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Stanhope, Charles Stanhope, Earl, 1753-1816.
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Letters to John Lloyd of Wigfair,

Sixty-four holograph letters and three formal notes from [Sir] Jos[eph] Banks, from Soho Square [London], from Spring Grove [Isleworth, co. Middlesex], from Revesby Abbey [Lincolnshire], etc., to John Lloyd at Hafodunos, at Soughton, Northop, at Wygfair, St. Asaph, etc., 1778-1814 and undated (personal and family news and news of acquaintances, and more specifically an invitation to a Royal Society club dinner (1778); Lord Mahon's book on electricity [Principles of Electricity, 1779] and his promise of another in which he would refute Mr. [Benjamin] Wilson's deductions, news of Lord Mulgrave and [Sir Charles] Blagden, and a request for a specimen of saxifraga umbrosa from Ireland (1780); a paper on new double stars to be read to the R[oyal] S[ociety] by [William] Herschel, the death of [? Dr. Solander] and a request for a specimen of Crataegus Aria from the cliffs near the top of Pen Man Mawr [co. Caernarvon] (1782); a balloon flight across the English Channel by [John] Jefferies and [François] Blanchard [this letter is dated January 1784 but this is probably a mistake for 1785, the flight having been made in January of that year], the resignation of the clerkship of the R[oyal] S[ociety] by Robertson and a contest for the post between Messrs. Coppard and Gilpin (1785); [William] Herschel's visit to Germany to take a telescope of his own making as a present to the University of Gottingen, Herschel's progress with his forty feet [telescope], the discovery of a new comet by Caroline, Herschel's sister, a 'bill intended by the manufacturers to restrain the growers of wool' and a meeting to be held in Denbighshire to consider the bill, the teaching of classics in England as compared with the continent (1786); the receipt of a box of plants from the Snowdon area, Danish and Roman antiquities found in the bed of the river Witham [co. Lincoln], the danger of wheat which was imported from America being infected by insects unknown in this country (1788); comments on Shetland sheep and a request for a specimen (1791); the political situation with comments on democrats, constitutionalists, the Whig club, etc., (1793); a visit from David Pennant, the ill treatment of recipient by a riotous mob at Denbigh, the presence of 'dangerous mobs in many counties' caused by 'the first Raising of the Militia', the price of corn, damage estimated at £ 750,000 by floods in Cambridgeshire, Lloyd's service to the country as a magistrate and the value of this office to the constitution, sheep rearing, the discovering of gold in Ireland (1795); the result of the [parliamentary] election in [co. Caernarvon] with mention of the contestants Sir Robert [Williams] and Lord Penrhyn, acknowledgement of receipt of copies of 'Shon Gwialen', the ill effects of apple insect, good wishes to recipient should he 'undertake the arduous task of becoming Knight of your shire', criticism of Thomas and David Pennant (1796); a request by Lloyd for a copy of the map which accompanied Dr. [Christopher] Packe's Ancographia sive Convallium Descriptio (1798); [Frederick] Hornemann's journey to Africa [on behalf of the African Association], the effects of prolonged drought, comments on Adam Smith's theory of 'perfect freedom in trade' (1800); the abundant crops and the price of grain (1801); the result of the [parliamentary] election in co. Kent, the West India docks in the Isle of Dogs and the Wapping Docks, the health of the members of the Royal Family whom the writer had seen at Weymouth (1802); the possibility of an invasion of England by Buonaparte (1803, 1805); Lloyd's wish to become a trustee of the [?British] Museum (1804); the death of [Alexander] Aubert at Lloyd's home, the draining and selling of land by the writer (1805); the writer's anger on seeing the spires of Lincoln minster pulled down, a request for Lloyd's help in procuring answers to a questionnaire concerning alleged damage to cathedral fabrics, comments on 'the Political Hurricane' which had taken the King out of the hands of a Whig administration, the political changes in England, wire worms, the anniversary of the Club, astronomical data (1807); the cultivation of cranberries, news of crops (1808); receipt of a Brazil coin and of tokens for his sister's [Sarah Sophia Banks] collection, Sir H. Englefield's circular letter and canvass of the Society of Antiquaries (1811)). 'Shon Gwialan' probably refers to the pamphlet entitled 'A Letter to the Right Reverend Dr. Warren on his conduct as Bishop of Bangor', published in 1796, in which the writer, 'Shon Gwialan', attacks the bishop of Bangor for alleged nepotism, etc. The identity of the writer has not been discovered.

