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The “particular books”; of James Nedeham, surveyor ofthe king's worksDavid R. RansomePublished online: 15 Dec 2009.

To cite this article: David R. Ransome (1960) The “particular books”; of James Nedeham, surveyor of the king's works, Journalof the Society of Archivists, 2:6, 267-270, DOI: 10.1080/00379816009513744

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SHORTER COMMUNICATIONSTHE "PARTICULAR BOOKS" OF JAMES NEDEHAM, SURVEYOR OF THE KING'S WORKS

James Nedeham was appointed Surveyor of the King's Works on I October 1532 and held the post untilhis death at Boulogne on 22 September 1544. An inspection of his extant particular books for the maintenanceof the royal residences reveals that he compiled them annually Michaelmas to Michaelmas, and kept separatebooks for individual building operations.

Of the twelve annual accounts, ten survive, the two years of which we know nothing being 1537-38 and1540-41. In addition there are books for the rebuilding of the Jewel House in the Tower of London, the demoli-tion of Barking Abbey, and the construction of the royal manors of Dartford and Rochester.

The manuscripts have been scattered with the passing of time; and their history is set down here in thehope that it will lead to the discovery of the two missing manuscripts. Nedeham had been granted on 12 April1538 the priory of Little Wymondley in Hertfordshire,1 and the property descended in the male line until 1725in which year died George Needham who left two daughters, Dorothy and Martha. The younger, Martha,who later married Thomas Browne,2 inherited Wymondley and lived there for a time, but in 1733 the propertywas sold to Samuel Vanderplank.3

It is probable that, with one exception,4 all the manuscripts were at Wymondley for at least a hundredyears, for Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson D.778 contains financial jottings for the years 1642-43 by one of thefamily.5 It is possible, indeed, that the scattering of the series took place only at the sale of Wymondley in 1773.At all events, of the twenty extant manuscripts, twelve were acquired at some date in the first half of theeighteenth century by Richard Rawlinson the antiquary. At his death in 1755 they passed with his collectionsto the Bodleian Library, and are as follows :

i Rawlinson MS D.775: the particular books for 1532-33.ii Rawlinson MS D.776: the particular books for 1533-34.

iii Rawlinson MS D.777: the particular books for 1534-35.iv Rawlinson MS D.780: the particular books for 1536-37.v Rawlinson MS D.781 : the particular books for 1541-42.

vi Rawlinson MS D.779: the particular books for Canterbury, October-December 1539; and a summary ofexpenditure for 1535-36.

vii Rawlinson MS D.778: the particular books for the rebuilding of the Jewel House in the Tower of London,January I534~35 ~ A P r i l ^ G .

viii Rawlinson MS D.782: the particular books for the demolition of Barking Abbey, June 1541 — April 1542.ix Rawlinson MS D.783: the particular books for Dartford, June 1541 - April 1542.x Rawlinson MS D.784: the particular books for the same works, January 1542-43 - May 1544.

xi Rawlinson MS D.785: the particular books for Rochester, February 1540-41 - December 1542.xii Rawlinson MS B.340 : a duplicate of part of the preceding account.

Of the eight other extant manuscripts, one is now at the Public Record Office:6

xiii P.R.O. E. 101/504/2: the particular books for 1543-44.

Doubtless it was submitted by Needham's executors in justification of his expenditure that year and hasremained in the national archives ever since.

The other manuscripts are all, or have been, in private possession. Nothing is known of their history untilthe end of the eighteenth century when two at least, and probably more, were owned by the Wightwick family.This is to be explained by the marriage of Elizabeth, a daughter of Thomas Browne and Martha Needham,to John Wightwick, the family descent being illustrated by the following tree:7

1 L.& P. Hen. VIII XIII i 887(13).2 V.C.H. Herts, III p. 190, describes him as a land surveyor; the D.N.B. shows him to have been both a land surveyor

and Garter King at Arms, but merely records that he lived at 'Little Wimley' which he had acquired by his marriage toan unnamed wife. S. Shaw, The history and antiquities of Staffordshire (hereafter cited as Shaw) II (1801) p. 201 refers to himsimply as 'Garter'.

3 V.C.H. Herts, III p. 190.4 See below, no. xiii.5 The first folio, the folio following the tenth pay, and that following the twelfth.6 There are also in the P.R.O. some odd pages of various accounts for the last two years, 1542-44: A.O.3/1276.7 Shaw, II, pp. 201, 230; and R. Glutterbuck, The history and antiquities of the county of Hertford (hereafter cited as

Clutterbuck) II (1821), p. 130.

