John and Erasmus Philipps MSS,

Two journals, 1717-1737, and a fragment of a letter-book, 1726-1727, of Sir Erasmus Philipps, fifth baronet, of Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire, containing descriptions of tours in Wales, England, Holland and Germany, entries relating to family and political matters, etc.; and a notebook, 1706-1710, of Erasmus's father, Sir John Philipps, fourth baronet, of Picton Castle, containing details relating to the execution of the will of his brother-in-law, John Shorter.

Sir John Philipps, 4th baronet, was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he however left without graduating. He entered Lincoln's Inn in January 1683/4 but was not subsequently called to the Bar. In 1695 John Philipps was elected Member of Parliament for Pembroke borough, a seat he held until 1702, though he subsequently re-entered Parliament and was Member for Haverfordwest until 1722. He married Mary Smith, daughter and heiress of a wealthy East India merchant and had three sons and three daughters. From 1695 to 1737 John Philipps took a leading role in all the religious and philanthropic movements of the day, such as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and the East India Mission; he also corresponded with other prominent figures in the field. He founded many schools in his home county of Pembrokeshire and in Carmarthenshire. John Philipps died in 1737 and was succeeded by his son, Erasmus Philipps, 5th baronet. Erasmus Philipps was initially educated privately, then at Pembroke College, Oxford; like his father, he did not graduate but entered Lincoln's Inn in 1721. He was Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest from 1726 until his death and served as sheriff of Carmarthenshire in 1727. Erasmus Philipps died by drowning after being thrown from his horse into the River Avon. He was unmarried.

Arranged according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 23273-23276.

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions set out in information provided when applying for their Readers' Tickets, whereby the reader shall become responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 in relation to any processing by them of personal data obtained from modern records held at the Library.

Disgwylir i ddarllenwyr sydd am ddefnyddio papurau modern yn Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru gydymffurfio â Deddf Warchod Data 2018 a Rheoliadau Diogelu Data Cyffredinol 2018 yng nghyd-destun unrhyw brosesu ganddynt o ddata personol a gasglwyd o gofnodion modern sydd ar gadw yn y Llyfrgell. Nodir y manylion yn yr wybodaeth a roddir wrth wneud cais am Docyn Darllen.

NLW MSS 23273-23275; Sotheby's (lot 490); London; Purchase; 1994
NLW MS 23276A; Mr Thomas Lloyd; Cilgeti; Donation; 1994

Sir John Philipps, 4th baronet, was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he however left without graduating. He entered Lincoln's Inn in January 1683/4 but was not subsequently called to the Bar. In 1695 John Philipps was elected Member of Parliament for Pembroke borough, a seat he held until 1702, though he subsequently re-entered Parliament and was Member for Haverfordwest until 1722. He married Mary Smith, daughter and heiress of a wealthy East India merchant and had three sons and three daughters. From 1695 to 1737 John Philipps took a leading role in all the religious and philanthropic movements of the day, such as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and the East India Mission; he also corresponded with other prominent figures in the field. He founded many schools in his home county of Pembrokeshire and in Carmarthenshire. John Philipps died in 1737 and was succeeded by his son, Erasmus Philipps, 5th baronet. Erasmus Philipps was initially educated privately, then at Pembroke College, Oxford; like his father, he did not graduate but entered Lincoln's Inn in 1721. He was Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest from 1726 until his death and served as sheriff of Carmarthenshire in 1727. Erasmus Philipps died by drowning after being thrown from his horse into the River Avon. He was unmarried.

Title based on contents.

March 2009.

Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume IX (Aberystwyth, 2003); Bywgraffiadur Cymreig WWW site; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography WWW site;

See also NLW MS 1444F, which contains an undated extract, in the hand of Egerton Allen, from a diary of Erasmus Philipps, giving a description of the election of a Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest, 5 September 1727. See also NLW Cwrtmawr Deeds 704, which contains a release of property, 13 April 1711, between Sir John Philipps and John Shorter, son of John Shorter, deceased, relating to property in King Street, Westminster once belonging to John Shorter, deceased.

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales