Archive Record

GOULBURN FAMILY OF BETCHWORTH: TITLE DEEDS, ESTATE AND PERSONAL PAPERS, 1218-1958, INCLUDING THE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY GOULBURN, MP (1784-1856)

Reference Number: 304

Descriptive Information about the Record (click to expand)
Provenance
The family's records were deposited by Major General E H Goulburn, DSO, of Betchworth House (grandson of Edward and Maria Louisa Goulburn) in 1954, 1957 and 1972, having previously been stored partly at Betchworth House, and partly (mainly deeds and papers relating to the Betchworth estate) with the family's solicitors, Messrs Freshfield.
Introduction
Goulburn family fortunes were founded on the estate at Amity Hall, parish of Vere, Jamaica, inherited by Munbee Goulburn from his father and uncle, and settled to the trusts of his marriage settlement in 1782. After Munbee's death, intestate, in 1794, the estate, apparently heavily encumbered, was put in Chancery, and was so administered until his son, Henry, attained his majority in 1805. Henry Goulburn, requiring a seat near London, purchased the Betchworth House estate in 1816, which included the manor of East Betchworth. Although he kept a close eye on the administration and profitability of his Jamaican estates, which were mananged through local agents, he never visited the island, and eventually decided in 1852 to attempt to sell the estates. He was not successful and it was not until 1861, that his eldest surviving son sold Amity Hall. By the date of his removal to Betchworth, Henry Goulburn was already prominent in national political circles, and was an intimate friend of (Sir) Robert Peel. He had entered Parliament in 1808 and served in Spencer Percival's government as under-secretary for the home department. He was later (1812) appointed under-secretary for war and the colonies, and in 1814 was made a commissioner for negotiating peace with America. He became a member of the Privy Council in 1821, and was appointed Chief Secretary to the Marquis of Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, a post he held until 1827. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Wellington's administration (1828-30), and then as Home Secretary in Peel's first cabinet (1834-35), returning to the Exchequer when his friend again came to power (1841-46). Henry Goulburn married, in 1811, Jane Montagu, third daughter of Matthew 4th Lord Rokeby, by whom he had four children, Henry, Edward, Frederick and Jane. Henry his eldest son (b.1813) had a brilliant career at Cambridge but died in 1843, only three years after being called to the bar. The estate thus passed, on the death in 1856 of Henry Goulburn senior, to his second son Edward, who in the same year married Maria Louisa, daughter of the Rev William Tower, Vicar of Braughing, Herts, and his wife, Maria, herself a daughter and coheir of Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey of Rolls Park, Essex. Through her, the family inherited estates at Braughing, and in Essex.
Arrangement
This is a provisional box list, although the overall scheme has been finalised. Final numbers have not been assigned to any items, other than the correspondence between Munbee and Henry Goulburn and their agents in Jamaica (304/J/1/-). Numbers in brackets at the end of descriptions are temporary item, file or bundle numbers. Papers and correspondence relating to Henry Goulburn's political career (304/A1/-) are followed by papers accumulated by him in his capacity as executor or trustee (304/A2/-), papers relating to his financial affairs (304/A3/-) and personal correspondence and papers, including memoirs and journal (304/A4/-). Thereafter follow letters and papers of his mother Susannah, brother Edward, wife Jane (n? Montagu) and children Henry, Edward, Frederick and Jane and of Edward Goulburn's wife Louisa (n? Tower) (304/B-H/-). Records relating to title to and management of the Goulburn estates follow in the order: Amity Hall, Vere, Jamaica (304/J/-); Betchworth House estate (304/K/-); London houses belonging to members of the family (304/L/-) and the estates in Braughing, Herts, and North Weald, West Ham and Chigwell, Essex, which were inherited by Louisa Goulburn from her mother Mrs Maria Tower (304/M/-). The final sections of the list group together other letters and papers of three families related to the Goulburns: the Tower family (304/N/-), the Ellison family (304/O/-) and the Montagu family (304/P/-). The final section (304/Q/-) includes printed items and miscellaneous papers found among the family archives. Correspondence has generally been placed according to recipient rather than sender.
Access Conditions
There are no access restrictions.

