| Administrative History | The basis of the following description of the Paget estates and the descent of the title is taken from the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Principal family and estate collections L-Z (1999); the Complete Peerage (GEC, 1910 and 1945); and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
The Paget family's great landed wealth was established by Sir William Paget (1505/6-1563), the Tudor statesman and diplomat who served Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary. He was knighted in 1544 and in 1549 created Baron Paget of Beaudesert. In 1546 Paget acquired various manors in grants from the crown. Abbots Bromley and Burton in Staffordshire; Littleover, Mickleover and Findern in Derbyshire; Austrey in Warwickshire; and Appleby in Leicestershire were granted from the estates of the dissolved Abbey of Burton. Appleby and Austrey were sold in 1555 and the Derbyshire property in the 17th century. Longdon, Haywood, Cannock and Rugeley all in Staffordshire were lands of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, which were surrendered to the Crown and subsequently granted to Paget. Weston on Trent in Derbyshire was part of the estates of the Bishop of Chester and similarly surrendered and conveyed. The property of the Chantry of St Radegund was purchased at the dissolution of the Chantries and that of Farewell in 1550 from the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield. In addition to these properties in the Midlands, Paget also acquired estates in Middlesex (West Drayton, Harmondsworth) and Buckinghamshire (Iver, Great Marlow). Paget thereafter continued to acquire property in Staffordshire around the core manors and to develop the estates, including their woodland and mineral resources.
He was succeded by his eldest son Henry, 2nd Baron Paget (c1537-1568), who left only a baby daughter, Elizabeth (1568-1570), who died two years later. Although a few earlier works such as the Complete Peerage (GEC) and the Oxford DNB class her as the 3rd Baron most now discount her (the baroncy only being inherited by heirs male). Her uncle, who succeeded to the estates and title, was Thomas, 3rd Lord Paget (1540-1590). Thomas Paget was a Catholic recusant and fled to the continent in 1583 following his implication in the Throckmorton Plot. His attainder, whereby the barony was forfeit, was confirmed by Act of Parliament in March 1586/7. He died in 1590 and his son William, 4th Baron Paget (1572-1629) was restored to the barony in 1604. The 4th Baron married in 1602 Lettice, daughter and co-heir of Henry Knollys, through whom estates in Berkshire (Stanford-in-the-Vale, sold 1715) and Warwickshire (Nuneaton, sold 1765) passed to the Paget family.
On his death in 1629 the estates and title passed to his son William, 5th Baron Paget (1609-1678) and then on his death to his son also William, 6th Baron Paget (1637-1713). His son, Henry, 7th Baron Paget (1665-1743) was created Baron Burton in 1712 and Earl of Uxbridge in 1714. He married in 1686 Mary Catesby of Whiston (Northamptonshire), but the Whiston estate, together with unsettled estates in Anglesey, Carnarvonshire and Staffordshire, passed on Lord Uxbridge's death in 1743 to his kinsman Sir William Irby, 2nd Bt, later 1st Baron Boston. His son and heir Thomas Catesby Paget predeceased him and the estates and title passed to his grandson Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge (1719-1769). On his death without issue in 1769 the Paget barony and estates were inherited by Sir Henry Bayly (1744-1812), 3rd Bt, of Plas Newydd (Anglesey). As 9th Baron Paget he took the surname Paget from 1770 and he was created 1st Earl of Uxbridge (new creation) in 1784. His son Henry William Paget (1768-1854), 2nd Earl of Uxbridge was created Marquess of Anglesey in 1815. The descent of the property and title continued in this line to the present day.
Sir Edward Bayly, 1st Bt, grandfather of Sir Henry Bayly and grandson of Lewis Bayly, Bishop of Bangor (d. 1631), had inherited in 1715 estates in Wales (Anglesey, Carnarvonshire, etc) and Ireland (the Cooley and Omeath estates in County Louth, four townlands in the Newry area of County Down and property in Galway town) from his cousin Nicholas Bagenal. (The major part of the Newry estate, however, passed to the Needham family, Viscounts and later Earls of Kilmorey.) In addition to the Paget and Bayly estates Lord Paget also succeeded in 1780 to part of the extensive Dorset and Somerset estates (Stalbridge, Milborne Port, etc) of Peter Walter (d. 1752).
