The bulk of the correspondence is dated 1855-1858 and was sent by Sir William T. Denison, his wife Caroline Lucy, and many of their younger children to the two eldest sons, William Evelyn and Frank George, who were studying in England. It concerns the minutiae of everyday life of the family of Sir William T. Denison during his Governorships of the colonies of Van Diemen's Land, New South Wales and Madras. There is extensive correspondence with other family members in England, giving details of the Denisons' domestic and social lives. The influence of religious belief on the upbringing and education of the Denison children is evident.
There is also some correspondence of Sir William T. Denison with political figures such as Sir Charles Wood. The correspondence deals in part with matters of colonial government and administration. This includes information and opinions on such subjects as road building, transportation of convicts, labour supply, education and public works.
Other groups of correspondence include letters mostly to Clementina Denison, née Baillie-Hamilton, second wife of W.T. Denison's elder brother Edward Denison, Bishop of Salisbury, 1836-1870 (De Wm C 2 - De Wm C 36); letters mostly to Miss Louisa E. Denison, daughter of Edward Denison and his first wife Louisa Seymer, 1836-1910 (De Wm C 37-55); and two letters to Lady Elinor Denison, wife of W.E. Denison, 1905-1937 (De Wm C 84-85).
The collection also contains notices of official appointments of members of the Denison family, items concerned with the family estate including household inventories, and items relating to the genealogy of the family. There are close links between elements of this collection and the Denison of Ossington estate archive (De).