Papers of the Smith-Bromley Family of East Stoke, Nottinghamshire, 1305-1876

The collection contains the estate papers, manorial records, title deeds of property and other legal papers relating to land held by the Smith-Bromley family. The majority of the property records relate to the lands in the parish of East Stoke and neighbouring Nottinghamshire parishes but there are also documents concerning places in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Flintshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Westmorland, Lancashire and Huntingdonshire.

The collection is particularly rich in property records and associated legal documents. Few rentals or other records showing the economic base of the estate and family are present. The correspondence is almost entirely of a business nature and there are only occasional items of a family or personal nature.

Although the collection is very incomplete, it does contain most of the types of records which would be usual in an estate archive. They include: manorial records (terriers, valuations, bailiffs' accounts and court rolls) dating from the 15th century and later, deeds from the 14th century, ecclesiastical records concerning tithes, endowments and collections, and administrative records including the sheriff's acquittance or the appointment of the undersheriff from the 18th century. There are also additional deposits of 19th century title deeds. Although maps and plans have not in general survived, there is a map of 1561 depicting part of East Stoke.

Sir Henry Bromley, Baronet (1818-1895) of Stoke Hall, East Stoke, Nottinghamshire was the head of the Bromley family in 1876, the date of the last dated item in this collection. Sir Henry was the 4th to succeed to a baronetage that was created on 31 October 1757 for Sir George Smith (c. 1714-1769), elder son of eminent Nottingham banker, Abel Smith. Sir George's son George (1753-1808) succeeded him to the baronetage. He assumed the name of Bromley on 7 February 1778 at the request of Robert Bromley esq. of Abberley, Worcestershire, the unmarried first cousin of Sir George's mother. This was presumably a condition of Sir George becoming Robert Bromley's heir. Sir George Bromley was followed by his son, Robert Howe (1778-1873) who in turn was succeeded by Sir Henry Bromley Bart., his eldest surviving son.

Sir Henry, the 4th baronet, was a JP, Doctor of Letters and High Sheriff (1882) for Nottinghamshire. He was also captain of the 3rd Nottinghamshire Rifle Volunteers and the 48th foot regiment. He married Charlotte Frances Anne Rolleston (d.1853) in 1848 and Georgina Ellen Vere-Fane in 1856.

Abel Smith is said to have inherited lands in the Nottinghamshire parishes of Elston and East Stoke from James Banks (d.1729) of Nottingham, JP and high sheriff (1722) and a relative of his mother. Abel Smith was the first member of the Smith family to live in East Stoke and may have erected Stoke Hall, said to have been built about 1750 on the site of St. Leonard's Hospital or a former manorial hall. Stoke Hall remained in the Smith-Bromley family until 1923 when it was sold by Sir Maurice Bromley, the 7th baronet. The Smith-Bromleys were lords of the manor of East Stoke until this date. The family also owned estates in the Nottinghamshire parishes of Elston, Owthorpe and Thorpe and their holdings stretched into a number of neighbouring counties.

East Stoke is a village and parish in Newark Hundred and was in the northern wapentake of Thurgarton in Southwell Union.

The collection was not given any structure or logical arrangement when it was acquired by The University of Nottingham Library and its order of listing, by item, still reflects the original order in which it was received.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

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

NOTE: Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

• In the Reading Room, The University of Nottingham Library: Typescript Catalogue to item level, 67 pp
• At the National Register of Archives, London: Typescript Catalogue to item level, 67 pp

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make any published use of any material from the 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 can be difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

LANGUAGE: English, Latin

The bulk of the collection was acquired in the 1940s by The University of Nottingham and subsequent additions were received by the University's Department of Manuscripts in 1978 and 1987.