Sales of property in Buckinghamshire and Middlesex (Iver and West Drayton) in the late 18th century were followed by the disposal of a major portion of the Walter estates (Milborne Port, etc) in 1825, and Stalbridge (to Lord Grosvenor), Harmondsworth and the Irish estates in the 1850s. In 1883 the extent and value of the Paget estates were given as follows: Staffordshire 17,441 acres, Derbyshire 1,559 acres, Dorset 1,117 acres, Anglesey 9,620 acres, total 29,737 acres; worth £110,598 a year [Complete Peerage (GEC, 1910)]. Most of the Staffordshire estates were sold in the 20th century, and in 1935 Beaudesert was demolished, Plas Newydd in Anglesey becoming the principal seat. |
| Description | This is a major family and estate collection with significant medieval content, including a collection of important Anglo-Saxon charters, 10th-11th centuries and records of the properties of the Abbey of Burton and the Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield. The collection also includes the earliest chronicle source for the local history of Staffordshire, entitled 'A List of the Several Abbots of Burton upon Trent'. The core family estates were in Staffordshire and records of these estates are comprehensive. In addition to records of the combined estates held at Staffordshire Record Office there are considerable collections for the Buckinghamshire and Middlesex estates held at Buckinghamshire Record Office and London Metropolitan Archives respectively. Similarly there are few records of the Angelsey property that came into the estate through the Bayley family in the late 18th century (see related material). An overview of the collection is given below:
Deeds
The core Paget estates were Staffordshire manors formerly belonging to the Abbey of Burton and the Bishops of Lichfield and Coventry. The medieval records include deeds for the estates of Burton Abbey, beginning with two 10th-century charters and the significant charter of Ethelred [II] confirming the grant by Wulfric Spot of possessions in the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire for the foundation of Burton Abbey, 1004. The deeds for the lay estates of Burton Abbey at Burton upon Trent, Abbots Bromley and Blithfield survive from the early 13th century onwards. Similar series of deeds for the former estates of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield across Staffordshire and the former Derbyshire estates of St. Werburgh's Abbey, Chester survive from the 12th century onwards. The medieval deeds are supplemented by cartularies (fragments) of the Abbot of Burton, 13th century, and the Bishop of Lichfield, 15th century. At the end of this series are valours of the estates and goods of Burton Abbey at the dissolution, 1545 and the Royal grant to Paget in 1549. Amongst this small group of documents 'Articles for ordering my lord's things about Burton', mid-16th century, sheds light on the management of the newly acquired Paget lands.
The deeds from the mid-16th century, when the estates were acquired by the Paget family, are arranged by estate. The Burton estate deeds in this section date from the mid-16th to 20th centuries. Deeds for the Beaudesert estate, principally the manors formerly belonging to the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, cover a similar period. There are fewer deeds for the estates in other counties. The post-reformation deeds are supported by abstracts of title of the Earls of Uxbridge and Marquesses of Anglesey to the Staffordshire estates, 1744-1918, and a long series of copies of original deeds with related papers dated 12th-17th centuries. The latter includes papers relating to the confiscation and restitution of the Paget lands following the attainder of Thomas, 3rd Baron Paget, in 1587.
In summary the deeds comprise:
Staffordshire: A full set of deeds, including Anglo-Saxon charters: Burton on Trent, Abbots Bromley, Longdon, Cannock, Rugeley and Lichfield, 10th-19th centuries.
Derbyshire: Aston, Mickleover and other Derbys. manors, 13th-16th centuries.
Buckinghamshire: Iver, 16th-17th centuries
Middlesex: Harmondsworth, 14th-17th centuries
Warwickshire: Nuneaton, 17th-18th centuries
Settlements
Documents include marriage settlements, copies of proved wills, probate inventories, inquisitions post mortem, arbitration awards, grants of wardship, royal pardons, letters of attorney, etc.16th-20th centuries. Among the settlements are documents relating to the property of Thomas, 3rd Baron Paget, after his illegal flight to the continent in 1583 following the discovery of the Throckmorton Plot.
Estate sales
This section comprises: papers re the sale of the Burton and Beaudesert estates and Beaudesert Hall, 1881-1963; documents concerning the sale of Cannock Forest and sales of land for the Cannock Chase and Wolverhampton Railway; and a few papers for other estates, 1881-1939.
Leases
There are some 1500 leases in the collection, 1554-1914, chiefly for property in the Staffordshire manors of Burton on Trent, Abbots Bromley, Longdon, Cannock and Rugeley, and Haywood and the Derbyshire properties. From about 1600 the leases are largely of standard form - for three lives, with payment of a substantial fine and only a nominal rent. This form of lease carries on into the nineteenth century by which time it is very archaic indeed and only from 1863 do the leases tend to be for a term of sixty or ninety years. From 1864 all leases have inset plans. The leases are supported by lease books, 1689-1814.
