Diaries of William John Boyle

Manuscript diaries written by William John Boyle of London covering most years from 1854 to 1915. There are no diary entries recorded for the years 1855-1856, 1869-1870, 1874-1876 and 1884. Entries written between 1 January 1857 and 31 December 1860 and between June 1907 and February 1915 are particularly detailed and provide details of Boyle's wide ranging interests including art, theatre and music. Entries for 1861 to 1906 consist of brief comments usually comprising one line and are not daily records. The number of entries per month during these years varies between two and eight.

The vast majority of diary entries relate to Boyle and his family. He resides in the East End of London throughout his life, attending church at St George-in-the-East, Stepney during the 1850s and 1860s. He moved to Hackney in 1879. The collection also contains notes and comments regarding Boyle's visit to Yorkshire during 1854 and where internal evidence suggests he met his future wife, Jane Richardson. His description of a visit to York in April 1854 is particularly detailed. Boyle continued to visit Yorkshire before he and Jane married in 1860.

Collectively these diaries form a substantial social record covering sixty years, from the mid-1850s to the early years of the First World War. Entries contain information about Boyle's career and business activities and there is evidence of his changing status over the years, reflecting the changing nature of his work in a book binding business. His elevated status as a businessman is evident in diary entries from later years. There is much evidence of Boyle's involvement in 'good works' and in church and parish governance; descriptions of social activities and entertainments; reports of sporting activities; interest in sailing and shipping; and comments on medical treatments. He provides descriptions of the weather as well as offering his own interpretations of the church sermons he listens to.

The diaries also refer to a number of national and international events including the Indian Mutiny of 1857; events relating to the Royal Family including births and deaths of family members; and general items of news including catastrophes and accidents such as a number of fires in London in 1858. During 1859 Boyle discusses events which would ultimately lead to the unification of Italy in 1861 and also offers some brief comments relating to events surrounding the Second Opium War in China (1856-1860). Boyle attends church regularly and in May 1857 provides a detailed interpretation of his opinion of the Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892). From 1858 onwards, a number of diary entries relate to Boyle's involvement with the Ragged School at Limehouse. Boyle also describes the Ritualism Riots at St George-in-the-East, London between May 1859 and July 1860. From 1914 to the end of the diary Boyle records various events during the early stages of the First World War.

William John Boyle was born on 20 June 1830 in Middlesex. Census returns indicate that he worked as a Stationer's Assistant, then as a Stationer, and later as an Account Book Manufacturer. Internal evidence from Boyle's diaries indicates that his father died on 27 July 1842 and his mother died on 13 December 1867 at the age of 62. It appears Boyle had three sisters: Sarah (1832-1895), Elizabeth (1834-1909) and Margaret (b 1839) whom he mentions frequently in his diary entries, especially during the 1850s and 1860s.

On 24 June 1860 Boyle married Jane Richardson (1835-1906) from Batley, West Yorkshire. Jane was born on 19 February 1835, the daughter of William and Catherine Richardson and her christening place is recorded as Owston, York. The couple had ten children: William (b 1861), Katie (b 1862), Charles (b 1864), Jessie (b 1865), Harry George (1867-1899), Edith (b c 1870), Emily (b 1873), Stanley (b 1875), Andrew (b 1877) and Edward James (b 1879).

Jane Boyle died, aged 71, on 30 April 1906. William Boyle died, aged 84, in March 1915. His death was registered in the London district of Hackney.

Sources: the diaries of William John Boyle; census returns for 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 available at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census/ and accessed April 2011; Free Births, Marriages and Deaths available at http://www.freebmd.org.uk and accessed April 2011; Family Search available at https://www.familysearch.org and accessed May 2011.

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Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, May 2011.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Purchased in July 2002 from Bristow & Garland.