| Description | The Earl of Dudley Estate Collection comprises around 12,000 documents (c.400 archive boxes), 250 volumes and 2,000 rolled maps and plans. From twelfth-century land grants to twentieth-century coal mining statistics, the collection demonstrates the administrative foundations of a large landed estate heavily involved in industry. Given the importance of the Earl of Dudley Estate in industrial enterprise - and the sheer expanse of the estate's landholdings - the collection gives a unique insight into the changing landscape and industrial development of the Black Country.
However, the collection is not limited to the shores of Britain: there are also records concerning the Dudley's Jamaican estates and the time when the 2nd Earl of Dudley was Governor General of Australia. Records in the collection include deeds, manorial documents, estate records (accounts, correspondence and tenancy documents), legal documents, business records, ecclesiastical records, official records and personal records, as well as an extensive number of maps and plans. The collection was partially catalogued but never fully listed for many years.
The first deposit of records, mainly deeds and manorial documents, came in 1947. More records from the estate office were deposited in the 1960s and a third deposit consisting of illuminated addresses came to the archive service in 2003. In 2013, work began on a project funded by a substantial grant from the National Cataloguing Grants Programme to fully catalogue the collection. The project gave the archives an opportunity to have a full-time project archivist and part-time project assistant working solely on the collection.
Notes on Arrangement:
The arrangement of the collection aims to reflect the original order of the collection as evidenced by the documents. This arrangement has also been influenced by the former 'draft' arrangements of the collection by various archivists over the years since the collection was deposited with the archives service, as well as by archival practice in arranging estate collections (see Philippa White, "The arrangement of estate records", in 'Journal of the Society of Archivists' (Spring, 1992), p.1-8). The arrangement of this catalogue begins with the Title Deeds (section DE/1), Wills, Settlements and Mortgages (DE/2) and Manorial Records (DE/3) as standard archival practice with estate collections.
This is followed by the Estate Records of the Himley estates (DE/4) including records regarding trusteeships, legal papers, schedules of documents, surveys, valuations, tenancy documents, accounts, employee records, tithe records, correspondence records, estate improvement records, farming records, household records of Himley Hall and records relating to the satellite estates of the family at Witley and in Jamaica. This is followed by the records created by Himley Estates Ltd (DE/5), which was incorporated as a distinct company in 1926 (where a distinct series started by the estate office is continued by Himley Estate Ltd, the records will be found in the Estate Records section DE/4).
The next section comprises the Business Records created by the Mines Department (DE/6) and Business Records relating to directorships held by the family (DE/7). These are followed by Ecclesiastical Records (DE/8) and Records Relating to the Borough of Dudley (DE/9). Official Records are then listed (DE/10 - DE/12), followed by a section comprising Illuminated Addresses (DE/13). Historical and Genealogical Records of the Ward Family (DE/14) are followed by Personal Records relating to the family (DE/15). The structure of the catalogue finishes with the Maps and Plans section (DE/16).
Various legacy reference codes and finding aids exist for the collection. The old estate referencing system is evident on many of the documents: this has been recorded where possible. For the estate records (excluding maps), the majority of numbers pencilled on the documents relate to their location in Himley Evidence Room (alternatively known as the Reference or Muniment Room) at Himley Hall [see DE/4/3/9]. This number, which is used in the books of reference [e.g. DE/4/3/19] and other systems of cross referencing, relates to the document's Bundle number/Box Number e.g. 4/3 was in bundle 4 in box number 3 (read right to left) in Himley Reference Room. This system appears to have been adopted sometime during the early to mid 19th century. The Mines Department documents kept at the Priory in Dudley were arranged in a different way (see, in particular, the mining correspondence).
For the arrangement of the maps and plans in the collection, see note on section DE/16. Documents in the collection demonstrate how various records were moved from one place to another: the books of reference and memoranda aimed to keep tabs of the document locations (particularly when transferred from one department to another). For example, in 1894, the whole of the Himley Muniment Room Deeds were transferred to the Priory Office New Strong Room, Dudley [see DE/4/3/16]. There are ED numbers on some of the documents, especially the outsized volumes. It is thought 'ED' was used as an old location guide at the archives after the records had been deposited there: the number after ED is the accession number.
Many of the documents in this collection were originally accessioned individually: the accession number has been recorded but the documents have been kept as one collection. Other estate documents were kept at the offices of solicitors and these sometimes have a different style of reference: some of the records that came via the estate solicitors Slater & Camm have been included in the collection (see note on section DE/3 and DSCAM collection).