Manorial (see Manorial records section of the catalogue for further description)
Manorial records, covering a period from 1279 to the first half of the 20th century, are a strength of this collection, which includes some 600 rolls and 150 accounts (see also estate accounts). Court records for Rugeley and Cannock, Haywood and Longdon continue in a more or less uninterrupted series well into the 20th century, giving the most complete series of manorial records in the county. The most comprehensive records of individual manors, including, court rolls, court books, accounts and surveys are for the Staffordshire estates as follows:
Abbots Bromley, 15th-19th centuries
Burton on Trent, 13th-18th centuries
Cannock and Rugeley, 14th-20th centuries
Haywood, 14th-20th centuries
Lichfield, 15th-16th centuries
Longdon, 14th-20th centuries
In addition there are good series of accounts for the combined manors of the Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, 1304-1542; and the combined manors of the Pagets, including receiver generals' accounts, 1541-1702 and bailiffs' accounts, 1545-1704. More unusual records include: the Lichfield reeve's account showing expenses when the king came to Lichfield in 1309; and two detailed toll books for Rugeley Fair, late 18th-early 19th centuries. The manorial records also include early estate surveys (see also estate records below), including an elaborate extent of the manors of the Bishop of Chester [Coventry and Lichfield], 13th century. This includes all the episcopal manors, not just those later acquired by the Pagets. There are further surveys for the Paget period of ownership, 16th-19th centuries, including detailed valors or rentals of all the property of Lord Paget, 1550 and 1597.
There is less material for individual manors outside Staffordshire, although there is a good series of accounts for the manor of Weston-on-Trent, Derbyshire, 1315-c 1496. The rentals for the manor of Stanford in the Vale (Berkshire), 1580-1663, survive in this collection as a result of William, 5th Baron Paget's interest in the estate through his marriage to Lettice, one of the co-heiresses of Henry Knollys. Detailed records for the manor of Misterton, Leicestershire, 1548-1554, came to the collection through Lord Paget's wardship of Michael Pulteney.
Estate records
There are some 450 estate rentals, surveys and valuations (see also manorial records), chiefly for the Staffordshire estates but also for combined estates of Staffordshire and Derbyshire, and Somerset and Dorset, 18th-19th centuries. In addition there are some rentals for other estates, including the Buckinghamshire and Middlesex estates, 16th-18th centuries, although these could not be described as a series. Also of note are the ocular surveys of the manor of Nuneaton, Attleborrow and Stockingford, mid-18th century, which along with the usual details give notes of closes with coal pits and accounts of coal.
Records of estate administration are also a strength of this collection. The financial records comprise full estate accounts ( in addition to the manorial accounts), 14th-19th cent; and receipts and vouchers, 16th-19th centuries, mainly for the Staffordshire estates, but also a good series for the Welsh estates, 1748-1844. Estate correspondence begins in the early 18th century, arranged by agent, but only becomes voluminous in the late 18th century. The papers of the trustees of the Anglesey settled estates, include correspondence about the sale of the Beaudesert estate and demolition of Beaudesert Hall, 1930s. The correspondence is supplemented with some 850 documents classed loosely as estate memoranda, 16th-19th centuries. These shed light on particular estate concerns, principally the management of woodland and forest, game, Cannock Chase, enclosure disputes, mining, ironworks and other industrial interests, and, later, railways and canals. However they also include such disparate documents as: early lists of freeholders; account books for Beaudesert Farm, mid-19th century; papers re Samuel Wyatt's work on the Great Hall and kitchen garden at Beaudesert, late-18th century; and a list of the poor that used to have pottage in Longdon and Cannock Wood, with number of children, 1791. The main bulk of the 16th-century memoranda and letters are in the hand of William Ward, Receiver General to Lord Paget and largely concern the management of woodland.
Industrial exploitation
The Tudor accounts of Bromley Forge and Cannock Wood and Teddesley Ironworks form a compact series. The forge accounts for iron made and sold, and payments and charges are continuous from 1572, with briefer accounts from 1563. The ironworks accounts start in 1568 but only occur in detail of iron delivered, payments made and stock remaining from 1576-82. There are also some subsidiary accounts and vouchers for these iron works, and for coal and charcoal workings at Beaudesert, 1563-1640s. For the later period there are detailed coal mining accounts for Staffordshire, along with leases, correspondence, etc., 1743-1930s.
Legal case papers
There are papers relating to over 300 legal cases, chiefly Staffordshire, 16th-20th centuries and including Cannock Chase case papers.
