Notes on visits to various country houses and towns in Great Britain.
Published / Created:
1789-1826.
Physical Description:
1 v. ([4], 19, [1], 83 p., with blanks) ; 25 cm.
Holdings:
Rare Books and ManuscriptsDA11 .K47 1789Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Copyright Not Evaluated
Classification:
Archives & Manuscripts
Notes:
Mary Tompson of Northampton married Dr. William Kerr and died some years before 1847 at the age of 85, leaving no children.Pen and brown ink.The first unnumbered page bears inscriptions "Mary Kerr Oct. 29th 1789 to her neice [sic] Mrs George Abbey 25th June 1827 with her kind love, and requests her acceptance of the medley contents" and "Given to Elizabeth Anne Abbey - niece and goddaughter of George Abbey Esqr & great-niece of Mrs Kerr being eldest daughter of John & Charlotte Abbey", followed by a biographical notice concerning Mary Kerr and her sister Anne Abbey.Quarter parchment binding with decorated floral paper covers.A manuscript miscellany, in a single hand, chiefly consisting of notes on visits to various country houses and towns in Great Britain. Each entry is dated, with the dates ranging from 1789 to 1826. They include two accounts of visits to Oxford, one from 1789, the other from 1812, and an account of a visit to Cambridge in 1811, all including details of some of the treasures in the university and college libraries there. In Stratford-upon-Avon, the writer describes Shakespeare's birthplace as "built of wood and of very mean appearance, part is a publick house, and part a butchers shop, almost joining the White Lyon Inn", and mentions that the effigy of Shakespeare in Holy Trinity Church had been painted entirely white in 1793. The description of Coventry includes several buildings destroyed during the Second World War, such as the old Coventry Cathedral. The accounts of country houses tend to be more concerned with the furniture, paintings and books contained in them than with the architecture. In addition to these descriptions, there are three extracts from other works, one with caption title "Savarys Letters on Egypt. 1786", the second with caption title "In what arts have the moderns excelled the ancients" and note "William Benwell A:B: Trinity College this essay obtaind the prize in the University of Oxford in 1787", and the third with caption title "Dr. Towers' Life of Fred: 3d King of Prussia".
Subject Terms:
Savary, M. (Claude Etienne), 1750–1788. Lettres sur l'Égypte. English. | Benwell, William, 1765–1796. In what arts have the moderns excelled the ancients? | Towers, Joseph, 1737–1799. Memoirs of the life and reign of Frederick the Third, King of Prussia. | Interior decoration -- Great Britain. | House furnishings -- Great Britain. | Country homes -- Great Britain. | Cambridge (England) -- Description and travel. | Oxford (England) -- Description and travel. | Stratford-upon-Avon (England) -- Description and travel. | Matlock (England) -- Description and travel. | Buxton (Derbyshire, England) -- Description and travel. | Derby (England) -- Description and travel. | Birmingham (England) -- Description and travel. | Coventry (England) -- Description and travel. | Great Britain -- Description and travel. | Kerr, Mary, active 1789–1826 -- Presentation inscription to Mrs. George Abbey. | Abbey, Mrs. George -- Presentation inscription from Mary Kerr. | Abbey, Elizabeth Anne -- Provenance.