Catalogue description Papers of Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1750-1794)

The collection consists entirely of letters, most of which relate to the years immediately before and after Dorothy Cavendish's marriage to the 3rd Duke of Portland in 1766. The duke is the most prolific correspondent, although Lady Frances Scott (later Douglas) and members of the Cavendish family also feature strongly.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email: mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

The letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent, in chronological sequence. Unless stated otherwise, the letters are to Dorothy, Duchess of Portland.

Letters to her husband William, 3rd Duke of Portland (GB 0159 Pw F 10,525-10, 766)

Bentinck, Dorothy, 1750-1794, née Cavendish, Duchess of PortlandCavendish-Bentinck family, Dukes of Portland

Bentinck, Cavendish-, family, Dukes of Portland

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only depending on the condition of the documents.

Accessible to all registered readers.

These papers constitute part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection (GB 0159 Pw) and were received from the 7th Duke of Portland in the first deposit from Welbeck Abbey in 1949. By the Duke's express wish the family archives were divided between The University of Nottingham (political and family correspondence); Nottinghamshire Archives Office (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Northumberland estate papers); British Library (Harley family papers); Hampshire Record Office (papers relating to the Dukes' Hampshire estate) and the Bodleian Library (Civil War papers of Reverend John Nalson). The entire Portland archive from Welbeck was accepted by the state in lieu of estate duty in 1986.

Professor A.S. Turberville, A History of Welbeck Abbey and its Owners (2 vols. 1938-39)

• Family environment

Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

Hard copies can be found:

In the Reading Room, University of Nottingham Library:

Typescript Catalogue, 8 pp

At the National Register of Archives, London:

Typescript Catalogue, 8 pp

Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1750-1794), was the only daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire. She married William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, in 1766.