Maps and plans
The series of Staffordshire estate maps, 18th-20th centuries, include: 18th-century plans of parts of Cannock Chase; a fine set of of maps of the Burton estate by William Wyatt, 1757-1760, made to accompany an estate survey; late 18th-century sketch plans of the gardens at Beaudesert, redesigned by Samuel Wyatt; and a plan of Brereton Colliery, 1814.
The architect's drawings include: 72 plans of Beaudesert Hall by Joseph Potter of Lichfield, 1818-1836; plans of Sinai Park, also by Potter; and plans re proposed alterations at Beaudesert, 1909-1914, following the 1909 fire. The Burton manorial surveys series also includes plans, specifications and estimates for a mansion at Burton, 1559-1563.
Household
Apart from the weekly kitchen account of Burton Abbey (c1349) and an account of food consumed daily in the household of John Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 1461, the household accounts belong to the Pagets and are particularly detailed for 1577-82. The household accounts and vouchers are arranged by establishment, of which there are 23, excluding yachts, for which there are also detailed accounts and vouchers, late 18th-19th centuries. There is a further series of accounts for particular divisions of the household, including the steward of the household and kitchen 16th-17th centuries; and groom and coachman, cook, valet and the cellar, 18th-19th centuries. Supplementary to all the accounts and very important for the amount of detail they give are the vouchers to account which occur from the mid-16th century, either loose or filed annually by the individual accountant. Bills of all types occur: for things for Burton Church, for building a dog kennel, for spice, for horsemeat, for brickmaking, for pensions to the brethren of Keypeyere Hospital, Durham, to mention only a few. The accounts and vouchers are particularly full for the late 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to accounts there are over 40 household inventories, 1570s-1880.
Personal papers
The early family correspondence, 1502-1630, comprises copies of over 500 original letters held at Keele University Library. These letters are a complete mixture: some involve affairs of state, some are personal, some concern routine estate matters. The bulk of this series (c 400 letters) is the correspondence of Thomas, 3rd Baron Paget, who fled to Paris in 1583 having been implicated in the Throckmorton Plot. Among letters from family and other members of the nobility, of particular interest is the correspondence with members of the Privy Council trying to turn him from his recusancy and to reconcile him with his wife, Nazareth, from whom he separated in 1582.
There is substantial original correspondence for the period of William, 5th Baron Paget, in the 17th century through to the 1st Marquess of Angelsey (1768-1854), much of it relating to estate and business interests as well as political and family matters. The papers of William 6th Baron Paget, include correspondence during his period as ambassador at Vienna then Constantinople, 1690s. The correspondence from the period of Henry, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, (1665-1743) onwards is much fuller. Of particular interest are the numerous letters relating to a wide range of local activities and concerns, including: local enclosure riots, the management of Cannock Chase, poaching, the building of canals, town improvements, the Menai Bridge. Political matters such as elections and the American War also arise. The correspondence of the 1st Marquess covers similar subjects but also includes, as might be expected, letters from former soldiers, sailors, surgeons and chaplains with service in the Peninsula or at Waterloo. Personal accounts and vouchers shed further light on the family's activities and life-style for the period, from the 1730s to the 1850s.
Various members of the Paget family held public offices both locally and nationally and this is reflected to some extent in the personal papers (see also related material). For example there are papers relating to Lord Paget/Marquess of Anglesey's role as Commander of the Staffordshire and Anglesey militias in the period leading up to and during the early years of the Napoleonic Wars. Other military matters arise in the personal papers such as: an order to Lord Paget to raise five hundred men to meet Ket's rebellion, 1549; letters re the activities of the Staffordshire Regiment, 1791-1799; correspondence re Sir Edward Paget being taken prisoner in Spain, 1814; and papers re the 7th Regiment, Light Dragoons, of which the Marquess of Anglesey was Colonel from 1803.
Among the more miscellaneous papers are a 16th-century account for the building of the Paget tomb in Lichfield Cathedral. More unexpected are the pages from a manuscript of the Speculum Vitae, a long 14th-century work in Middle English verse, ascribed to William of Nassington. These were found as covers of detailed agricultural accounts for the Misterton Estate, Leicestershire.
Note:
Accession D603 add (2000) is uncatalogued. It consists of 5 boxes of papers relating mainly to Surbiton House.
Accession 6029 is uncatalogued. It consists of sixteen medieval deeds, two deeds 1649 and 1664, with covering note, 1894.
Accession D6058 is uncatalogued. It consists of about 50 working maps of the estate, 20th cent., and 7 volumes of accounts, leases, rates, etc.
Please ask for further information about accessing uncatalogued collections. |