Series information for this collection
- series: 304/A1/ - HENRY GOULBURN (1784-1856): POLITICAL CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS
  Date: c.1803-1856
- series: 304/A2/ - HENRY GOULBURN: EXECUTORSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP PAPERS
  Date: 1747-1870
- series: 304/A3/ - HENRY GOULBURN: FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
  Date: 1801-1856
- series: 304/A4/ - HENRY GOULBURN: PERSONAL
  Date: 1801-1854
- series: 304/B/ - MRS SUSANNAH GOULBURN (d.1818)
  Date: 1809-1814
- series: 304/C/ - EDWARD GOULBURN
  Date: 1803-1869
- series: 304/D/ - MRS JANE GOULBURN (d.1857)
  Date: 1809-1846
- series: 304/E/ - HENRY ('HARRY') GOULBURN JUNIOR (1813-1843)
  Date: c.1816-1843
- series: 304/F1/ - COLONEL EDWARD GOULBURN (d.1887): EXECUTORSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP PAPERS
  Date: 1856-1889
- series: 304/F2/ - COL EDWARD GOULBURN (d.1887): PERSONAL PAPERS
  Date: 1820-1892
- series: 304/G/ - FREDERICK GOULBURN (1818-1878)
  Date: 1818-1878
- series: 304/H/ - MISS JANE GOULBURN (d.1888)
  Date: 1822-1887
- series: 304/I/ - MRS LOUISA GOULBURN (d.1891)
  Date: 1870s-1890s
- series: 304/J/ - ESTATES: AMITY HALL, VERE, AND THE BOGUE PEN, JAMAICA
  Date: (1686)-1861
- series: 304/K/ - ESTATES: BETCHWORTH HOUSE ESTATE
  Date: 1625-1958
- series: 304/L/ - ESTATES: LONDON HOUSES
  Date: 1811-1888
- series: 304/M/ - ESTATES: BRAUGHING, HERTS, AND NORTH WEALD, WEST HAM AND CHIGWELL, ESSEX
  Date: 1218-1902
- series: 304/N/ - TOWER FAMILY
  Date: 1813-1880s
- series: 304/O/ - ELLISON FAMILY
  Date: 1826-1875
- series: 304/P/ - THE MONTAGU FAMILY
  Date: 1803-1873
- series: 304/Q/ - PRINTED ITEMS AND MISCELLANEOUS
  Date: 18TH CENT-1890

series: 304/A1/ - HENRY GOULBURN (1784-1856): POLITICAL CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS
Date:	c.1803-1856

series: 304/A2/ - HENRY GOULBURN: EXECUTORSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP PAPERS
Date:	1747-1870

series: 304/A3/ - HENRY GOULBURN: FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Date:	1801-1856

series: 304/A4/ - HENRY GOULBURN: PERSONAL
Date:	1801-1854

series: 304/B/ - MRS SUSANNAH GOULBURN (d.1818)
Date:	1809-1814

series: 304/C/ - EDWARD GOULBURN
Date:	1803-1869

series: 304/D/ - MRS JANE GOULBURN (d.1857)
Date:	1809-1846

series: 304/E/ - HENRY ('HARRY') GOULBURN JUNIOR (1813-1843)
Date:	c.1816-1843

series: 304/F1/ - COLONEL EDWARD GOULBURN (d.1887): EXECUTORSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP PAPERS
Date:	1856-1889

series: 304/F2/ - COL EDWARD GOULBURN (d.1887): PERSONAL PAPERS
Date:	1820-1892

series: 304/G/ - FREDERICK GOULBURN (1818-1878)
Date:	1818-1878

series: 304/H/ - MISS JANE GOULBURN (d.1888)
Date:	1822-1887

series: 304/I/ - MRS LOUISA GOULBURN (d.1891)
Date:	1870s-1890s

series: 304/J/ - ESTATES: AMITY HALL, VERE, AND THE BOGUE PEN, JAMAICA
Date:	(1686)-1861

series: 304/K/ - ESTATES: BETCHWORTH HOUSE ESTATE
Date:	1625-1958

series: 304/L/ - ESTATES: LONDON HOUSES
Date:	1811-1888

series: 304/M/ - ESTATES: BRAUGHING, HERTS, AND NORTH WEALD, WEST HAM AND CHIGWELL, ESSEX
Date:	1218-1902

series: 304/N/ - TOWER FAMILY
Date:	1813-1880s

series: 304/O/ - ELLISON FAMILY
Date:	1826-1875

series: 304/P/ - THE MONTAGU FAMILY
Date:	1803-1873

series: 304/Q/ - PRINTED ITEMS AND MISCELLANEOUS
Date:	18TH CENT-1890

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