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Fifty-eight holograph letters addressed to the Reverend John Conway Potter at Hafodunos, at Em[m]anuel College, Cambridge, and at Soughton or Soughton Grove, Northop, by [the Reverend] R[obert] Potter [schoolmaster at Scarning, co. Norfolk, 1761-1789, canon of Norwich cathedral, 1788-1804, vicar of Lowestoft, 1789-1804] from Scarning, Norwich, and Lowestoft, 1778-1801 (progress made by the writer with his 'new Edition of Aeschylus' which was to be published the following February [The Tragedies of Aeschylus. Translated, Norwich, 4to edition, 1777. Another edition, London, 8vo, in 1779], the notes [on the tragedies of Aeschylus] which had been sent to Mr. Mountain and were being published by the [Cambridge] University Press, an eight day stay in London with visits to Vaux Hall, the Haymarket Theatre, and Kensington Gardens, and rambles from painter to painter, the painting of Jack's [? John Potter, the writer's son] picture by Mr. [William] Doughty described as 'a very pretty young man at Sir Joshua Reynolds', a head of the writer [painted] by [George] Romney, Romney's wish to exhibit this picture in his gallery, an intended 'attack on Euripides', the recipient's visit to Dublin, advice to recipient to pursue his studies (1778); a legal action in which the writer was involved ? relating to the rectory of Badgworth, trouble at Scarning [? school] 'from little and great Masters and their Papas and Mammas', the deaths of five of the seven trustees [? of Scarning school] and a request by 'Mr. Lombe, our new Lord' that the trust be renewed, news from Mr. Hopkins of Tenby concerning a legacy due to ? recipient and his sisters, expectations of being moved from Scarning, work on Euripides the first volume of which was advertised in December [The Tragedies of Euripides. Translated, 1781], an accident to the writer when his horses shied and his chaise overturned (1779); the death of 'a great man' from whom the writer had hopes of preferment, ? sarcastic comments on recipient's lack of opportunity to hunt and his presence at Chester races, legacies bequeathed by the writer's sister-in-law, the death of the writer's sister at Frome and his visit to Frome ? in connection with the estate, the Puddimore estates (1780); Dr. [ ] Parr's civility to recipient, affairs at Puddimore, the bishop's [? Philip Young, bishop of Norwich] recovery, the writer's hopes that he would be able to fix his son in curacies near himself, the young man's ordination at Norwich [probably the son] and his acceptance of a curacy at Southwold on the Suffolk coast, the death of Lady L'Estrange [? Lady Mary, widow of Sir Henry L'Estrange, 6th bart. of Hunstanton, co. Norfolk] (1781); the recipient's intention of taking orders, expenses in connection with ?the Puddimore estate, comments on the ancestors of the Lloyd family of Havodynos, the institution of [the Reverend] John Crofts to the vicarage of Bradenham [co. Norfolk], a law suit between Mr. Crofts and [Mr.] Betts at Thetford [co. Norfolk] assizes ( 1782); the marriage of the writer's cousin Eliza, reflections on the attitudes of bishops who had tender consciences when a young man omitted 'any trifling and insignificant circumstance', but who were themselves in the habit of being absent from their dioceses in town in the winter and at some watering place in summer, estates held by Mrs. Daltera 'of the rectory of Badgworth', a proposed valuation of estates held by the writer and recipient at Puddimore (1783); electioneering activity in co. Norfolk, involving Sir John Wodehouse [6th bart. of Kimberley, co. Norfolk, later 1st baron Wodehouse of Kimberley, co. Norfolk] and Sir Ed[ward] Astley [4th bart. of Melton Constable, co. Norfolk], who were elected as members for the county, and Mr. [? Thomas William] Coke [of Holkham, co. Norfolk, successful candidate in 1780], who withdrew from the contest, the death of the writer's daughter, benefices obtained by John Crofts and [ ] Paley, the marriage of the writer's son to 'his Mrs. Sheldrake' (1784); a visit by the writer to London to try to get some of the money due for Euripides on which occasion he had seen [Francois] Blanchard ascend in his balloon, Mrs. [Sarah] Siddons playing Rosalind [in 'As You Like It'], and Sir Joshua [Reynolds's] painting of Venus, a reference to the writer's work entitled An Inquiry into some passages in Dr. Johnson's Lives of the Poets . . . which he had published two years previously, comments on Dr. Johnson's character and his critical ability, the publishing of the writer's two odes The Oracle concerning Babylon [and the Song of Exultation, 1785 ], congratulations on the birth of recipient's child (1785) (continued)

