William Brydges papers

The collection consists of the personal, estate, legal, and business correspondence of a Herefordshire gentry family with strong ties to the London legal world and with some slight connection to their more important relative James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos.

The first letter in the collection (26 Oct 1719) is written by William Brydges (1663-1736) to his brother Francis Brydges with regards to setting up a meeting between the two.

The next forty letters are written by William Brydges (1681-1764) to his father Francis Brydges. In these letters, William displays traits of a member of the British upper-class. Whether it's by entertaining guests with a harp, mentioning an inclination to be "gentlemen-like", receiving invitations to dine and socialize with local lords, or being the second cousin of James Brydges 1st Duke of Chandos, William is not ashamed of his gentility. His title, Esquire of Tibberton (or Tyberton) in Herefordshire, reflects that as well. Although his work as a lawyer requires him to live in London during this time, he is still obligated to settle matters in Tibberton. The issue that is mentioned the most within this set of letters centers on the tithe dispute of Tibberton Parish. In the early 1700s, there were serious difficulties faced by the established church as the failure of the Anglican Church to meet the needs of its constituents all throughout Britain laid the groundwork for the rise of Methodism and other non-conformist sects- particularly associated with towns. In Tibberton, William and Francis Brydges have a difficult time getting the local citizens to pay for the repair of the collapsed chancel and tower of Tibberton Parish Church. In the case of the Tibberton church, neither the Dean and Chapter of the diocese nor the townspeople agreed to repair these damaged areas. According to William in one of his letters to Francis (17 Oct 1719), he states that the Dean and Chapter want parishioners to pay for the repair of the chancel but nobody is willing to pay. This disorganization leads to William and Francis demanding money from the person who collects the tithes of Tibberton parish, Mr. Tom Jones, in order to pay for the repairs themselves. Seeing as Francis and his father Marshall were both clerks of the church, their involvement in this case appears fitting. A further example of William's dedication to the church lies in his search for records indicating the administrative status of Tibberton and its adjoining church with the name "Madley". When the ownership of the church comes into question, William travels to the augmentation office at Westminster to prove that Tibberton is its own distinct parish. It is not known whether these issues get resolved, but what can be told from these letters is that William found documents proving Tibberton's distinct existence from Madley; the damaged chancel was removed by the end of 1719 (though not yet replaced with a new one); and due to both Tom Jones' refusal to pay his share and inaction from others involved with the church, William and Francis do not resolve the ecclesiastical conflict of law among all sides of this affair.

Along with Tibberton, real estate matters are the most mentioned subject within William's letters to his father. These matters deal with William, his father-in-law Andrew Card (1653-1732) who served the Duke of Chandos as a lawyer, and Francis purchasing and selling estates within the towns of Bosbury, Hereford, Bristol, Moreton, Shirkway, and Upleadon. Some of William's cousins play a role in these affairs as well; including Will Vaughn who informs William of his intention to purchase the Brampton estate in Hereford, and Tom Brydges who is selling the Brampton estate in the first place. Another involvement of Tom brought up in these letters involves a complex and strenuous financial affair wherein Tom purchases the life annuity of Andrew Card's widowed sister "Aunt Holmes".

The next sixteen letters are written from Joseph Hardwick (fourteen letters) and Stephen Reeves (two letters) to Francis Brydges from 1719 to 1720. Hardwick and Reeves are separate tradesmen hired by Francis to assist in the repairing of the church at Tibberton, but Hardwick also discusses land prices and other business affairs in his writings to Francis.

The last three letters are written from notable architect John Wood (1705?-1754) from 1729 to 1731 to William Brydges concerning his estate purchase in Bristol. They consist of architectural suggestions for the estate- thus proving Wood's loyalty to the Brydges family after designing the Duke of Chandos' estate in Bath a few years earlier.

From the day to day occurrences illustrated in these primary sources, the Brydges' way of life can be deciphered. The first thing to notice is that business for William, Francis, and Andrew Card is essentially localized. All of the estate affairs (except for Bristol being 40 miles from Hereford) occur in locations that are not only in Herefordshire but also extremely close within the county as well. The fact that there was no effective transport due to poorly maintained roads and a lack of modernized technology in this pre-Industrial Revolution era meant that business could be handled more easily when it was close by.

Another thing to note is how often William talked about his family to his father. Seeing as how there was no other means of communication except for talking in person, William felt obligated to inform his father in every single letter that he wrote during this time how his immediate family fared. He constantly mentioned his daughter Elizabeth and nieces Mary and Elizabeth Unett because he shared a close relationship with all of them. Unfortunately, sickness was prevalent among this time due to the instances of Elizabeth "Betty" Unett contracting smallpox, Francis acquiring gout for a brief stint, and Andrew Card suffering from an illness that prevented him from traveling for a whole year and forced him to resign his post as treasurer of Gray's Inn in London in June 1719. William also wrote about politics- mentioning that his uncle William Brydges (1663-1736) lost a by-election at Wells, Somerset on December 14th, 1719; and also giving an account (letter of 26 Sept 1719) of working out a deal with Lord Chandos regarding the British East India Company and an outside agent, meanwhile providing hints towards a warm relationship he shared with his second cousin.

The relationship between William, his father-in-law, and his biological father Francis is built on tremendous interaction and trust. Though other family members and various affiliates come to William for legal and financial advice, William constantly mentions throughout his letters to Francis that he relies on Card's counsel before he follows through with these affairs as well. William also trusts Francis enough to let him know everything that is occurring in his life during this time- so much so that the most repeated statement among these letters is: "I entirely submit my thoughts to you [Francis]". This statement demonstrates that people actually come to both William and Francis for legal and financial advice, and at the end of the day the father decides what is best. Thus we observe the family dynamic of the Brydges family in this collection.