Description:In addition to his involvement with the Stafford House Committee, George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1828-1892), the third Duke of Sutherland, was president of a number of committees formed under the auspices of the Mansion House Committee. These committees took their name from the residence of the Lord Mayor of London who was also prominent in the group's work.
The Sutherland Papers contain many documents relating to the schemes which the Committee was involved with in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As in the case of the Stafford House Committee, the scrapbooks of letters and newspaper cuttings are particularly detailed. They include original letters, newspaper articles, copies of the committees appeals and cartoons. In addition, the scrapbooks include printed copies of committee meetings and Parliamentary debates.
The documents collected in these scrapbooks tell us about the motivation behind the work undertaken by the Mansion House Committee and also reflect public opinion of the Mansion House Committee and contemporary political issues.
How was the Mansion House Committee involved with Ireland?
In 1881 ‘The Defence of Property in Ireland Mansion House Fund’ was formed. The Committee appears to have been established in order to raise money to provide relief for people affected by the problems surrounding property rights in nineteenth century Ireland.
The letter above from George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1828-1892), the third Duke of Sutherland, states ‘it has been suggested that a committee should be formed by Landowners and others interested in property in the United Kingdom’.
The letter outlines the principle objects of the Committee, suggesting that their work would ‘assist the Irish Property Defence Association’.
To learn more about the Mansion House Committee and Ireland, click on the images on the left.