Catalogue description PAPERS OF THE LEGGE FAMILY, EARLS OF DARTMOUTH

DW 1778 is the main collection of papers of the Earls of Dartmouth of Sandwell and Patshull. The papers in this collection relate primarily to the political and public office activities of the Legge family from the 17th until the 19th century.

DW 1778 comprises of six sections, I, II, III, IV, V and O. Sections II, III, IV and O have been calendared by the HMC, and have not been included in A2A. Section II (HMC 14th report, Appendix, Part X) consists mainly of North American correspondence arising from the 3rd Earl of Dartmouth's role as Secretary of State to the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Sections III, IV and O (HMC 15th Report, Appendix 1) include papers relating to public offices held by the family and also include some personal material.

Section I consists of correspondence dating from the 1630s to the 19th century, and has been divided into two series (I i and I ii). Parts of each of these series were calendared by the HMC (11th Report Appendix 5), but the calendar has not been included in A2A, for the reasons given above. The remainder of each of these two series has been catalogued by the Staffordshire Record Office, and is included in A2A. Please note that the document item references for the HMC calendar and Staffordshire Record Office catalogue interlock.

Section V has been catalogued by the Staffordshire Record Office and is included in A2A.

All the documents included in the DW 1778 lists, which have been incorporated into A2A, are now held at the Staffordshire Record Office and not the William Salt Library as stated on some of the catalogues.

• Legge, George, 1647-1691 1st Baron Dartmouth, admiral
• Legge, William, 1731-1801, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth
• Military operations
• Coal mining

The collection has been catalogued partly by the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC) and partly by the Staffordshire Record Office. The format and later amendment of some of the catalogues, in particular the HMC calendars, means that it has not been possible to include all of these in A2A. The HMC calendars are available for consultation at the Staffordshire Record Office, the William Salt Library Stafford and at the National Register of Archives.

William Legge (?1609 - 1670)

He was the son of Edward Legge, Vice-President of Munster and lived in Ireland until the Earl of Danby brought him to England as a young soldier. He served in the Dutch and Swedish forces and in 1638 was inspector of the fortifications at Newcastle and Hull. He was Master of the Armoury and Lieutenant of Ordnance for the Scottish War, 1639 - 1640. In the next year, he was made Lieutenant General of Artillery, training at York to use the army on the King's behalf. In 1642, Charles I sent him to secure Hull but Legge failed. He was captured briefly at Southam in Warwickshire but in 1643 he was fighting on the royalist side at the Siege of Lichfield, Chalgrove Field and Newbury. An appointment as temporary governor of Chester in 1644 was followed in the next year by the governorship of Oxford. When Prince Rupert was disgraced, Wm. Legge fled abroad. In 1647 he accompanied Charles I to the Isle of Wight. In 1649 he compounded, but he was sent by the King to Ireland where he was captured. He was still a prisoner at Exeter in 1651 but two years later he was allowed to go into exile abroad. He remained on the continent for six years, after which he returned to England in 1659 to prepare for a royalist rising. For this, he was sent to the Tower of London, but Charles II's restoration in 1660 saw a change in William Legge's fortunes. He now became a groom of the bedchamber, Master of the Armoury, Lieutenant General, Treasurer and Paymaster of the Ordnance (posts which he held until his death) and Lieutenant of Alice Holt Forest and Woolmer Forest, both in Hants. In 1670 Colonel William Legge died at his house in The Minories in London.