Other numbers on the volumes relate to the reference numbers they had when they were kept by the William Salt Library in Stafford. Notes on catalogue: All dates have been updated to modern usage ('New Style' or 'Gregorian') for consistency: before 1752, when England adopted the New Style, the year began on 25 March (Lady Day). Thus a letter inscribed 29 Jan 1669 becomes 29 Jan 1670. The regnal year of the monarch has been given where appropriate (mainly for deeds, manorial documents and Acts of Parliament).
Preferred spelling of names, etc., follows in brackets from spelling in document: please search collection using the preferred spelling. For example, for 'inclosure' search 'enclosure'. For correspondence also try 'letters': in this catalogue, 'correspondence' is generally taken to refer to letters with replies or copy replies between two or more parties; 'letters' are one way only. In the description 'including' aims to give a flavour of individual documents contained in one item, whereas numbered descriptions describe each individual document in turn. Ampersands (&s) are used for company names only e.g. 'Oxford, Wolverhampton & Worcester Railway' or when quoting from documents. Rents per annum unless otherwise stated. Honorary titles, particularly 'the Right Honourable...', have been omitted unless quoted directly. Standard abbreviations for counties has been used e.g. Staffs. and Worcs.
This catalogue was produced with a grant from the National Cataloguing Grants Programme 2011 by Rachael Marsay, Project Archivist. |
| AdminHistory | The extensive estates of the Earls of Dudley were accumulated by the family over many centuries, eventually covering a large swath of land in Worcestershire and Staffordshire encompassing Dudley, Himley, Belbroughton, Broome, Kingswinford, Rowley Regis, Sedgley, Tipton, Wombourne, Great Witley and Kidderminster. The family also held lands in Warwickshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Ireland and Wales, as well as estates in Jamaica and houses in London. The line of the descent of the main estates was largely unbroken until the 20th century when the family estate was finally sold - hence the great value of the collection in documenting a continuous eight centuries. However, the estates passed on several occasions through the female line: the marriage of Frances Sutton to Humble Ward was particularly important.
The first significant character in the history of the Earls of Dudley was Gervase Paganel (d.1194) who established a Cluniac priory at Dudley around the year 1160. Gervase, who held the castle, barony and manor of Dudley, was succeeded by Ralph de Somery (the son of Gervase's sister Hawise and John de Somery). When Ralph's descendant John Somery (d.1321) died without male issue, the estates passed again through the female line to his sister Margaret, who had married John de Sutton.
Their descendant John Sutton (1400 - 1487) was created the first Baron Dudley in the early 1440s. Having attended Henry V in the wars against France, he was knighted in 1419 and bore the royal standard at the King's funeral. John was actively involved in the 'Wars of the Roses': though he was admitted to the Order of the Garter by Henry VI as a committed Lancastrian in 1459, he switched to the Yorkist side in 1460. Politically astute, he received grants of money, positions and land from both Richard III and Henry VII. Lord Dudley was buried in Dudley Priory alongside his wife, Elizabeth.
In the sixteenth century, John Sutton's descendants continued to hold the Barony of Dudley. However, due to the large debts of John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley (1495 - 1553), known as Lord Quondam ('once a Lord'), the manor and castle of Dudley fell into the hands of another of the 1st Baron's descendants - John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1504 - 1553). Northumberland lost his head as a traitor for the role he played in promoting his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey as Queen after the death of Edward VI in 1553. The castle was then granted to John Sutton's son, Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (d.1587), by Mary I in 1558.
Edward's son, Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567 - 1643) was notorious for taking a mistress called Elizabeth Tomlinson (described as 'a lewd and infamous woman, a base collier's daughter'). They had eleven children, including Dud Dudley, who is credited as one of the early industrial pioneers. Edward had five children with his wife Theodosia Harrington (d.1650), four daughters and a son. These were Mary, (1586-c. 1630) Ferdinando Sutton (1588 - 1621), Anne Sutton, alias Dudley, (c. 1593-1615) mother to General Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke Schomberg and 1st Count of Mertola, Margaret Sutton, (born 1597), and Theodosia Sutton (unknown d.o.b.). (Entry ammended by Rob Bennett, Archivist, 5 March 2015) As the only male heir Ferdinando died before his father, the Barony passed after Edward's death to Ferdinando's only child and daughter Frances Sutton, Baroness Dudley (1611 - 1697). She married Humble Ward (c.1614 - 1670) a wealthy London goldsmith in order to restore the family's fortunes. Humble was created 1st Baron Ward in 1644.