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George Ñeedharriob. s.p.m. 1725

Dorothy Martha m. Thomasd. 1773 Browne

d.1780

Francis Wightwick, of Wightwickand Dunstall, Staffs, d.1714

Rev. John m. Anne Baker, ofd. 1741 London, d. 1790

T. R. Salwey Rev. WiHiam»I b.1738

Anna Maria m. William

Elizabeth m. John9

d.1821-23 I d.1813-17

Francis10 Juliana11 AnnaMaria

Harriet** John1* Winifred

LouisaFrances

Salwey14 CeciliaConstance14

xivxv

xvixvii

xviiixixXX

The seven volumes compriseB.M. Add. MS 10109Newcastle MS 6415

Newcastle MS 6515

Newcastle MS 6615

The Foljambe MS*6

Longleat MS Misc.XXIXLongleat MS Misc.XXX

the particular books for 1542-43.the particular books for Dartford, April - December 1542.the particular books for 1535-36.the particular books for 1538—39.the particular books for 1539-40.a summary of the account for 1534-35, and Nedeham's fees for 1536-37.a volume of fragments.17

Numbers xiv and xvii were certainly in the possession of the Wightwick family. On 1 o January 1796 FrancisWightwick signed the following entry on a blank page of the former :

"Wm ShakspeareWaddilove

WW Sh

8 He was presumably still alive in 1821, when Cluttcrbuck's second volume was published.9 For further biographical details, see J. A. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses 1752-1900, VI, p. 460. Certainty is lent to Venn's

doubt about the identity of this John Wightwick by Shaw II p. 201.10 For further biographical details, see W. T. J. Gun: The Harrow School Register, 1571-1800 p. 144; and J. A. Venn,

op. cit. VI p. 460.11 Juliana had died by 8 November 1813, the date on which John Wightwick senior made his will (P.C.C. Register:

55 Effingham). In it he gave to his two sons "all my share and interest in the personal Estate of Dorothy Browne Spinsterdeceased (this was his sister-in-law) to which I am entitled in right of my late daughter Juliana". Administration of Juliana'spossessions was granted to her brother Francis on 2 March 1818 (P.C.C. Administration Act Book 1818. Surrey. March),her father having died without having taken upon himself the Letters of Administration of her goods.

12 Clutterbuck, II, p. 208 cites among the monumental inscriptions in Hertingfordbury church the following: "Harriot,third daughter of John Wightwick, of Sandgate, near Chertsey, in the County of Surrey, Esq.and Elizabeth his wife, departedthis life on the 25th day of September, 1803, aged 24". Administration of her goods was likewise granted to her brotherFrancis on 2 March 1818 in the same terms as in the case of her sister. (Loc. cit.)

13 For the fact that he had died between the dates on which his father's will had been made and proved, see the clauseof probation in the P.C.C. Register (55 Effingham) at the end of that will. For further biographical details, see J. Foster:Alumni Oxonienses IV p. 1551, and W. T. J. Gun, The Harrow School Register, 1571-1800 p. 144. The quotation there given,that he resided at Chertsey, "dividing his attention between his books and his garden and administering justice and charityamong his poorer neighbours", more probably refers to his father. It should be remarked that all of the children of Johnand Elizabeth Wightwick appear to have died unmarried.

14 Clutterbuck, II, p. 130, names only Louisa Frances, of these three children, as a child of William Browne; but theWightwick wills always refer to Louisa, Salwey and Cecilia together; and Salwey's very name make it safe to assume thathe was the son of William Browne and Anna Maria Salwey. Presumably he and Cecilia were born after the publicationof Clutterbuck's second volume in 1821.

15 These three manuscripts had been only recently deposited at the University of Nottingham by the Duke of Newcastlewhen they were inspected, and they had not then been assigned references. Pencilled within their covers however were thenumbers 64, 65, 66; and they are consequently cited in this article by those numbers.

16 An unnumbered manuscript in the private possession of Captain E. J. S. Foljambe, of Osberton, Nottinghamshire.17 These fragments were detached at a fairly early stage in the history of the manuscripts, since the volume includes

(f. 17)·a paybook missing from Rawlinson MS D.777; (f. 18) a page of an Ampthill paybook which completes the secondundated book for the manor in Rawlinson MS D.780; and (ff. 8, 13, 16) missing pages from Newcastle MS 65. Only f. 2,of all the folios, duplicates an account given elsewhere (P.R.O. E. 101/504/2 f.71 ).

