Hard-coded id of currently selected item: . JSON version of its record is available from Blacklight on e.g. ??
Metadata associated with selected item should appear here...
Add MS 89036
- Record Id:
- 032-002431741
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002431741
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000011172.0x000001
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Add MS 89036
- Title:
- The Papers of William Dacres Adams, including Political Papers of William Pitt, the Younger
- Scope & Content:
-
The papers of the civil servant William Dacres Adams (b 1775, d 1862) comprise, in the main, correspondence and other political papers from the period (1804-1806) when Adams served as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and include letters received by Pitt throughout this period together with some Pitt material of earlier date.
The collection also includes correspondence and political papers from Adams's next substantive post, as Private Secretary (1807-1809) to the Prime Minister the Duke of Portland, as well as correspondence relating to Adams's final appointment as a Commissioner of His Majesty's Woods and Forests and Land Revenues (from 1811 until his retirement in 1834).
The Pitt papers in the collection feature some drafts of speeches and memoranda addressing such matters as taxation, war with France, the raising of a volunteer militia, and the politics of Ireland, and also incorporate a number of brief notes and aides-memoires in Pitt's hand. In addition, there are some political documents not by Pitt, including, for example, a memorandum by Pellene (secretary to Louis XVI's minister Mirabeau) on the French Revolution, and a paper by Grenville on responses to an Austrian diplomatic approach to peace with France, as well as various contemporary reports of other continental diplomatic initiatives. There is also a document (1801) of some length reporting on meetings in different towns of Corresponding Societies (in Add MS 89036/1/20). Pitt's papers incorporate several autograph letters from King George III.
The collection includes a number of private letters to Adams, from politician and author Thomas Peregrine Courtenay (who succeeded Adams's father, William Adams, as M.P. for Totnes in 1811), and from members of the Stanhope family, particularly Lady Hester Stanhope, who was Pitt's niece and also godmother to Adams's son. These private letters include commentary on various public events, and provide first-hand reports of Pitt's declining health.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-002431741", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Add MS 89036: The Papers of William Dacres Adams, including Political Papers of William Pitt, the Younger" },{ "id" : "036-002431785", "parent" : "032-002431741", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1: William Dacres Adams: Political Papers of William Pitt, the Younger" },{ "id" : "040-002431787", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/1: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002431940", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/2: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002432377", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/3: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002432518", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/4: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002447533", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/5: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002447577", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/6: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002447716", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/7: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002447851", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/8: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002447977", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/9: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002476245", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/10: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002479363", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/11: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002479498", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/12: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002479618", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/13: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002479817", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/14: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002480207", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/15: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002480419", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/16: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002480648", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/17: William Dacres Adams: Political Correspondence of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481013", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/18: William Dacres Adams: Letters Received from Lady Augusta Murray" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481105", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/19: William Dacres Adams: Letters and Notes Received from William Pitt, the Younger, with some Miscellaneous Material" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481157", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/20: William Dacres Adams: Various Drafts and Working Notes of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481268", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/21: William Dacres Adams: Various Drafts and Working Notes of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481290", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/22: William Dacres Adams: Various Drafts and Working Notes of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481330", "parent" : "036-002431785", "text" : "Add MS 89036/1/23: William Dacres Adams: Various Drafts and Working Notes of William Pitt, the Younger" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "036-002481415", "parent" : "032-002431741", "text" : "Add MS 89036/2: William Dacres Adams: Letters from Lady Hester Stanhope and Other Members of the Stanhope Family" },{ "id" : "040-002481444", "parent" : "036-002481415", "text" : "Add MS 89036/2/1: William Dacres Adams: Letters from Lady Hester Stanhope" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481555", "parent" : "036-002481415", "text" : "Add MS 89036/2/2: William Dacres Adams: Letters from Lady Hester Stanhope" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481677", "parent" : "036-002481415", "text" : "Add MS 89036/2/3: William Dacres Adams: Letters from Lady Hester Stanhope" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481828", "parent" : "036-002481415", "text" : "Add MS 89036/2/4: William Dacres Adams: Letters from Charles Banks Stanhope and James Hamilton Stanhope, with Other Stanhope Letters" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "036-002481864", "parent" : "032-002431741", "text" : "Add MS 89036/3: William Dacres Adams: Papers Relating to the Duke of Portland" },{ "id" : "040-002481867", "parent" : "036-002481864", "text" : "Add MS 89036/3/1: William Dacres Adams: Duke of Portland Papers (1)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002481975", "parent" : "036-002481864", "text" : "Add MS 89036/3/2: William Dacres Adams: Duke of Portland Papers (2)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002487857", "parent" : "036-002481864", "text" : "Add MS 89036/3/3: William Dacres Adams: Duke of Portland Papers (3)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002558355", "parent" : "036-002481864", "text" : "Add MS 89036/3/4: William Dacres Adams: Duke of Portland Papers (4)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "036-002558444", "parent" : "032-002431741", "text" : "Add MS 89036/4: William Dacres Adams: Correspondence, Office of Woods and Forests" },{ "id" : "040-002558451", "parent" : "036-002558444", "text" : "Add MS 89036/4/1: William Dacres Adams: Correspondence, Office of Woods and Forests (1)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002558620", "parent" : "036-002558444", "text" : "Add MS 89036/4/2: William Dacres Adams: Correspondence, Office of Woods and Forests (2)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "036-002558827", "parent" : "032-002431741", "text" : "Add MS 89036/5: William Dacres Adams: Personal Correspondence, and Other Miscellaneous Material" },{ "id" : "040-002558830", "parent" : "036-002558827", "text" : "Add MS 89036/5/1: William Dacres Adams: Correspondence with Thomas Peregrine Courtenay" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002558964", "parent" : "036-002558827", "text" : "Add MS 89036/5/2: William Dacres Adams: Family and Other Letters and Documents" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-002559974", "parent" : "036-002558827", "text" : "Add MS 89036/5/3: William Dacres Adams: Letters Received by Thomas Peregrine Courtenay, and Other Correspondence" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002431741
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Contains:
- Add MS 89036/1 : William Dacres Adams: Political Papers of William Pitt, the Younger
Add MS 89036/2 : William Dacres Adams: Letters from Lady Hester Stanhope and Other Members of the Stanhope Family
Add MS 89036/3 : William Dacres Adams: Papers Relating to the Duke of Portland
Add MS 89036/4 : William Dacres Adams: Correspondence, Office of Woods and Forests
Add MS 89036/5 : William Dacres Adams: Personal Correspondence, and Other Miscellaneous Material
Click here to View / search full list of parts of Add MS 89036 - Hierarchy:
- 032-002431741
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Add MS 89036
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- 36 files
- Digitised Content:
- Languages:
- English
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1770
- End Date:
- 1906
- Date Range:
- 1770-1906
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
Please request the physical items you need using the online collection item request form.
Digitised items can be viewed online by clicking the thumbnail image or digitised content link.
Readers who have registered or renewed their pass since 21 March 2024 can request physical items prior to visiting the Library by completing
this request form.
Please enter the Reference (shelfmark) above on the request form.If your Reader Pass was issued before this date, you will need to visit the Library in London or Yorkshire to renew it before you can request items online. All manuscripts and archives must be consulted at the Library in London.
This catalogue record may describe a collection of items which cannot all be requested together. Please use the hierarchy viewer to navigate to individual items. Some items may be in use or restricted for other reasons. If you would like to check the availability, contact our Reference Services team, quoting the Reference (shelfmark) above.
- User Conditions:
- Custodial History:
- The majority of the papers (formerly PRO 30 58/1-11) were deposited on loan at the Public Record Office (now, The National Archives) in 1954 by the solicitors of Major David Fisher-Rowe. PRO 30 58/12 was acquired by the Public Record Office in 1964 as a gift from Herbert Mayow Adams. The collection as a whole was withdrawn from the Public Record Office on 15 September 1988, and was purchased by the British Library in March 2012 by private negotiation conducted through Sotheby's. Some letters of family interest (including some letters from the daughters of George III) from PRO 30 58/11 were retained by the owner. Pitt's biographer, John Ehrman, considers that the papers of Pitt in the possession of the Adams family were those that were held at Walmer Castle at the time of Pitt's death (see Ehrman, Vol. 3: The Consuming Struggle, p. 836). Letters (1806) from the Bishop of Lincoln (Pretyman Tomline) to Adams that refer to the papers at Walmer can be found in Add MS 89036/1/17 - see particularly, item 28, Bishop of Lincoln to Adams, 8 February 1806.
- Former External References:
- PRO 30 58/1-12
- Former Internal References:
- Dep. 10702
- Arrangement:
-
The arrangement of the papers corresponds in the main to their order when in the custody of the Public Record Office; the Public Record Office numbering of individual manuscripts that remains written on each manuscript has guided their order of presentation. However, prior to their purchase by the British Library, a number of manuscripts relating to William Pitt from PRO 30 58/12 were inserted in the main body of Pitt-related papers at appropriate chronological points. Papers relating to the Duke of Portland that also formed part of PRO 30 58/12 have been re-united with other Portland papers, to form the fourth file in the series Add MS 89036/3.
The papers of William Dacres Adams are arranged into the following Series:
- Add MS 89036/1 Political Papers of William Pitt, the Younger.
- Add MS 89036/2 Letters from Lady Hester Stanhope and Other Members of the Stanhope Family.
- Add MS 89036/3 Papers Relating to the Duke of Portland.
- Add MS 89036/4 Correspondence, Office of Woods and Forests.
- Add MS 89036/5 Personal Correspondence, and Other Miscellaneous Material.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)
- Names:
- Adams, William Dacres, civil servant, 1775-1862