However, Civil War was raging across the country and in 1646 Lord Ward was ordered by 'the Parliament... to demolish the Castle of Dudly' [DE/12/1/2]. The castle was rendered inhabitable and was never restored. Thereafter, the family established their base at Himley, around five miles from Dudley.
Both titles passed to Frances and Humble's son Edward Ward, 7th Baron Dudley and 2nd Baron Ward (1631 - 1701). His grandson and namesake Edward Ward, 8th Baron Dudley and 3rd Baron Ward (1683 - 1704) and great-grandson, Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley and 4th Baron Ward (1704 - 1731), inherited in turn. However, great-grandson Edward died without issue and his uncle William Ward, 10th Baron Dudley and 5th Baron Ward, M.P. (1685 - 1740) inherited both titles.
William also died without a direct heir, so the estate and the title of Baron Ward passed to his first cousin once removed, John Ward, 6th Baron Ward, M.P. (c.1700 - 1774). Another branch of the family inherited the Barony of Dudley, as it was able to pass through the female line. John, created 1st Viscount Dudley and Ward in 1763, was responsible for the building of the hall at Himley. John's sons John Ward, 2nd Viscount Dudley and Ward and 7th Baron Ward (1725 - 1788) and William Ward, 3rd Viscount Dudley and Ward and 8th Baron Ward, M.P. (1750 - 1823) inherited the Viscountcy and Barony in turn, despite the fact that the brothers had taken each other to court over a dispute about the cutting of timber in Himley Park in 1788. By this time, the village of Himley had been moved out of sight of the hall and the famous landscape designer Lancelot 'Capability' Brown had worked his magic on the grounds.
By the nineteenth century, the estate had begun to evolve and expand by engaging in many large-scale iron and mineral enterprises in Worcestershire and Staffordshire: so much so, the estate ran a separate Mines Department from around 1804. The mineral affairs were administered from the Level Store Yard until the mineral estate agent's house and offices were built at The Priory in Dudley in 1826.
Agriculture was also important for the estate. One report of 1824 stated that the estate possessed 'in an eminent degree, peculiar advantages resulting from its locality, which affords a most favourable opportunity for the disposal of every description of Agricultural produce'. The administration of the estate, though, was another matter: 'the disposition of the Estate is decidedly bad, no consistent and convenient disposal of the Farms has ever been made' [DE/4/10/1/14].
The poor administration of the estate was lamented by the 3rd Viscount Dudley and Ward's son, John William Ward, 4th Viscount Dudley and Ward and 9th Baron Ward, M.P. (1781 - 1833), who would inherit the estate. In 1811, he wrote that 'My interference with my father's affairs will not require much trouble or much arithmetic. I merely mean to undertake that very general superintendence which is sufficient to prevent boundless peculation, and palpable mismanagements. The resources are luckily very considerable, and we have nothing to fear but from that decline in manufactures & trade which must equally affect the whole country' [DE/15/1/3/2].
In the words of a contemporary, John William had a 'brilliant, but unhappy life'. Upon coming into his substantial inheritance in 1823, John William wrote that he was 'to a certain degree confounded and made nervous by so large a share of the goods of fortune devolving upon a person that has done so little to earn them' [DE/15/1/3/4]. However, much of the impetus for the expansion of the estate came from John William, who was created the first Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam in 1827. John William was also responsible for extensive alterations to Himley Hall, making it into a much more fashionable residence.
John William died without male issue in 1833 (his mental state having declined to the extent that he was placed under restraint at Norwood in Surrey the previous year). The estate passed to his second cousin once removed, William Ward (1817 - 1885), who was then a minor. However, John William had set up a detailed and comprehensive trusteeship in his will to look after the extensive estates, which by now also included plantations in Jamaica. The title of Baron Ward passed to William's father, William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward (1781 - 1835), a man considered to be mentally unstable (the 10th Baron's children were later removed from his care by the Court of Chancery and placed under the care of Edward John Littleton).
The trustees of the estate originally included John Benbow (a solicitor), Henry Philpotts (Bishop of Exeter), Edward John Littleton (Lord Hatherton), Francis Downing (the estate agent) and the able James Loch (the auditor). Under their expert hands the estate's administrative systems were thoroughly overhauled and the estate's fortunes grew rapidly. During their trusteeship they purchased extensive property (including the Foley family's large estate at Great Witley in Worcestershire in 1837) and invested capital in funds. Mining activity was undertaken on a much larger scale, benefiting greatly from the estates' vast reserves of ironstone, limestone, clay, sand, timber and stone. By 1845, a report of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade could state that 'upwards of 1,000,000 tons of coal and iron' were raised annually. In 1854 (during the Crimean War), the estate produced over 740,000 tons of pig iron alone and in 1855 the enormous Round Oak Iron Works was constructed at Brierley Hill. By the 1880s, the annual net income of the estate, which by now contained over 25,500 acres, was around £123,000, making it one of the most valuable landed estates in England.