the death of the writer's wife, a visit to Southwold, changes in the writer's household ( 1786); the writer's 'labours in the Athenian Theatre', Mrs. Punchard's transfer of the school to Sarah [ ], the completion of the writer's [ translation of] Sophocles [The Tragedies of Sophocles. Translated, 1788] which he had undertaken at the request of a countess who had advanced the money for publication [? Georgiana, Countess Dowager Spencer, to whom the work is dedicated], thoughts of a visit to the recipient at Soughton Grove with the proposed route, the knighting of Mr. Fenn for publishing two 'Vols. of old Letters' [Sir John Fenn, the first two volumes of whose work Original Letters written during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III . . ., which included letters of the Paston family, were published in 1787] (1787); the loss of recipient's son, relations with parishioners at Badgworth and occasional thoughts of going to reside there, a visit by Mr. [ ] Rash and his daughter to Ireland and an inclination on their part to visit Wales, the progress through the press of the writer's [translation of] Sophocles, an offer to the writer by the Lord Chancellor [Edward Thurlow, 1st baron Thurlow of Ashfield, co. Suffolk, later 1st baron Thurlow of Thurlow, co. Suffolk] of a vacant prebend in Norwich [cathedral] and his installation into that dignity 'worth more than 300 £ a year', the writer's taking of his M.A., degree at Cambridge 'necessary on this occasion' [i.e., his installation as canon], and the offer of a doctorate which he had declined, the two months residence at Norwich [cathedral] in June and July, the appearance of Mrs. [Sarah] Siddons on the stage at Norwich for ten nights in September, a visit to the same city in the same month by the singer Madam [Gertrud Elisabeth] Mara [née Schmeling], oratorios and concerts at St. Peter's church and St. Andrew's hall, Norwich, on this occasion (1788); the death of Mrs. Daltera which gave Mrs. Griffith possession of the two estates at Badgworth, the conditions of the lease of the said estates showing the interest the writer's son had therein, the possibility that the late bishop [Jonathan Shipley of St. Asaph] would be succeeded by Dr. Watson known as 'B[isho]p Bluster' [? Dr. Richard Watson, bishop of Llandaff], Mr. Griffith's attitude towards the lease of the Badgworth estate, the loss of recipient's son, the writer's collation [by Lewis Bagot, bishop of Norwich] to the livings of Lowestoft and Kessingland 'the united Vicarages are at present worth 470 £ a year and increasing under an Act of Inclosure', comments on the town of Lowestoft and plans for buying a house and settling there in the following spring, the writer's joy in being rid of Badgworth which had been bestowed upon [the Reverend William] Wainhouse, a claim by [John Warren] bishop of Bangor that he had helped in obtaining the prebend [at Norwich] for the writer (1789); the move from Scarning and the furnishing of houses at Norwich and Lowestoft, the situation of the house at Lowestoft, letters from Mr. Wainhouse, the writer's successor at Badgworth [ see above], about dilapidations, the election of a successor to the writer at Scarning [? as schoolmaster], the new bishop [of St. Asaph, Lewis Bagot translated from Norwich in 1790] (1790); the death of the writer's son, a draft for twenty five guineas sent by Mr. Griffith to the writer's deceased son for his interest in the rectorial estates at Badgworth, a visit from [Charles Manners Sutton, bishop of Norwich], comments on improvements and bathing activity at Lowestoft, the appointment of a neighbour [the Reverend] Hugh Hill as rector of Southampton (1792); [George] Romney's portrait of the writer's son, rumours of the writer's marriage spread by, inter alios, Harry Hobart 'Member [of Parliament] for the City' [of Norwich], an invitation from the mayor [of Norwich] to the writer to preach the Fast Sermon and a request by the court of mayoralty that the sermon be published [A Sermon preached before the . . . Mayor of Norwich and the Corporation . . . the day