Estate Papers of the Eyre family of Grove, Nottinghamshire, 1500-1849

Scope and Content

The collection consists of material relating to the estates of the Johnson, Wasteney and Eyre families from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The vast majority are title deeds, although there are two sixteenth-century court rolls of Headon Manor and some late eighteenth-century papers relating to disputes about manorial rights. A small number of maps and plans from the eighteenth century are present. There are also two seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manorial court books from Rampton and Treswell. The few eighteenth-century personal papers concern Sir Hardolph Wasteney. The presence of a number of nineteenth-century Royal Navy log books can be attributed to the naval interests and careers of certain members of the Vernon family.

Administrative / Biographical History

The documents in this collection fall into two groups. One concerns estates in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire inherited by the Eyre family from the families of Wasteney and Johnson, and one concerns Eyre family estates in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.

Thomas Johnson of Bilsby (d 1699) held lands in Lincolnshire and Nottingham. On his death his lands passed to his stepson, who died soon afterward in 1703. Johnson's niece Judith, wife of Sir Hardolph Wasteney of Headon, inherited at this time. The lands then passed to Sir Hardolph's great niece, Judith Laetitia Bury, who married Anthony Eyre of Adwick le Street, Yorkshire in 1755.

The Eyre family had estates in Adwick le Street and Laughton in Yorkshire, which they sold in the 1760s. They also held lands in Rampton and Treswell in Nottinghamshire, as well as the Manor of Grove. The latter was purchased by Anthony Eyre in 1762. Along with Grove, the Eyres also acquired lands in Little Gringley and Ordsall, Nottinghamshire. The Grove estate passed to Granville Harcourt Vernon, seventh son of George, first Baron Vernon, who married Frances Julia, one of the daughters and heirs of Anthony Hardolph Eyre of Grove (d 1835).

Arrangement

The documents have been arranged in territorial groups as held by the families from whom the Eyres derived their title.

Access Information

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers

REPROGRAPHIC: Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

Other Finding Aids

NOTE: Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

  • In the Reading Room, University of Nottingham Library: Typescript Catalogue, 15 pp
  • At the National Register of Archives, London: Typescript Catalogue, 15 pp

Conditions Governing Use

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk ). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

LANGUAGE: English and Latin.

Custodial History

The collection was acquired by the University in 1946.

Related Material

  • An uncatalogued accession of papers of the Paget family of Rampton, Nottinghamshire (ACC 1614)