Catalogue description Maps and Drawings Collected by George, 1st Baron Dartmouth

Details of Subseries within WORK 30
Reference: Subseries within WORK 30
Title: Maps and Drawings Collected by George, 1st Baron Dartmouth
Description:

These maps, plans and drawings relate to places and properties mainly in and around London. In most cases, there is some known personal or official connection between the place concerned and George Legge, first Baron Dartmouth.
Date: c 1656 -1949
Separated material:

The items which were numbered 2-6 and 27-29 in the original volume are now held in the library of the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, under the references I.73 1-8. The item which was numbered 31 was sold separately in 1949 and is now British Library Add MS 52522.
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Not Public Record(s)
Physical description: 7 portfolio(s)
Access conditions: Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated
Custodial history: These maps, plans and drawings were part of a substantial collection amassed by George Legge, first Baron Dartmouth (1647-1691) and his successors the earls of Dartmouth. They were bound into a volume in the 19th century; this, along with numerous other volumes from the collection, was sold at Sotheby's in 1948. The bulk of it, including the cover, was purchased by the Ministry of Works. 8 items then went to the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, while the rest, including the cover, were placed in the library of the Ministry of Works and its successors, down to and including the Property Services Agency. Following the disbandment of PSA, the material passed to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
Administrative / biographical background:

George Legge, first Baron Dartmouth, held a variety of offices under Charles II and James II, including Master of the Horse, Master General of the Ordnance, Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets, Governor of the Tower of London and finally, in 1688, Admiral and Commander in Chief of the Fleet. Although a long-time supporter of James II, he transferred his allegiance to William of Orange in 1688. Subsequently suspected of conspiring with the French against William III, he died of apoplexy in 1691 while imprisoned in the Tower of London. Lord Dartmouth and his successors the earls of Dartmouth accumulated many maps, plans and drawings over the course of his career. Following sales in 1949 and 1963, many of these are now dispersed among numerous institutions and private collections.

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