appointed . . . as a General Fast, Norwich, 1793], ships and visitors at Lowestoft, the visitors including earls, barons, and [Charles Manners Sutton], bishop of Norwich, and Mrs. Sutton, a sermon preached at Lowestoft by the bishop, the enlargement of the churchyard at Lowestoft and the consecration of the additional area (1793); a visit to Norwich by [Lewis Bagot], bishop of St. Asaph, and Mrs. Bagot, a meeting of the county called at Norwich by [George Townshend, 1st] marquess Townshend [of Raynham, co. Norfolk], the gathering by the democrats of 'a numerous Mob together of the lowest of the people', the deaths of Samuel Rash and Sir John Fenn, changes in the appearance of Lowestoft, structural alterations adjacent to and affecting the writer's house (1794); the election of members of parliament for the city [of Norwich], the violent contest against Mr. [William] Wyndham [one of the two members returned] and the defeat of the 'Democratic Quakers', the election of members [of parliament] for the county [of Norfolk] and the return of the former members Sir John Wodehouse [see above] and [Thomas William] Coke 'without opposition for want of time only', flooding in the Norfolk area, Miss Kitty Potter's marriage [? the writer's daughter], Mr. [John] Lloyd's candidature for the parliamentary representation of recipient's county [of Flint], the death of the two members of parliament for Yarmouth since the general election [of May 1796] and the election of two new members on 26 October, the efforts of the Presbyterian Democrats to secure one of the seats (1796); the writer's belief that there would be no invasion at Lowestoft, the protecting of the coast by Admiral [Adam] Duncan [later 1st baron Duncan of Lundie, co. Perth, and viscount Duncan of Camperdown], with fourteen ships of the line and six frigates (April 1797); chapter meetings at [Norwich] (1800); throughout the letters there is copious news of the state of the writer's health, news of the health and activities of various members of the writer's family, news of mutual friends and acquaintances, and enquiries after and comments on news concerning recipient's family).

Twenty-two holograph letters, 1788-[1831] and undated, addressed to the above as the Reverend John Conway Potter and the Reverend John Conway Conway at Soughton, Northop, etc. [the surname Conway having been adopted in lieu of Potter circa 1825. See NLW MS. 12435E section (b)]. The writers include [Lewis Bagot], bishop of St. Asaph, and Mrs. Bagot, St. Asaph, 1797 (personal) (in third person), [the Reverend] L[uke] Booker, vicar of Dudley, 1825 (enclosing a poem entitled 'Votive Lines . . . on contemplating the Tomb of . . . Bishop [Richard] Hurd [bishop successively of Lichfield and Coventry, 1775-1781, and of Worcester, 1781-1808] in Hartlebury Church Yard') (in third person), T[homas] H[ugh] Clough, Hope, 1826 (the refusal of the writer's uncle Griffith to sign a conveyance of Cemmaes in favour of the writer), Will[ia]m Eccles, Manchester, 1822 (2) (legal matters), R. Howard, Cefn [1831] (advice concerning a wood, a road being constructed ?near Wygfair mansion), L. Hughes, Bronwhilfa, 1788 (a note to accompany a copy of the will of John Lloyd of Hafodunos, deceased), Rich[ard] Humphreys, Rose Hill, 1826 (payment of recipient's quota in respect of the Rhuddlan marsh embankment), G. W. Kenrick, Woor Hall, 1801 (condolences on the death of Mrs. Lloyd [? Dorothea, wife of Howel Lloyd of Hafodunos]), David Pennant, Downing [co. Flint], undated (2) (a request to recipient to go to Flint as a justice to examine Hugh Roberts, a rumour that the Halkin and other miners planned to liberate a prisoner from Flint gaol by force), Tho[mas] Pennant, Downing and Hanover Square [London], 1790-1792 (4) (roads in ?recipient's neighbourhood), Sarah Potter, Lowestoft, 1799-1803 (3) (family news especially the state of her father's health, mention of Napoleon), Mr. Roberts, Mold, 1826 (legal matters) (in third person), F. Roberts, Ty mawr, 1796 (legal matters), Mr. [ ] Stodart, St. Asaph [1816] (the purchase by Mr. [Henry] Foss at the sale [of the library of John Lloyd, deceased] held at Wygfair, of The Life of King Arthur for £320 [see the annotated sale catalogue in NLW MS 12500B], the sale of the 'Manuscripts for ab.t £50 principally purchased for Col. Vaughan') (in third person), and R. Waring, Leeswood [17]92 (the engaging of a gardener).