Sir Joseph Banks.

Letters to John Lloyd of Wigfair,

Seventy-seven 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, 1775-1814.
They comprise letters, etc., from John Rennie, London, 1810 (enquiries on behalf of a friend who was interested in purchasing the Lleweny and Cotton Hall estates in the county of Denbigh, which were for sale); D[avid] Richards ['Dafydd Ionawr'], Dolgelley, 1807 (requesting Lloyd to become a subscriber to his epic poem in Welsh on the subject of Joseph, the Governor of Egypt [Joseph, Llywodraethwr yr Aipht, Awen-Gerdd yn Saith Ran, Dolgelleu, 1809], the uselessness of applying to the bishops as they were 'entire strangers to the Welsh Language', Sir R[obert] W[illiams] Vaughan of Nannau's subscription for twenty copies); Thomas Richards, Holywell, 1803 (matters relating to an allotment of common on Mold mountain); W[illiam] Richardson, Moy, Portrush, Colerain and Antrim, 1810 and undated (6) (personal, agricultural and botanical matters including drainage and the cultivation of various crops, particular references to 'florin grass'); [Trevor Charles Roper, 18th baron] Dacre, Lee, [Kent], 1794 (matters relating to a coroner); W. L. Rose, Gwaynynog and St. Albans, 1803-1804 (2) (personal, the death of Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn); H. Langford Rowley, Dublin, 1780 (payment for seed wheat); R. [ ] Salisbury, Edgware Road, [London], 1811 (personal, news of acquaintances, horticultural matters, the digging up of old swords in Ireland, [ ] Chalmer's pamphlet on bank notes); W. Scott, [London], [1803] (personal, military preparations); [Jonathan Shipley], bishop of St. Asaph and Mrs. Shipley, Bolton Street, [London], undated (an invitation to dine); W[illiam] D[avies] Shipley [dean of St. Asaph], 1784-1807 and undated (5) (personal, requesting Lloyd to appear on his behalf at the ensuing Assizes (1784), the discovery of a pavement at a depth of fifteen feet in the parish of [?St. Asaph], introducing a ?Russian traveller, a meeting at Newmarket to sign land tax assessments); Edw[ar]d Simon, Denbigh, 1803 (enclosing a copy of an order directed from the Council Chamber at the Queen's House to Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, Bart., as Custos Rotulorum for the county of Denbigh, concerning the impressing of seamen and seafaring men for service in the navy); John Sinclair, Edin[burgh], 1795 (conditions for instructing applicants in Mr. Elkington's mode of [agricultural] drainage, the writer's hope that every exertion would be made to complete the agricultural survey of the county [of Denbigh]); Dan[iel Charles] Solander, London, etc., 1776-1779 and undated (3) (personal, news of acquaintances including the marriage of Mr. [Thomas] Pennant and Miss [Anne] Mostyn [daughter of Sir Thomas Mostyn, Bart., of Mostyn Hall], mention of [British] Museum appointments, the elections of Lord Palmerston and Mr. Wales to the Royal Society, biographical and descriptive details relating to Mrs. Banks [née Dorothea Hugessen, wife of Mr., later Sir, Joseph Banks], Lord Seaforth's marriage, Lord Mulgrave's departure to take command of [HMS] Courageux); [Charles Stanhope, earl] Stanhope, Stratford Place, 1807 (his intention of publishing a description of his method of burning lime, remarks on a certain type of lime); R. S. Sutton, Flushing, Falmouth, 180[8] (news of the defeat of [General Joachim] Blake's army [in Spain] by a division of the French Grand Army under Marshal Ney and the complete confusion of the Spaniards, the march of the British Armies to cover Madrid, the opinion of Major General [James] Leith that the French could never succeed 'as the lower orders of the Spanish were so inveterate against them'); Cha[rles] A. Tisdall, Burford, Oxfordshire, 1803 (personal, an offer of a benefice to the writer [?St. Martin by the bishop of St. Asaph]); [Thomas Townshend, baron] Sydney [of Chislehurst, Kent, later viscount Sydney of St. Leonard's, Gloucestershire], Whitehall, [London], 1786 (acknowledgement of receipt of an address to the king from the gentlemen and freeholders of the county of Denbigh); [Monsieur] de Traytorrens, [1782] (a request for a letter of recommendation to recipient's friends in London); [Sir] R[obert] W[illia]ms Vaughan, Nannau, 1801-1814 (4) (personal, a journey to Nannau ?from London (1805)); [Messrs.] Wakelin and Garrard, London, 1804 (enclosing a ring in memory of Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn); [John Warren] bishop of Bangor and Mrs. Warren, Bangor, 1783 (2) (personal); Sarah Wells, Old Windsor, 1776 (personal, news from America); Frederick West, Chirk Castle, 1802 (a request for Lloyd's attendance as a friend at Denbigh on the day of the election); Mr. Wilson, Strand, [London], [1799] (personal); Sir Richard Worsley, Stratford Place, 1781 (an explanation of the place name Appuldurcombe in the [Isle of Wight]); C[harles] W[atkin] W[illiams] W[ynn], Lincoln's Inn, undated (apologies for being unable to meet recipient); Thomas Wynn, Grosvenor Square, undated (an offer to show recipient any antiquities found on Bardsey island); Wat[kin] W[illia]ms Wynn, St. James's Square, 1779 (a memorial to the Treasury Board, the circumstances connected with the leasing to Mr. Edwards of one of the writer's farms previously let to Mr. Langford); Watkin Williams Wynn, Stratford, [17]95 (enclosing a communication from the Duke of Portland); Lady Williams Wynn, Bodryddan, [1790] (personal); J. Wynne, London, 1802-1803 and undated (4) (personal, the loss incurred by the death of the bishop [Lewis Bagot of St. Asaph], comments on the new bishop [Samuel Horsley], his patron Lord Thurlow and his pamphlets against dissenters, and speculation as to his relations with the dean [William Davies Shipley], the appointment of Sir W[illia]m [Wynne] to the headship of Trinity Hall [Cambridge], the recruiting, training, etc., of the Volunteers of the Temple, good harvests, legal matters); John Wynne, Coed Coch, 1776 (personal); Maurice Wynne, Gwernhaylid, 1808 (the death of Mr. Fletcher); R. Wynne, Garthewin, [17]77 and undated (2) (personal, rumours that the writer was to be nominated sheriff of Carnarvonshire); W. Wynne, Mold, 1779 (arrangements to receive Lloyd, who was representing the sheriff at the ensuing assizes); Will[iam] Wynne, Mold, 1810 (the sale of Broncoed and Bromfilt and the proposed sale of Tyddyn); W[illia]m Wynne, Doctors' Commons and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, 1775-1807 (6) (personal, legal matters, the administration of the estate of Mr. [William] Conway, deceased, by Mrs. [Dorothy] Lloyd [sister of the deceased and mother of recipient] and the division of his real and personal property (1775), the wreck of the Athenienne off Sardinia with the loss of Mr. Bankes's son, comments on the [parliamentary] representation of Flint boroughs, a new road in Carnarvonshire which the writer believed would pass near Festiniog, Bonaparte in Russia); and Ph[illip] Yorke, Erthig, Dyffryn Aled and Abergele, 1776-1796 (9) (personal, a request for assistance in tracing the descent of the lordships of Bromfeild and Yale, comments on references to the said lordships by David Powell and [William] Camden, the descent of the lordship of Chirck, enclosing 'a very coarse card of the Dyffrynaled Alliances' which he would like recipient to fill up, Mr. Johnson's wish to succeed Mr. Graves at Newnham house, a request for 'any anecdotes not common that relate to our eminent Welsh', a proposal by the writer and his son Simon to give 'an account of each Tribe and its several descendants of Distinction', queries relating to the Kyffyns of Maenan, the Wynns of Soughton, the Prices of Vedu deg, Sir John Wynn 'the historian', etc., a request for recipient's influence at the Quarter [Sessions] in recommending a bridge over the Dinant at Rhydyr arrion, a historical note on a former bridge at that spot and suggestions as to the type of bridge suitable then, a person to copy manuscripts relating to Welsh families at the [?British] Museum, progress with the Tribes and hopes of 'a book of them e'er long' (1796) [The Royal Tribes of Wales, 1799], a request for a copy of Sir John [Wynn] of Gwydir' s minutes of his journey to London 'to kiss hands on his Baronetage'). Also included are three summonses, undated, to J. Lloyd requesting his attendance at the House of Commons; an invitation, undated, from the Lord Mayor [of London] to breakfast; and a statement giving statistical details relating to the import trade of the port of Liverpool, complaining re. the stagnated state of the market for West Indian produce and requesting a loan by Exchequer Bills to help the merchant importers [endorsed by J. Lloyd, January 1800 'This Statement was sent to me by the Committee of the Liverpool delegates who came to London in October 1799 to sollicit the Loan'].