Description:This letter demonstrates the type of work and duties left in the hands of a personal secretary; despite the lowly sounding job title, Henry Wright held the confidence of the ducal family, by the 1880s and 1890s was in charge of all estate correspondence and was the gossip hub for all of the estate staff. The 3rd Duke was a keen traveller and spent most of the 1880s abroad on his steam yacht, making Wright’s role even more vital. This letter is a typical ‘news summary’ for the 3rd Duke, and contains chilling descriptions (for the historian) of the destruction of ‘useless’ papers!
These pages have been researched and written by Dr. Annie Tindley, Lecturer in History at Glasgow Caledonian University.