| Description | This ancient family is said to have come from Holbeach in Lincolnshire to North Warwickshire, where it settled in the 15th century at the White House in Fillongley. The branch of the family that eventually settled in Farnborough in 1683 acquired various properties, mainly in the south of Warwickshire, but also in neighbouring parts of Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
The bulk of the records catalogued here consist of property deeds for Fenny Compton dating from the early 13th century, Farnborough from 1613, and Radstone in Northamptonshire from 1504. However, like most estate collections there are also documents relating to the administration of the estate (such as surveys listing tenants of various parts of the estate from the late 16th century) and some personal papers (including certificates recording the election of William Holbech as a Woodman of Arden in 1787 and 1796, the Woodmen being one of the oldest archery clubs in the world, founded in 1785).
Also in this catalogue are records of the manor court of Fenny Compton dating from 1496: similar records frequently survive in estate collections and contain a wealth of information about the inhabitants of a particular manor and details of everyday life.
One of the many interesting things about the Holbech collection is the connection with the Wyllys or Willis family of Fenny Compton. George Wyllys of Fenny Compton (c. 1590-1644) emigrated to North America in 1638 and settled in Connecticut, of which state he became governor in 1642. The family settled in America, selling the last part of their Fenny Compton estate to William Holbech in 1767. Apart from many deeds of the Wyllys family dating from the 15th century, the collection also contains a bill of lading for some of George Wyllys' goods being shipped from Bristol to Boston in Massachusetts in 1641.
L 1 (incorporating CR 182, together with records deposited in 1934 and 1935 without an accession number): deeds of property in Farnborough, Fenny Compton, Napton on the Hill, Byfield (Northants.), Radstone (Northants.), c. 1202-1871; manorial records for Fenny Compton and Wormleighton, 1496, 1510; surveys and plans for Farnborough, Radstone, etc., 1580-1847; personal records, 1641-1835; Quarter Sessions orders, 1638-1679.
CR 457: 11 boxes (numbered 1-11) and 2 boxes not numbered.
CR 656: Estate and household accounts, 1813-94; scrapbook containing miscellaneous correspondence, early 19th c.; and newspaper cuttings, 18th c.; and other records, late 19th c. and early 20th c.
CR 1799: Estate and household accounts 1771-1782, 1791-1796,1810-1812. Brewing accounts 1935-1936. Cash book 1910-1912. Farming accounts 1916-1919. Catalogue of library. Volume of manuscript music c.1800. 2 surveys of 1776. |