Church Commission land agent's records (Smiths Gore)

Twenty-four files of material accumulated by Smiths Gore, surveyors, of Peterborough, Northamptonshire in their role as land agents to the Church Commissioners for England and the latter's predecessors, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Most of the material relates to the Durham Bishopric and Durham Dean and Chapter estates in Co. Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire but there are also some items relating to other areas of the country.

The contents include:

• Correspondence, chiefly ca.1949-1960.
• Accounts and other financial material, probably chiefly 20th century.
• Papers re Co. Durham and Northumberland land tax, including some items re land tax redemption, early 19th century, with some details of fines paid for leases.
• Obsolete tenancy agreements.
• Papers and accounts re woods.
• Files re Boldon, Co. Durham and Dissington, Northumberland properties.
• Collection lists for Billingham, Bishop Middleham and Whitburn, Co. Durham.

The Church Commissioners for England have existed as such since 1 April 1948, at which date the amalgamation of the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the Poor Clergy (founded 1704) and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England (founded 1836) took effect under the provisions of the Church Commissioners Measure, 1947. In 1856 the Church Building Commissioners, constituted in 1818, had been dissolved and their remaining powers and duties transferred to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

The chief duty of the Church Commissioners and before them the Ecclesiastical Commissioners has always been to administer the secular estates and revenues of the Church of England in order to maximise financial support for the clergy. They also play a role in making provision for pastoral reorganisation and dealing with parsonage houses and new and redundant churches.

Since the nineteenth century Smiths Gore (formerly known as Smiths Gore & Co.), through their national network of offices, have acted as land agents for the Church Commissioners, dealing at a local level with land and financial transactions relating to ecclesiastical estates. Their Peterborough office, from which this collection came, appears to have coordinated such activities over a wide area.

This material has not yet been sorted or arranged.

Items less than 50 years old cannot be produced unless written permission to inspect them is obtained from Messrs. Smiths Gore of Peterborough.

Deposited with the Department of Palaeography and Diplomatic of the University of Durham (since 1990 part of the Archives and Special Collections department of Durham University Library) in July 1982 by Smiths Gore of Peterborough, Northamptonshire through the Chief Archivist of Northamptonshire.

The only catalogues are this collection-level description and a brief typescript list of the titles of the files in the main deposit which was received from the depositors; some of these titles are misleading or do not fully describe the contents of the file.

Church of England Record Centre, London: Church Commissioners' Records.

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Sub-Librarian, Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

In ca.1980-1982 Smiths Gore of Peterborough, Northamptonshire deposited in Northamptonshire Record Office a range of files relating to various parts of the country, some of which were subsequently redirected by the Chief Archivist of Northamptonshire to other record repositories.

Church Commission Deposit of Durham Bishopric Financial and Estate Records.

Church Commission Deposit of Durham Dean and Chapter Estate Records.

Church Commission Deposit of Durham Parsonage Houses, Benefice and Chapelry Income Papers.