Manuscript on paper, in a single hand, of copies of 20 letters from Alured Clarke to Charlotte, Lady Sundon, followed by copies of 4 letters to her from Lord John Hervey and one letter from an unsigned hand. Many of the letters from Clarke concern his patronage of the poet Stephen Duck, in which he discusses his anxiety about exposing Duck to the cruelty of Alexander Pope and "the Dunciad Club," his negotiations with various booksellers and publishers on Duck's behalf, and his high hopes for Duck's poetry after the death of Duck's wife. He also describes books on religion, history, and moral philosophy that he has read; witnesses a presentation of "Indians" to the Queen; and imparts various religious and political news, including Quaker activities. The letters from Hervey consist primarily of descriptions of his own routine social activities as well as those of such notables as the King, Queen, and Duke of Grafton, though he also writes with surprise that Stanislaus has been chosen King of Poland and reports that Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Salisbury, is on the brink of being promoted to the bishopric of Winchester, despite his disagreements with Sir Robert Walpole. An unsigned letter dated 1734, sent "by a private hand," discusses the controversial nomination of Thomas Rundle to the see of Gloucester
Description:
Charlotte Clayton, Lady Sundon (c.1679-1742), courtier, married William Clayton (baptised. 1671, died 1752) of Sundon Hall in Bedfordshire before 1714. With the help of the Duchess of Marlborough, Charlotte Clayton was appointed a woman of the bedchamber to Caroline, princess of Wales in 1714. Her considerable influence over Caroline was distressing to Robert Walpole, who accused Clayton of procuring various political favors for her friends., Alured Clarke (1696-1742), was a Church of England clergyman. Ordained by his uncle Bishop Trimnell in 1720, in 1723 he became rector of Chilbolton in Hampshire and a prebendary of Winchester. He was a chaplain-in-ordinary to both George I and George II; in 1731, he became a prebendary of Westminster. Later he became deputy clerk of the closet to George II. Clarke was also a patron; he founded a county hospital at Winchester in 1736 and was a champion of the poet Stephen Duck., John Hervey, second Baron Hervey of Ickworth (1696-1743), was a courtier and writer. On 2 April 1725 he was elected MP for Bury St Edmunds, and entered the Commons as a supporter of Sir Robert Walpole. In 1730, he became vice-chamberlain to the king's household and, consequently, a member of the privy council; and, in 1740, lord privy seal. However, in 1742 Walpole resigned, and that same year Hervey also left public office. He wrote numerous tracts, including Ancient and Modern Liberty Stated and Compared (1734); The Conduct of the Opposition and the Tendency of Modern Patriotism (1734); and Miscellaneous Thoughts (1742). Hervey's Memoirs were published, with some material suppressed, in 1848, and a more complete version was published in 1931., In English., Pasted onto back pastedown: dealer's description of manuscript., Phillipps 18548., Binding: full calf. In gilt on spine: Clarke Sundon Letters., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain. and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Clarke, Alured, 1696-1742., Duck, Stephen, 1705-1756., Bristol, John Hervey, Earl of, 1665-1751., Hervey, John Hervey, Baron, 1696-1743., Hoadly, Benjamin, 1676-1761., Rundle, Thomas, 1688?-1743., Stanisław I Leszczyński, King of Poland, 1677-1766., Sundon, Charlotte Clayton, Baroness, d. 1742, Walpole, Robert, Earl of Orford, 1676-1745., and Church of England
Subject (Topic):
Bishops, Clergy, Appointment, call, and election, Authors and patrons, Nobility, Social life and customs, and Politics and government
Page 155. Portfolio containing 50 drawings by Lady Diana Beauclerk and her daughter Mary, Miss
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Alternative Title:
Portrait of Sir Robert Walpole
Description:
Title and statement of responsibility written in ink on verso; this contemporary annotation faces upward when sheet is folded in half as intended., Date of production based on artist's death date., Mounted below another portrait drawing of Robert Walpole, also by Sir Edward Walpole., and Mounted on page 155 in a volume containing Horace Walpole's extra-illustrated copy of his Description of the villa of Horace Walpole (Hazen 2523) and his Catalogue of pictures and drawings in the Holbein Chamber at Strawberry-Hill (Hazen 2619.4). Part of the collection: Portfolio containing 50 drawings by Lady Diana Beauclerk and her daughter Mary, Miss Sebright, Miss Knight, Mrs. Damer, John Gooch, Samuel Lysons, Sir Edward Walpole, and Thomas Walpole (Hazen 3641).
Page 155. Portfolio containing 50 drawings by Lady Diana Beauclerk and her daughter Mary, Miss
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Alternative Title:
Portrait of Sir Robert Walpole
Description:
Title from contemporary note in ink on a separate sheet, mounted above drawing., Attribution to Sir Edward Walpole from Horace Walpole's note on preceding leaf in the same volume: Verses and drawings by my brother Sr. E. Walpole ..., Date of production based on artist's death date., Mounted above another portrait drawing of Robert Walpole, also by Sir Edward Walpole., and Mounted on page 155 in a volume containing Horace Walpole's extra-illustrated copy of his Description of the villa of Horace Walpole (Hazen 2523) and his Catalogue of pictures and drawings in the Holbein Chamber at Strawberry-Hill (Hazen 2619.4). Part of the collection: Portfolio containing 50 drawings by Lady Diana Beauclerk and her daughter Mary, Miss Sebright, Miss Knight, Mrs. Damer, John Gooch, Samuel Lysons, Sir Edward Walpole, and Thomas Walpole (Hazen 3641).
Frontispiece. Description of the villa of Horace Walpole ...
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Alternative Title:
Arms and quarterings of Sir Robert Walpole, Knight of the Garter
Description:
Title from note above image, in a contemporary hand., Unsigned; artist unidentified., Date based on death date of Horace Walpole, who assembled the extra-illustrated volume in which this drawing is mounted., With a numbered list of the families whose arms are represented, written on either side of image., and Mounted as the frontispiece in Horace Walpole's extra-illustrated copy of: Walpole, H. A description of the villa of Horace Walpole ... Strawberry Hill : Printed by Thomas Kirgate, MDCCLXXIV [1774-1786]. See Hazen, A.T. Bibliography of the Strawberry Hill Press (1973 ed.), no. 22, copy 3.
Subject (Name):
Walpole, Robert, Earl of Orford, 1676-1745., Walpole, Catherine, Lady, 1681 or 1682-1737., and Walpole family.
A three-quarter-length portrait of Robert Walpole in a wooded landscape. He wears a blue coat and red waistcoat with the insignia of the Order of the Garter. He holds a riding crop in his proper right hand. His gloves are tucked in his belt while he holds his hat in his left hand which rests at his waist. Two horses with grooms are visible in the distant landscape
Description:
Title from 2005 Christie's appraisal., Artist not identified, but English School, circa 1725., and Previously attributed to John Wootton.