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The above Names were written . . . to prove that paper made in the time of Henry VIIImight at this time be written on"18

This volume passed into the hands of Richard Heber, who died on 4 October 1833,19 and was one of hismanuscripts sold in February 1836, when it was bought for the British Museum for twenty-one guineas.20.

It can also be shown that number xvii was owned by the Wightwick family. It includes an item for theking's standing in Egham Meadow; and in Manning and Bray's history of Surrey we are told that "In a bookof accounts of Mr. James Nedham . . . in the 31st year of his (Henry VIII's) reign, is a charge entituled "Theking's standyng in Egam Meadow" . . . ", and a footnote adds that the book is "In possession of John WightwickEsq.".21 This volume was later acquired, together with the Dartford particular books for 1542, and the particularbooks for 1535-36, by a Duke of Newcastle; and all three have now been deposited, along with many otherNewcastle manuscripts, at the University of Nottingham.

In the same history of Surrey, Manning and Bray also give a list of the royal lodgings at Oking "sent byJohn Wightwick Esq from the MS Accounts of the Clerk of the King's Works, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35 Hen. VIII".2 2

35 Henry VIII ran from April 1543 to April 1544;. and as we have already assumed Nedeham's account forSeptember 1543 to September 1544 to have been in the national archives since the sixteenth century, the accountfor "35 Hen. VI I I " must be for the preceding year, Michaelmas 1542—Michaelmas 1543, which we have alreadyshown to be in the possession of the Wightwicks.

Working backwards from 35 Henry VIII, we may estimate that "33 Henry VII I" was the volume for 1540-41,now lost; and that "32 Henry VII I" was the volume for 1539-40, now the Foljambe MS. Since 29 Henry VIIIran from April 1537 to April 1538., and since the period April—September 1537 is covered by Rawlinson MSD.780, the Oking entry in "29 Henry VII I " must have fallen in the remainder of that regnal year, in Nedeham'sparticular book for Michaelmas 1537 to Michaelmas 1538, which is now lost. Finally of 28 Henry VIII, whichran from April 1536 to April 1537, Rawlinson MS D.780 accounts for September 1536 onwards. The Okingitem cited by Wightwick must belong therefore to Nedeham's previous year of account, Michaelmas 1535—Michaelmas 1536, in the period April—September 1536. This account is now Newcastle MS 65, which doesindeed include repairs to Oking in July-August 1536. "28 Henry VI I I " is therefore this volume.

If we assume all these volumes above to have been in the possession of the Wightwick family it is possibleto argue that at that time they possessed all the manuscripts which were not in the Bodleian Library. Of thefive mentioning Oking one, otherwise known to have belonged to the family, is in the British Musueum; anotheris among the Newcastle MSS ; a third is the Foljambe MS ; and two are lost. To these should be added NewcastleMS 66, which we have already shown above to have belonged to the family. It was not mentioned by Manningand Bray, since it contains no entries relating to Oking. Nor of course does the Dartford volume of particularbooks. The summary for 1534-35 gives no details; and the Oking entry in the volume of fragments contains nodetails of the royal lodgings.

In the light of these facts, it would seem that as late as 1814 . . . the date of publication of Manning andBray's third volume . . . all Nedeham's annual particular books were extant; but unfortunately it has provedimpossible to trace the manner of their dispersion. We only know that by 1833 at least one had passed to RichardHeber, but we do not know when the others became the property of the Dukes of Newcastle, the Marquesses ofBath or the Foljambe family.

The Wightwick wills have been investigated in the hope of discovering the moment at which the manuscriptsleft the family, but they have yielded no direct information.

John Wightwick senior made his will on 8 November 1813 : in it he named his wife Elizabeth and his twosons Francis and John his executors, but by the date on which the will was proved, 20 January 1817, John theyounger son had died.23 By the will John Wightwick senior bequeathed to his wife all "ffurniture Books printspictures Plate Linen China and Household Stores of every description" absolutely.

Shortly afterwards, in April 1818, his widow Elizabeth made her will, and added a codicil on 1 January1821.24 The will was holograph and unwitnessed; and was consequently sworn to on 25 June 1823, and provedthe following day. By its terms her two surviving daughters, Anna Maria and Winifred, were bequeathed "allthe furniture books drawings prints china &c &c in their two bedrooms & the porch room Also all the books

18 B.M., Add. MS 10109 f. 155V.19 D.N.B.20 B.M. Sale-Catalogue E.54(3), Lot 825.2 1 O. Manning, continued by W. Bray, The History and antiquities of the county of Surrey, I I I (1814), p. 249,22 Ibid., III , p. clxii at the end.23 P.C.C., Register: 55 Effingham.24 P.C.C. Register: 389 Richards,

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entered in the little catalogue signed by me"; and their brother Francis was appointed executor and residuarylegatee.

