Loan 96 RLF 5/7/1

Contains documents relating to the leasing and upkeep of the Literary Fund’s first house, 36, Gerard Street in Soho, the leasing of which was made possible by a donation from the Prince of Wales. Includes 1805 letters from Edmund Baker to David Williams, Thomas Dale, Benjamin Hobhouse and Richard Yates about the arrangements, a printed flyer advertising for subscribers, communications from the house’s owner, Henry North, a copy of the lease (on parchment; the agreement signed between North and Thomas Pelham, Earl of Chichester), a memorandum of agreement regarding the house, three lists of the house’s fixtures (one with valuations), the minutes of the meeting at which the lease was discussed, a report on the premises by Frognall, Lightfoot & Robson, receipts for payments, a letter from Chichester to Baker on the house, an 1806 letter from Baker to Williams on the house, a subsequent report by Williams including a second document on the house’s uses, and a letter of subscription arrears. Also includes later documents concerning the house including a letter on taxes, communications from Henry North and his lawyer (J. Augustus Bonney), the 1812 lease agreement (a seven year extension), a letter on the drains, a letter from Barbara Lucas to Richard Yates following the death of David Williams and later letters between North and Chichester.