William inherited the barony on his father's death in 1835 becoming 11th Baron Ward. He was created 1st Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam (2nd creation) in 1860, the title having fallen into abeyance by the death of John William (the title Viscount Ednam became used as a courtesy title by the Earl's eldest son). By this time, Witley Court had become the main family home - away from the grime and pollution caused by the mines and factories around Himley - having been first leased to Queen Adelaide (widow of William IV). In 1865, William (a widower from his short-lived marriage in 1851 to Selina Constance de Burgh (d.1851)) married Georgina Elizabeth Moncrieffe (d.1929), a celebrated society beauty. They had six sons and one daughter.
Their eldest son, William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley and 12th Baron Ward (1867 - 1932), inherited the estate and title upon the death of the 1st Earl in 1885. As he was not yet 21 years of age and therefore still a minor, there was great rejoicing when he 'came of age' and succeeded fully to the estates in 1888. Three years later, in 1891, he married Rachel Gurney (d.1920). The 2nd Earl held an impressive number of important positions, including Mayor of Dudley (1895 - 1896), High Steward of Kidderminster, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1902 - 1905) and Governor General of Australia (1908 - 1911). He was a friend of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), who would visit the Earl at Witley, particularly for the shooting parties.
William Humble spent extravagantly on entertaining, particularly in his official positions. His marriage with Rachel ended with a formal separation by 1912. Two years later, the First World War broke out in Europe and many members of the Ward family became directly involved in front line fighting including William Humble and his eldest son, William Humble Eric Ward (1894 - 1969), then Viscount Ednam. The 2nd Earl's brother, Gerald Ernest Francis, was killed in action in October 1914. By June 1916, Dowager Countess Georgina was said to be 'overtaxing her strength in Red Cross Work in London' [DE/6/10/1/34]. In 1918, Rachel, Countess Dudley, was appointed a C.B.E. and awarded the Royal Red Cross in 1919 for her work during the war. After Rachel's death in a tragic bathing accident in 1920, William Humble sold the family's grand palatial residence at Witley. He married the actress Gertrude 'Gertie' Millar (1879 - 1952) in 1924 and spent many years living in France.
In January 1923, the estate solicitors Taylor & Humbert wrote that the Himley Estate was 'a magnificent estate' but 'not yet fully developed'. They expressed their doubt that 'running so many enterprises, as is done at present, from the Estate Office and sinking so much capital in them' had been 'a wise policy' [DE/4/15/31]. Changes to the way the estate was run were considered necessary. Himley Estates Ltd was registered as a public limited company in March 1926 and Lord Ednam appointed Governing Director, having sold Himley Estates Ltd his 'life interest in the Dudley Settled Estates and Investments' (excluding 20,000 'Baggeridge Shares') [DE/4/16/16].
William Humble Eric became the 3rd Earl upon the death of his father in 1932. Like his father, he was actively involved in public and military life, holding positions such as J.P. for Staffordshire, Lord High Steward of Kidderminster and High Sheriff for Worcestershire. He was heavily involved in the family estates, particularly their coal, iron and steel concerns. He sat on many boards relating to industry and had a strong personal interest in social housing schemes. In the 1930s, the Earl was instrumental in creating the zoological gardens in the grounds of Dudley Castle [DE/5/7/12].
In his personal life, William Humble Eric moved in high circles and was a close friend of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) who often visited Himley Hall, which had once more become the family home. Much money was lavished on the Hall in the 1920s, including the creation of a swimming pool and a cinema: the level of luxury was such that the Duke and Duchess of Kent spent their honeymoon there.
However, William Humble Eric's life was also beset by tragedy. In 1929, his seven year old son Jeremy was killed by a van as he cycled along the road near their London home. William Humble Eric's wife, Rosemary Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (d.1930), then Viscountess Ednam, designed a touching Memorial Garden at Himley for their son, only to be killed the following year when the light aircraft she was travelling in on her return from France crashed, killing everyone on board [DE/15/7/6].
