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Wentworth-Fitzwilliam family, Earls Fitzwilliam

This page summarises records created by this Family

The summary includes a brief description of the collection(s) (usually including the covering dates of the collection), the name of the archive where they are held, and reference information to help you find the collection.

Date: 1100-2000
History:

The Wentworth family owned Wentworth Woodhouse and Hooton Roberts (Yorkshire, West Riding) by the 14th century, and extended its West Riding property by purchase (Barbot Hall in 1525, Brampton Bierlow in 1606, Newhall in 1610, etc) and by marriage, notably that of Thomas Wentworth (d. 1579) to Margaret, daughter of Sir William Gascoigne, which brought estates at Gawthorpe, Cusworth and elsewhere. Sir William Wentworth was created a baronet in 1611 and his son Thomas (executed 1641) was made successively Baron Wentworth (1628), Viscount Wentworth (1629) and Earl of Strafford (1640). Strafford owned extensive Irish estates, mainly in County Wicklow (Shillelagh), County Kildare (Naas), and County Wexford.

At the 2nd Earl's death in 1695 the Wentworth estates passed to his nephew Thomas Watson (afterwards Watson-Wentworth), a younger son of the 2nd Baron Rockingham. He bought estates at Malton (Yorkshire, North Riding) in 1713 and Great Harrowden and Higham Ferrers (Northamptonshire) in 1695, which were extended by his son, created Earl of Malton in 1736 and Marquess of Rockingham in 1746. Property at Barmby Moor (Yorkshire, East Riding) was added to the Malton estate and further acquisitions, including Barnbrough in 1736 and the former Rokeby family possessions at Hoyland (bought c1704) and Skyers (bought 1756), were made in the West Riding. The estates of the Bright family near Sheffield (Yorkshire, West Riding) came through the marriage of the 2nd Marquess to Mary Bright in 1752. They had been accumulated in the 17th century by Stephen Bright of Carbrook (d. 1642), whose acquisitions included Ecclesall and Westwell, and his son Sir John Bright (d. 1688), who bought Badsworth (in 1652) and other West Riding properties.

On the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's death without issue in 1782 the marquessate lapsed and his estates were inherited by his nephew the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam. However, when the 5th Earl Fitzwilliam died in 1857 his estates were divided, the former Watson-Wentworth properties passing to his elder son the 6th Earl and the former Fitzwilliam properties to his younger son George Wentworth Fitzwilliam of Milton (see Wentworth-Fitzwilliam of Milton). Badsworth (Yorkshire, West Riding) was sold by the 6th Earl c1858-9 but the 7th Earl bought the former Childers family property at Cantley (Yorkshire, West Riding) in 1903-5 and an estate at Wansford (Northamptonshire) from the Duke of Bedford in 1904.

Estates in 1883: Yorks E, N and WR 22,192 acres, Northants 881 acres, Cambs 522 acres, Derbys 308 acres, Hunts 75 acres, Lincs 17 acres, Co Wicklow 89,891 acres, Co Kildare 1,532 acres, Co Wexford 325 acres, total 115,743 acres worth £138,801 a year.

Places:
  • Badsworth, Yorkshire
  • Barmby on the Moor, Yorkshire
  • Barnbrough, Yorkshire
  • Brampton Bierlow, Yorkshire
  • Bury, Sussex
  • Cantley, Yorkshire
  • Carnew, County Wicklow
  • Carr House, Yorkshire
  • Coolattin, County Wicklow
  • Eaton, Nottinghamshire
  • Ecclesall, Yorkshire
  • Eckington, Derbyshire
  • Edale, Derbyshire
  • Greasbrough, Yorkshire
  • Great Harrowden, Northamptonshire
  • High Hoyland, Yorkshire
  • Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire
  • Hutton Bushel, Yorkshire
  • Little Harrowden, Northamptonshire
  • Malton, Yorkshire
  • Mosborough, Derbyshire
  • Naas, County Kildare
  • Offham, Sussex
  • Parsons Green, London
  • Rathdrum, County Wicklow
  • Ravenfield, Yorkshire
  • Ravensworth, Durham
  • Shillelagh, County Wicklow
  • Swinton, Yorkshire
  • Thornhaugh, Northamptonshire
  • Tickhill, Yorkshire
  • Tinsley, Yorkshire
  • Wansford, Northamptonshire
  • Wepham, Sussex
  • Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire
  • Westminster, Middlesex
  • Wimbledon, Surrey
Sources of authority: Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Guide to Principal Estate and Family Collections, 1999.
Name authority reference: GB/NNAF/F84040 (Former ISAAR ref: GB/NNAF/F10803 )
Collections
Number Description Held by Reference Further information
1
12th cent-20th cent: Yorks (Brampton Bierlow, Greasbrough, Wentworth Woodhouse, etc) deeds, legal papers, manorial records, rentals, accounts, estate, colliery, household and Wentworth, Watson-Wentworth and Wentworth-Fitzwilliam family corresp and papers 12th-20th cent, Higham Ferrers (Northants) estate papers c1750-1906, Milton (Northants) estate corresp 1831-38 and misc Derbys (Eckington, Edale, etc), London, Notts (Eaton, etc) and other deeds and papers 16th-19th cent, incl Bury, Offham and Weepham (Sussex) manorial records 1654 and Tickhill (Yorks) honour fine roll 1404, with Irish (Co Wicklow, etc) deeds, estate and household papers and misc Durham (Ravensworth), London (Parsons Green and Westminster) and Wimbledon (Surrey) household papers 17th-19th cent, and papers of the related Bright, Childers, Gill, Hawkesworth and Rokeby families, etc
Sheffield City Archives
NRA 1083 Wentworth Woodhouse