Seventy-five holograph and autograph letters, notes, etc., addressed to John Lloyd at Garden Court, London, at Hafodunos near St. Asaph, at Wigfair near St. Asaph and elsewhere, 1771-1809.
They comprise letters from L'abbé Andreii, 1777 (personal); R. P. Arden, 1786 (legal and financial); Alexander Aubert, London, 1793-1800 (2) (personal); Mrs. D [ ] Aubert, Highbury House [Islington], 1799-1803 (3) (personal and social); L[ewis Bagot, bishop of] St. Asaph, St. Asaph, Blithfield, and Oxford Street, [London], 1793-1802 and undated (17) (the war against the French and tumults near Mold (1793), the death of [?the Reverend William Stodart] and proposals for filling his vacant preferments, namely Abergele, Bettws and a [prebendal stall] (1794), the appointment of a postmaster at [St. Asaph], the wretched condition of the parish of [?St. Asaph] - allowances to the poor being in arrears, roads neglected, etc., Mr. Jackson's presentation to the living of Abergele (1794), the government's measures to meet the grain shortage (1796), the renewal of recipient's lease of [ ] from the precentor [of St. Asaph], plundering in the neighbourhood of Mostyn (1797), the conduct of Mr. Fox and his friends in Parliament and the raising of supplies for carrying on the war (1797), the need for economy in the consumption of barley, oats and potatoes, and the 'high' state of the market in spite of economies and of the importation of grain (1801), the repeal of the Brown Bread Act, the King's success in filling departments of state and law after the secession of ministers (1801), 'dangerous tampering with Lord Penrhyn's Slate Quarries and amongst the Miners both in Anglesea and Flintshire' (1801), a bill to be introduced in the House of Commons concerning the conduct of the clergy (1802), appointments to the deanery of York and the chair of Hebrew at Christ Church [Oxford] (1802), the arrival [in London] of antiquities from Egypt (1802)); Thomas Baldwin, Hool, [?Cheshire], 1771 (description of a journey in North Wales – Festiniog, Bala, Talardd, Dinas Mouthy, with ascents of Arran Ben Llyn, Cader Idris and ?Arran Mouthy, notes on stratification); M[argaret] Bankes, Old Palace Yard, [London], [?daughter of John Wynne, bishop successively of St. Asaph and Bath and Wells], 1804 (the illness and death of her brother and the disposal of his estate, other family news); Mrs. Bankes, Duke Street, undated (personal and social); Miss [Sarah Sophia] Banks, Soho Square, [London], [sister of Sir Joseph Banks], 1787-1795 (4) (personal and family news, a request for a copy of Regulations of the Society of Royal British Bowmen, and for help in procuring specimens of a Macclesfield ½[d] and a Cronebane ½[d]); J. Barff, Oswestry, 1795 (financial and legal matters); Daines Barrington, London, Beaumaris, Carnarvon, etc., 1772-1787 and undated (13) (personal news and news of acquaintances, instruments from Mr. Ramsden, a promise of Gothic and Runic alphabets and of an account of Elden Hole, [Derbyshire], proposed journeys by Mr. Banks to Iceland and by Mr. Forster to the South Pole (1772), a fire at Garden Court, London (1775), the height of Snowdon, the receiving of the two Forsters [Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Johann Georg Adam Forster, who had accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage] by the King and Queen (1775), the preparation by Forster [senior] of a specimen narrative [in connection with his voyage] for Lord Sandwich's approbation (1775), the arrival of the Gymnotus Electricus, a letter to Mr. Panton stating that Lloyd would be glad to have copies of the correspondence between Sir John Wynne of Gwedir and Sir Hugh Myddelton, Mr. Panton's kindness in allowing the writer to peruse certain Gwedir papers, Lord Bulkeley's improvements at Baron Hill, [Anglesey], an ascent of Mont Blanc (1787), Mr. Herschel's discovery of two satellites to the Georgium Sidus [Uranus], a request for the return of 'the MS. Memoirs of Owen Glendower', the returning of