In 1943, William Humble Eric married Frances Laura Charteris, former wife of 2nd Viscount Long of Wraxall. They were divorced in 1954 and William Humble Eric married Grace Maria Kolin, former wife of Prince Stanislas Radziwill, in 1961. William Humble Eric and Rosemary's son, William Humble David Ward (1920 - 2013), known as Billy to his family and friends, inherited the title of Earl of Dudley when the 3rd Earl died in 1969.
However, by this time, the estate had been gradually sold off and broken up as the coal, iron and steel industries gradually diminished or became nationalised during the twentieth century. Land prices had also decreased. Many thousands of acres of land, farms and houses were sold. Himley Hall was sold in 1947: used as a Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital during the Second World War, the hall was bought by the National Coal Board and became their regional headquarters. Further land was sold in 1963 and by 1965 Himley Estates Ltd had been wound up. The long, enduring connection between the family and the area had been finally broken.
Ward family, Earls of Dudley GB/NNAF/F84261 (Former ISAAR ref: GB/NNAF/F5350)
Other forms of name: Ward family, Barons Ward
Ward family, Barons Dudley
Ward family, Viscounts Ednam
Barons Dudley (early 1440s)
John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley (1400 - 1487)
Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley (1459 - 1508)
John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley (1495 - 1553)
Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (d.1587)
Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567 - 1643)
Frances Sutton, Baroness Dudley (1611 - 1697)
Barons Dudley and Ward (1644)
Humble Ward, 1st Baron Ward (c.1614 - 1670)
Edward Ward, 7th Baron Dudley and 2nd Baron Ward (1631 - 1701)
Edward Ward, 8th Baron Dudley and 3rd Baron Ward (1683 - 1704)
Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley and 4th Baron Ward (1704 - 1731)
William Ward, 10th Baron Dudley and 5th Baron Ward, M.P. (1685 - 1740)
Viscount Dudley and Ward (1763)
John Ward, 1st Viscount Dudley and Ward and 6th Baron Ward, M.P. (c.1700 - 1774)
John Ward, 2nd Viscount Dudley and Ward and 7th Baron Ward (1725 - 1788)
William Ward, 3rd Viscount Dudley and Ward and 8th Baron Ward, M.P. (1750 - 1823)
Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam (1st Creation, 1827)
John William Ward, 4th Viscount Dudley and Ward and 9th Baron Ward, M.P. (1781 - 1833)
Barons Ward (cont.)
William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward (1781 - 1835)
Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam (2nd Creation, 1860)
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley and 11th Baron Ward (1817 - 1885)
William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley and 12th Baron Ward (1867 - 1932)
William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley and 13th Baron Ward (1894 - 1969)
William Humble David Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley and 14th Baron Ward (1920 - 2013)
Select Bibliography
Chandler, G. and I. C. Hannah, 'Dudley: As it was and as it is to-day' (London, 1949) [Local Studies LD 942.4].
Copleston, E. (ed.), 'Letters of the Earl of Dudley to the Bishop of Llandaff' (London, 1840) [Local Studies, LD A Dudley].
Grazebrooke, Henry Sydney, 'The Barons of Dudley', "Collections for a History of Staffordshire", IX (1888), p.1 - 152 [Local Studies LD 942.46].
The History of Parliament Online (http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org).
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online edition: http://www.oxforddnb.com).
Pevsner, Nikolaus, 'Buildings of England: Worcestershire' (Harmondsworth, 1968) [Local Studies LD 720.94247].
Radmore, David F., 'Himley Hall and Park: A History' (Dudley, 1996) [Local Studies LD 728.8].
Raybould, T., 'The Development and Organization of Lord Dudley's Estates 1774 - 1845', "Economic History Review", 2nd series XXI (1968), p.529 - 544.
Raybould, T., 'The Dudley Estate: Its Rise and Decline between 1774 and 1947' (Thesis, University of Kent, 1970) [Local Studies LD 333.33].
Raybould, T., 'The Economic Emergence of the Black Country' (Newton Abbot, 1973) [Local Studies LD 609].
Raybould, T., 'Systems of Management and Administration on the Dudley Estates, 1774 - 1833', in "Business History" (1968), p.1 - 11 [Local Studies LD 942.4 P].
Townend, Peter (ed.), 'Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage Baronetage and Knightage' (103rd edition (London, 1963), p. 767 - 770 [Local Studies LD 929.7].
Victoria County History, 'A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3' (1913), p.90 - 105 (online edition: http://www.british-history.ac.uk).
White, Roger, 'Witley Court' (English Heritage Guidebook, London, 2008).
White, William, 'History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire and the City and County of Lichfield' (Sheffield, 1834) [Local Studies LD 913.426]. |