A Healthy Household: Surgeon's Expenses at West Hill
Amongst the vouchers and accounts for expenditure at West Hill is a huge document issued to the second Duke of Sutherland, George Granville Leveson-Gower (1786-1861) by Charles Shillito who was a surgeon ...
‘Necessary Repairs Wanting at West Hill’
The Sutherland Papers contain a number of papers relating to various aspects of life at West Hill between 1825 and 1833. Amongst these papers is a document listing repairs which were needed at West Hill, ...
The Laundry at West Hill, 1824
After clothes had been washed in the wash house, they came to the Laundry, where the large fire and ‘Ironing Stove’ were used to dry and iron clothes. A sixteen foot ironing board was kept in the laundry, ...
Telephones in Swynnerton
The plan above produced in 1910 by the National Telephone Company shows the route of telephone poles in Beech and Swynnerton in the early twentieth century.
The document includes a detailed plan of ...
Political Interest in Staffordshire: Letter from William Fitzherbert to Earl Gower, 1723
Found within the personal papers of Sir John Leveson-Gower, first Earl Gower (1694-1754), this letter dated 20th April 1723 is signed by William Fitzherbert of Swynnerton.
The Fitzherbert family, Lords ...
Estate at Blakelow in the Parishes of Swynnerton and Stone
The nineteenth century plan above shows land at Blakelow in the Parishes of Swynnerton and Stone which belonged to 'the Feoffees of Old Swinford Hospital'.
The plan names the people who owned land ...
The Williamson Family and Stafford
The Williamson family of Stafford played an important role in the local politics of the Borough. Owning substantial lands in Staffordshire, Ralph, John, Thomas, Gervais and William Williamson all served ...
Stafford Militia and the Saracen's Head
The document above signed by Granville Leveson-Gower (1721-1803), the Marquis of Stafford, refers to an Act passed by Parliament for the raising of military forces. The document describes the act which ...
Stafford House of Correction
This document, dated 31st January 1716-1717, is addressed to ‘ye Constable of Trentham’and ‘ye Keeper of ye House of Correction at Stafford’.
Signed by E. Mainwaring, the document is a warrant committing ...
Bargain and Sale of Greyfriars Monastery, Stafford, 1581
The document above is the Bargain and Sale made between Sir Walter Leveson (1550-1602) and Matthew Donnington, concerning the ‘Gray Fryars Monastery’ in Stafford.
Dated 28th April 1581, the document ...
An Act for Building a New Shire Hall for the County of Stafford, 1794
This ornate document is an Act passed by Parliament in 1794 sanctioning the building of a new Shire Hall for the County of Stafford.
Situated in the town of Stafford, the document tells us that the ...
Penn in 1834
This detailed map shows the division of land and property in Penn in 1834, including the property owned by the Duke of Sutherland.
Plans such as this are invaluable in tracing the development of areas ...
The Lichfield Races
During the eighteenth century, the nobility were attracted to Lichfield to attend the race meetings which were an important feature of the City's social calendar at this time. Lasting between two and ...
The Hartshorne Inn, Lichfield
By the eighteenth century Lichfield had a large number of public houses, with eighty innkeepers being recorded trading in the town in 1732. The public houses served travellers and also provided accommodation ...
Map of the City & Borough of Lichfield, 1838
The Sutherland Papers contain a wide variety of maps and surveys relating to Lichfield during the nineteenth century. The map featured above was produced in 1838 and shows the different parishes in the ...
Lichfield in the Early Nineteenth Century
Property in Lichfield was extremely important to the Leveson-Gower family. In addition to the political potential of owning property in the area, Lichfield formed a considerable part of the family's estates ...
Lichfield and the Civil War
Lichfield was strategically important in the Civil War. A Royalist garrison at the start of the conflict, the Parliamentarians overthrew the City in 1643 for a short period before it was regained by the ...
Letters from Michael Johnson to George Plaxton
Lichfield is famous for being the birthplace of Dr. Samuel Johnson, and has attracted visitors for this reason from as early as 1801. Johnson was born in Lichfield in 1709 and was the son of a man named ...