George Legge 1st Baron Dartmouth (1647 - 1691)

George was the eldest son of William Legge. He had a distinguished naval career, beginning with service in the Dutch War 1665 - 1667 with his cousin Sir Edward Spragge, Commander of the English rear squadron. In 1667 Legge was captain of the Pembroke and in 1672 he was captain of the Fairfax. He took part in the treacherous attack on the Dutch Smyrna fleet lying off the Isle of Wight in March 1672 which led to the declaration of war and he was also present at the English defeat by de Ruyter at Sole Bay on the Suffolk coast in May 1672. After this, he moved to the York and in the following year, 1673, he became commander of the Royal Katherine under Prince Rupert. An appointment as Lieutenant Governor of Portsmouth in 1670 was followed by Lieutenant Generalship of the Ordnance in 1672 and the post of Warden of Portsmouth in 1673. He served in Flanders in 1678, but in January 1682 Legge became Master-General of the Ordnance and in December of the same year Charles II created him Baron Dartmouth. In 1683, Lord Dartmouth, now an Admiral of the Fleet, was entrusted with the evacuation of Tangier. It had formed part of the dowry of Charles II's Queen, Catherine of Braganza, but had proved too great a drain on the exchequer. Although well situated strategically, it had major disadvantages as a naval base. Samuel Pepys accompanied Lord Dartmouth's squadron and the garrison and other inhabitants of the town of Tangier were taken on board. The houses, fortifications, town walls and mole were blown up and abandoned in March 1684. When James II succeeded to the throne in 1685, Lord Dartmouth was made Master of the Horse and Governor of the Tower. In 1688, he was appointed commander of the Channel Fleet in place of the Catholic Sir Roger Strickland and in October 1688 he was ordered to rendezvous at the Buoy of the Nore to intercept the Dutch fleet led by the Prince of Orange. After weeks of inactivity, the Dutch sailed on 1st November, but the English were now windbound and the enemy eluded them, passing through the Straits of Dover on 3 November. Even as late as November 19th, Dartmouth refrained from attacking the Dutch and on 12 December 1688, after James had fled, he sent in his submission to the Prince of Orange. His equivocal behaviour at this juncture, strengthened by suspicions of conspiracy with the French, led to his imprisonment in the Tower of London where he died in 1691.

William Legge 1st Earl of Dartmouth (1672 - 1750)

William succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Dartmouth in 1691 and when he took his seat in the House of Lords in 1695 he surrendered the family lease of Alice Holt and Woolmer Forests. In June 1702 he became Commissioner of the Board of Trade and Plantations. After refusing an appointment as ambassador to Venice in 1704, he agreed to be Secretary of State for the South and Joint Keeper of the Signet for Scotland in 1710. In the following year he was created Viscount Lewisham and Earl of Dartmouth. On his appointment as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1713 he resigned his posts as Secretary of State and Keeper of the Signet. The accession of George I in 1714 marked Lord Dartmouth's retirement from public life, but he lived until 1750.

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth (1731 - 1801)

The 1st Earl's eldest son, George, pre-deceased him in 1732 and so he was succeeded in 1750 by his grandson, William by his father's marriage to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Arthur Kaye of Woodsome, Yorks. William inherited property in Yorkshire. In 1736, his mother Elizabeth married Francis, Lord North and William subsequently went on "The Grand Tour" with Frederick North. The 2nd Earl's political career began in 1765 with the Presidency of the Board of Trade and Foreign Plantations, but he held this post for only a year, resigning in July 1766. His most important appointment came in August 1772 when he succeeded Hillsborough as Secretary of State for the Colonies and President of the Board of Trade, posts which he held until 1775. In this year he became Lord Privy Seal and remained in this office until the fall of Lord North's government in 1782. He still enjoyed royal favour, however, and served as Lord Steward of the Household in 1783 and High Steward of Oxford University from 1786. He died at Blackheath in 1801, having been distinguished for his support of evangelicalism and the Methodists, an attachment which earned him the nickname 'the psalm-singer'.

George Legge 3rd Earl of Dartmouth (1755 - 1810)

Before he succeeded to the earldom on his father's death in 1801, George served as Member of Parliament for Plymouth in 1778, Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales, 1782 and Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1783. In 1801, he was appointed President of the Board of Control and a Privy Councillor. He continued in royal service as Lord Steward of the Household, 1802 to 1804 and Lord Chamberlain, 1804 to 1810, the year of his death.