Anna Maria's will was made on 26 June 1829 and proved on 4 February 1841:25 after certain legacies,the remainder of her monies was to be divided equally between Francis her brother and her sister Winifred,the former being executor and the latter residuary legatee.

Francis died next: his will, made on 26 December 1840, being proved on 6 April 1843.a6 He left everythingfor life to Winifred, with power to nominate for whom it was subsequently to be held in trust. By virtue of thisdirection Winifred, whose will was made on 9 March. 1849 and proved on 13 June 1851,27 directed by a codiciladded on 25 February 1850 that "all the family books china and table linen" not otherwise bequeathed shouldbe given to her "cousins Salwey Browne Louisa Frances wife of Vandeleur Crake Esquire and Cecilia ConstanceBrowne". To Harriot Browne . . . the daughter of the late Henry Browne of Portland Place, according to Francis'will28 . . . she bequeathed "all my ornamental china table ornaments books in drawing room and roomsupstairs".

None of these preceding wills specifically mentions the Nedeham particular books, but they would certainlyqualify as "family books", since the Browne cousins were also descended from Martha Needham. It may bethat they were sold between 1851 and 1871, by which time the Marquess of Bath was possessed of the two Longleatmanuscripts.29 The Foljambe manuscript was already owned by that family at the time of the publication in1898 of L. & P. Henry VIII, 1540-41, in which it is calendared; but it has not been possible to add a date for theacquisition of the remaining three volumes among the Newcastle manuscripts. The British Museum list of böok-sale catalogues includes none under the name of Wightwick or Crake, and only one under the name of Brownebetween 1851 and 1871, and that yields nothing.30

The history of the particular books for most of the nineteenth century is therefore still undetermined ; andif the steps in the passage of the Newcastle, Longleat and Foljambe manuscripts from the possession of theWightwick family to their present owners can eventually be traced, they may yield at the same time knowledgeof the two lost particular books for 1537-38 and 1540-41.

DAVID R. RANSOME

2 5 P.C.C. Register: 1841 f. 151.2 6 P.C.C. Register: 1843 f. 289.2 7 P.C.C. Register: 1851 f. 520.2 8 If we are to believe the genealogical tree given in Clutterbuck, II , p. 130, Henry was not a descendent of Thomas

Browne and Martha Needham.2 9 HMC, 3rd Report, 1872, p. 198; cf. ibid.; pp. x, xi.3 0 James Browne of St. Albans in 1855: B.M. Sale-Catalogue S.401(6).

THE STORAGE OF ARCHIVE FILMCinematograph film, considered as a record for long term preservation, presents several problems to the

Archivist which result from the essential characteristics of film itself. Unless these characteristics are taken intoaccount, and cinematograph film is treated as a separate entity within the archive, the film itself may be damagedor destroyed, and more important, may threaten the security of other archival records stored with it. Becauselocal record offices and libraries are increasingly liable to receive gifts or deposits of films, the Technical Com-mittee of the Society felt this brief note on their treatment for archive storage would prove useful. A more completeaccount by the National Film Archive's Preservation Officer appeared in British Kinematography in 1952.1

Cinematograph film consists essentially of a transparent cellulose base or support and the photographicemulsion, a coating of gelatine carrying a suspension of silver salts, on one surface of this support. The photo-graphic image developed in the emulsion is relatively permanent, provided that the film has been properlyfixed and washed in processing. It is the support which gives rise to the chief problems in preservation.

Today, the support used for all types of film is a form of cellulose acetate, which is both slow-burning andchemically stable. In 1923 this support, referred to variously as "safety film" or "non-flam" was introducedfor sub-standard film (i.e; 16 mm. or 9.5 mm. in width as opposed to the standard width or gauge of 35 mm.)designed for non-commercial exhibition or amateur use. The wearing properties of cellulose acetate were not,however, adequate for commercial use, and until 1951, with the development of an improved high acetyl acetate,the support in general use for all 35 mm. film was cellulose nitrate, which is not only highly inflammable, but

1 Brown, H. G., Problems of storing film for archive purposes. In British Kinematography, Vol. 20, No. 5, May 1952,pp. 150-162.

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