books, namely Milnes Dictionary, Hill's British Herbal, Watson's Chemistry, etc., a gift of a pamphlet ?Letter from the Hon. Daines Barrington, F.R.S., to William Heberden, M.D., F.R.S., giving an Account of some Experiments made in North Wales to ascertain the different Quantities of Rain which fell in the same Time at different Heights [a copy of which is attached]); [William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd duke of] Portland, Whitehall, 1795 (representations made by Lloyd that troops should be quartered at Ruthin, the writer's suggestion to the Secretary at War that this was necessary in order to protect the county gaol where rioters were imprisoned); John ?Binnie, St. Asaph, 1809 (personal); J. Blackburn, St. James Street, [London], [1784] (personal); C[harles] Blagden, Philadelphia, [Pennsylvania], and [London], 1778-1796 and undated (4) (mathematical instruments at the college in Philadelphia including a very fine orrery, public lectures to be delivered in the town [of Philadelphia] (1778), the evacuation of Philadelphia by British forces and news of the war in America, letters by Mr. Mills relating to volcanic appearances in the Western Isles, the discovery of two comets by Miss [Caroline] Herschel and [Pierre Francois Andre] Mechain (1790), an acknowledgement of the receipt, on behalf of the Royal Society, of a copy of Edward Jones's The Prevention of Poverty (1796), news of electrical experiments); Lord and Lady de Blaquieres, Denbigh, 1798 and undated (2) (personal and social); Thomas Bolt, Lerwick, [Scotland], 1792 (relief of poverty caused in the area by the effects of bad crops and poor fishing, comments on the opinion held by certain people that the sun was visible for twenty four hours at the summer solstice); B. S. Booth, undated (a request for a ticket to attend debates at the House of Commons); Thomas Boydell, Trevellyn, 1794 (a lease of land on Mold mountain); Dr. William Brownrigg, Ormathwaite [?Cumberland], 1778-1780 (2) (Lloyd's trip to [Cumberland] to see the black lead mines, a request for a specimen of native lead from Anglesea); [Elizabeth Harriet Bulkeley, nee Warren,] Lady Bulkeley, Stanhope Street, [London], undated (personal); [Thomas James Bulkeley, later Warren-Bulkeley, lord] Bulkeley, Stanhope Street, Old Windsor, 1788-1801 and undated (10) (personal news, the tactics of the Opposition in parliament with regard to the issues arising out of the illness of the King [George III] (1788), [William] Pitt [the younger]'s defence of the King and his three parliamentary resolutions for meeting the constitutional crisis and creating a Regency (1788), Captain Williams's canvass of the county of Carnarvon (1790), 'adventures in Copper & Slate' on the writer's land by recipient, the assassination of the Duke of Orleans, talk of sending a fleet to the Baltic (1791), the situation in the East Indies (1791), a meeting with the Duchess of York, the imminence of a French attack upon the Electors of Treves and Mayence and the emmigrants at Coblentz [1791], the destruction of the Duke of Richmond's house at Privy Garden by fire, Sir Watkin Williams's appointment to the stewardship of the lordship of Denbigh and his appointment of Mr. Wynne of Plasnewydd as his deputy (1795), a request for support for Sir Robert Williams against Lord Penrhyn in the [parliamentary election for Carnarvonshire] (1795), the King's recovery from his illness, the writer's opinion that the King could not 'go on without either Pitt or Fox as Prime Minister', his disgust with the political manoeuvering [in parliament], the danger to the country, the unhappy state of parts of the county of Carnarvon (1801), a visit to Paris); [Peter Burrell, Baron] Gwydir [of Gwydir, Caernarvonshire], White Hall [London], 1798 (an invitation to an anniversary dinner of the Honourable Society of Ancient Britons); and Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss [Sarah] Ponsonby, Plas Newydd [Llangollen, 'The Ladies of Llangollen'], undated (social).