprocal warmth towards his newly acquired aunt, and his enthusiastic personality. The large majority of letters in this series are written to Jane More Molyneux by William Bray. These ostensibly concern estate management but include commentary on local and national affairs, including the events and impact of the American War of Independence (1775-1783). There are also a number of significant letters from James Molyneux in which he shares his observations of places encountered in his travels and military career, including Derbyshire, Gibraltar, Morocco and Spain. Other correspondents include: William Man Godschall of Albury, James Molyneux's guardian; William Molyneux Green, Jane's other nephew, who predeceased her (d.1784); Thomas Jackman, estate surveyor and timber merchant of Guildford; Thomas Grimshaw, agent for the Molyneux estates in Lancashire; Richard Westbrook, gardener at Loseley, dismissed in 1786. Topics of correspondence include: works in the Loseley garden, rookery and park, and structural works in the house; works in the Loseley Chapel in St Nicholas church, Guildford; canvassing for parliamentary seats of the county of Surrey and borough of Guildford, as well as Haslemere; inheritance of James Molyneux; James Molyneux's time at Oxford University, his choice of career; management of the Nottinghamshire estate, including mining interests, and Lancashire estates, which suffered during episodes of machine-breaking [?by cotton workers]; local affairs including relating to liability for bridges, and the state of the market houses of Haslemere and Godalming.
LM/COR/14/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF JAMES MORE MOLYNEUX (1759-1823) 1803-1823 James More Molyneux inherited the Loseley estate on his aunt Jane's death in Sep 1802, having been recognised as her heir under the terms of the will of her brother, Thomas More Molyneux. At the time of Jane's death, James had been or was still serving in the Surrey Light Dragoons, while keeping a household in Farnham with his common law wife Ann Merriot. Following James's inheritance, he and Ann married by licence at St Paul's Covent Garden (26 May 1803). Children Henry (b.?1793), Jane (b.1795), George (b.1797) and Anne (b.1799) had been born prior to the marriage, and seven more were born in succeeding years (all the older children except Henry were baptised in St Nicholas church, Guildford, in 1812): Emma (b. 1803), James (b.1805), Caroline (b.1807), Cassandra (b.1809), Arthur (b.1811), William (b.1812) and Poynings (b.1816). James appears to have been keen to move into Loseley, and commissioned an engraving of the house in 1803 (-/-/-/7, 29). He attempted to dissolve the lease on Loseley which had been renewed for 5 years to William Strode by Jane More Molyneux in 1802 (see LM/358/110/1 and counsel's opinion LM/2011/59), but he appears at least initially to have been unsuccessful. James enjoyed intellectual pursuits, including in his youth the study of languages and politics, and travel writing. As a newly established landowner, James actively engaged with the issues of the time, writing on the Corn Laws, reform of the poor rate and tithes (see LM section F, also inter alia -/-/-/54-55). By 1818, he was beset by financial problems (see inter alia -/-/-/95, an appeal against Loseley rating assessment). After he was arrested following a suit for debt by Mr Vincent (-/-/-/109 pp.31-32, 38-42; the details are unclear from internal evidence, but may relate to an annuity left to a servant Joseph Vincent by Jane More Molyneux, LM/2011/55; LM/358/127 is a mortgage of Loseley to Nicholas Vincent, May 1818), he decided to move his large family to France, where he considered life more affordable. Loseley house was let to John Spicer of Stoke Hill (LM/358/126) and later to Matthew Gunning (LM/359/2). By 1819, a new house was to be built for James and the family at St Catherine's Hill (-/-/-/108 pp.56-58), although he continued to doubt the terms of their return to England. The Welsh estates (Abermarles) were sold at this time. By late 1820 James was suffering from ill health; letters of 1821 show him anxiously attempting to end the lease of Loseley and secure the completion of building work at St Catherine's, which he had to his dissatisfaction entrusted to his oldest son Henry (-/-/-/112-113). The letter books end in mid 1821, shortly after the family's return to England. James died aged 63 and was buried in the family chapel on 1 Dec 1823, his son Henry having predeceased him (buried 27 Dec 1822). The Loseley estate was inherited by James More Molyneux (1805-1874), the first legitimate son of James and Ann. The letters here comprise in letters to James, 1803-1823 (-/-/1-104), and letter books of copy out letters from James during the period he was living in France, 1818-1821 (-/-/-/105-113). Letters relating to the same events and period are necessarily thus divided between the loose and bound series. The letters principally concern estate business with agents (Richard Hammond, James Pain and Thomas Sibthorpe, as well as solicitors William and Edward Bray), in particular fractious negotiations relating to leases of Loseley Farm to the Smallpeices (see also lease LM/358/115), and other leases, a dispute concerning an insurance policy, and issues with Spicer, the tenant of Loseley house. James took an interest in the gardens at Loseley, and new plantings at St Catherine's, and a number of letters give instructions for garden work and discuss seeds and plants he proposed to import from France (-/-/-/109 pp.62-64, -/-/-/110 pp.58-60). New agricultural methods are also discussed (including -/-/-/110 pp.37-39, dealing with a lease stipulating terms of cultivation, -/-/-/44-46). Presentations to the living at Compton, which eventually passed to James's son the Rev George More Molyneux, are discussed, including relative to securing a resident minister (including -/-/-/107 pp.25-31, -/-/-/109 p.79, -/-/-/111 pp.5-6, 11-15, 17-20). The family chapel at St Nicholas excited controversy as James defended the family's need for seats in the new pews in the body of the church (-/-/-/108 pp.56-58, -/-/-/112 p.32-34). James continued to observe and comment on political matters: his thoughts on France and comparisons with the state of England on such topics as trade and education are included with more practical communications; his correspondence with Morris Birkbeck, an emigrant to the United States, results in letters on American civil life (-/-/-/45-46, 56, 94).
LM/COR/15/ LETTERS OF THE TIME OF JAMES MORE MOLYNEUX (1805-1874) 1825-1878 James More Molyneux (1805-1874) inherited Loseley in 1823, on the death of his father James. He was the oldest legitimate son of James and Ann More Molyneux (d.1843). James married Caroline Lowndes in 1832, and five children were born during the 1830s and early 1840s: Christopher (1833-1871), William (1835-1907), who became the heir, Robert (1838-1904), later Admiral Sir Robert Henry More Molyneux, Frances Caroline (d.1907) and Henrietta Ann (d.1918), later the wife of RL Mangles. During the early 1840s the family were often absent from Loseley travelling in Europe (for expenses, 1840-1842, see LM section F LM/1087/5/15-16); Loseley was also let in 1850 to Sir Claude Edward Scott (LM/359/30). James, a founder member of Surrey Archaeological Society, shared with his father an interest in the archives at Loseley and it was during his tenure that many of the earliest studies of the 16th century MSS were published. The relatively small quantity of correspondence dating from James's ownership includes discussions relating to the founding of St John's church, Farncombe (for which see also LM section D LM/540/1-28), negotiations relating to the establishing of a family vault at St Nicholas, Guildford (see also LM section F LM/359/46 for faculty and plan, 1838), and correspondence relating to the Loseley MSS including concerning delaying publication of Alfred Kempe's 'A Century of Persecution' due to controversy relating to Catholics at the time of the Catholic Emancipation Act (Apr 1829).