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113a]
2
13th cent-20th cent: Yorks (Barnbrough, Swinton, Tinsley, etc) deeds, legal papers, manorial records, estate and mining papers 13th-20th cent, with Irish (Co Wicklow, etc) legal papers and estate rentals c1806-71 and rental of the Co Offaly estate of the Hon Frederick Ponsonby 1844-45
Sheffield City Archives
NRA 4701 Newman & Bond

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113c]
3
1667: Tinsley (Yorks) manorial records
Sheffield City Archives
NRA 23246 Sheffield Library

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113d]
4
1771: Hoyland (Yorks) estate survey
Hull History Centre (Hull University Archives)
NRA 10731 Hull Uni Misc

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113e]
5
16th cent-20th cent: Yorks (Barmby Moor, Hutton Bushel, New Malton, Old Malton, etc) deeds, legal papers, manorial records, rentals, accounts, estate, drainage and navigation papers 16th-20th cent, with papers rel to Yorks affairs 18th-19th cent
North Yorkshire County Record Office
NRA 33762

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113h]
6
16th cent-19th cent: Yorks (Wentworth Woodhouse, etc) estate accounts 1781-95, Malton (Yorks) estate rental 1714 and Northants (Higham Ferrers, etc) manorial and estate papers 16th-19th cent, with Wentworth Woodhouse (Yorks) architectural papers and papers of the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (1748-1833) and the 5th Earl Fitzwilliam (1786-1857), etc
Northamptonshire Archives Service
NRA 5870 Wentworth

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [114a]
7
c1931-1989: Wentworth Woodhouse (Yorks) estate papers, incl papers rel to maintenance, repairs, labour and an accident book
Sheffield City Archives
See Annual Return 2004
8
17th cent-1929: Northants (Great and Little Harrowden, Higham Ferrers, etc) deeds, legal and estate papers 17th-19th cent, with Thornhaugh and Wansford (Northants) estate papers 1904-29
Northamptonshire Archives Service
NRA 5870 Wentworth

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [114b]
9
c16th cent-20th cent: Thornhaugh and Wansford (Northants) deeds and estate papers
Bedfordshire Archives
NRA 17140 Russell

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [90a]
10
18th cent-19th cent: misc Thornhaugh (Northants) estate papers
Bedfordshire Archives
See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [90b]
11
18th cent-20th cent: Co Wicklow (Coolattin, Shillelagh, etc) and misc Co Kildare (Naas, etc) and Co Wexford rentals, accounts, estate papers and papers rel to local affairs
National Library of Ireland
NRA 31205 Wentworth-Fitzwillia

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113i]
12
18th cent: misc Irish estate papers (Bridges family as attorneys)
West Yorkshire Archive Service, Bradford
NRA 30578 Powell

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113j]
13
misc Wentworth-Fitzwilliam family papers
Sheffield City Archives
See Annual Return 1999
14
1693-1852: Wentworth-Fitzwilliam family corresp and papers
University College Dublin
See information from website
15
c1765-1782: corresp and papers of the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730-1782) and Mary, Marchioness of Rockingham (1736-1804)
West Yorkshire Archive Service, Leeds
NRA 7344 Ramsden
16
c1760-1797: corresp and papers of Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
Northamptonshire Archives Service
NRA 4120 Burke

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [114a]
17
1771-1774: Russian letter book of Admiral Sir Charles Knowles (d1777) (formerly at Wentworth Woodhouse)
National Maritime Museum: The Caird Library and Archive
NRA 30121 Nat Maritime Mus

See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113a]
18
1765-1766: Customs establishment records (formerly at Wentworth Woodhouse)
Sheffield City Archives
See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113b]
19
12th cent: MS of Seneca's Epistles (formerly at Wentworth Woodhouse)
British Library, Manuscript Collections
See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113f]
20
15th cent: English translation of Palladius's Opus agriculturae (formerly at Wentworth Woodhouse)
Oxford University: Bodleian Library, Special Collections
See HMC Principal family and estate collections L-W, 1999 [113g]