Papers relating to Norton Hall, South Yorkshire
Scope and Contents
Manuscript legal documents, correspondence, and notes relating to Norton Hall, and to other land holdings and genealogy of the Offley and Shore families.
The bulk of the collection consists of circa 100 land leases and other legal documents including marriage contracts, wills, and military commissions, most on parchment, most dated 1605-1768, with a few dated 1584-1896.
Papers documenting political philosophy and the practice of law during the Restoration period include an account book, 1670-1721, with entries listing income and detailed personal and household expenses of Middle Temple barrister Robert Offley (1634-1678), 1670-circa 1676, and his brother, Middle Temple barrister Joseph Offley (-1721), 1678-1721; and a commonplace book titled “Politica et historica,” in an unidentified 17th-century hand, possibly also by Robert Offley, with undated entries in English and Latin, most relating to philosophy, politics, government, and religion, with extensive extracts from Machiavelli, Bacon, and other 16th-17th-century authors.
Other papers, 18th-19th centuries, include correspondence and notes, 1720-1760s, most relating to land holdings of Samuel Shore (1738-1828) and his brother-in-law Francis Edmunds, 1760s, including Norton Hall and manors in Essex and Suffolk; memoirs of members of the Shore family about an Offley family inheritance dispute in 1754; and a printed catalog and map for sale of Norton Hall estate, 1850, with annotations in unidentified hands.
Other correspondence, notes, and genealogical tables, circa 1880s-1910s, document genealogy research by Offley Bohun Stovin Fairless Shore (1863-1922), his father, Offley Bohun Shore (1839-1911), and his uncle, Harrington Offley Shore (1833-1908), including research on Norton Hall, the Clarke, Offley, Shore, and related families, and the Shore family relationship to John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (1751-1854) and to Florence Nightingale (1820-1910).
A few items relate to P. E. Davis Limited, a home furnishing business in Oxford, England, 1930s, including business and financial records of Margery Morris Davis, Percy Edwin Davis, and Percy William Davis, and photographs of two unidentified people, circa 1930s.
Dates
- 1584-1943
- Majority of material found within 1605 - 1912
Language of Materials
Mostly in English; some materials in Latin.
Conditions Governing Access
This material is open for research.
Series III. Legal documents (boxes 6-14) is restricted due to the condition of the material. May not be seen without the permission of the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Dean Cooke Rare Books on the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection Fund, 2021.
Arrangement
Organized into four series: I. Offley family papers, 1630-1754. II. Shore family papers, circa 1600-1912. III. Legal documents, 1584-1896. IV. Papers relating to P. E. Davis Limited, 1924-1943.
Extent
6.76 Linear Feet (16 boxes)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Manuscript legal documents, correspondence, and notes relating to Norton Hall, and to other land holdings and genealogy of the Offley and Shore families.
The bulk of the collection consists of circa 100 land leases and other legal documents including marriage contracts, wills, and military commissions, most on parchment, most dated 1605-1768, with a few dated 1584-1896.
Papers documenting political philosophy and the practice of law during the Restoration period include an account book, 1670-1721, with entries listing income and detailed personal and household expenses of Middle Temple barrister Robert Offley (1634-1678), 1670-circa 1676, and his brother, Middle Temple barrister Joseph Offley (-1721), 1678-1721; and a commonplace book titled “Politica et historica,” in an unidentified 17th-century hand, possibly also by Robert Offley, with undated entries in English and Latin, most relating to philosophy, politics, government, and religion, with extensive extracts from Machiavelli, Bacon, and other 16th-17th-century authors.
Other papers, 18th-19th centuries, include correspondence and notes, 1720-1760s, most relating to land holdings of Samuel Shore (1738-1828) and his brother-in-law Francis Edmunds, 1760s, including Norton Hall and manors in Essex and Suffolk; memoirs of members of the Shore family about an Offley family inheritance dispute in 1754; and a printed catalog and map for sale of Norton Hall estate, 1850, with annotations in unidentified hands.
Biographical / Historical
Norton Hall was a country house and estate, 11th-19th centuries, in the traditional county of Derbyshire, near Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Owners of Norton Hall included members of the Clarke family, 1668-1695, the Offley family, 1695-1759, and the Shore family, 1759-1850. Since the 1920s, parts of the former estate have been acquired by Graves Park, a city park in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Family members represented in the papers include:
Offley family
1) Robert Offley (-1625) married (1588/9) Anne Osborne Offley (-1653/4).
-----2) John Offley (1592/3-1667) married Elizabeth Moore Offley (1604-1678).
-----------3) Robert Offley (1634-1678), Bencher of the Middle Temple, married (1661) Elizabeth
Best Wynne Offley.
-----------3) Joseph Offley (-1721), Bencher of the Middle Temple and member of Parliament for
Rye, 1698-1702. Inherited Norton Hall from Robert Offley (1640-1717).
-----2) Stephen Offley married (1635) Ursula Clarke, sister of Cornelius Clarke (-1696) and heir of
Norton Hall.
-----------3) Robert Offley (1640-1717) married Mary Burton Offley (1647-1704).
----------------4) Stephen Offley (1671-1727), High Sheriff of Derbyshire (1716-) married (1700) Ulrith Smyth (1681-1711). Inherited Norton Hall from Joseph Offley (-1721).
---------------------5) Joseph Offley (1702-1751) married (1732) Mary Bohun (1702/3-1740).
-------------------------6) Edmund Offley (1732/3-1754).
Inheritance dispute:
Edmund Offley (1732/3-1754), estranged from his nonconformist father’s executors, made a will leaving Norton Hall to Reverend George Carr, English Episcopal Congregation, Edinburgh. After Offley’s death, the dispute was resolved in favor of his sisters:
Urith Offley (1737-1781) married (1759) Samuel Shore (1738-1828).
Hannah Maria Offley (-1805) married (1767) Francis Edmunds.
Shore family
1) Samuel Shore (1738-1828) married (1759) Urith Offley Shore (1737-1781). Deputy lieutenant, Derby militia. Rebuilt Norton Hall estate, including a house extant in 2021.
-----2) Samuel Shore (1761-1836) married (1788) Harriet Fitz-Walter Foye (1760-1826).
Lieutenant, Norton Volunteer Corps, 1803-1810.
-----------3) Offley Shore (1797-1870) married (1832) Elizabeth Brewin Shore (1802-1872).
Entered Shore pedigree at College of Arms, 1837. Sold Norton Hall estate, 1850.
----------------4) Offley Bohun Shore (1839-1911) married (1861) Anna Maria Leishman.
---------------------5) Offley Bohun Stovin Fairless Shore (1863-1922) married Caroline Perry Sinnickson (1870-1957).
----------------4) Harrington Offley Shore (1833-1908).
The Shore family was related to:
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), through a sister-in-law of Samuel Shore (1738-1828).
Possibly related to John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (1751-1854), governor-general of Bengal, 1793-1798.
Sources:
Addy, S. O. “A contribution towards a history of Norton, in Derbyshire.”
In: Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. volume II (1880 January), pages 2-27.
British history online. “Norton”.
British listed buildings (website).“Norton Hall Hospital with Colonnade and Orangery”.
Dwyer Laye (archived genealogy website). “Florence Nightingale’s Shore family, from perspective of Shores of Norton Hall/Meersbrook”.
Hunter, Joseph. A true account of the alienation and recovery of the estates of the Offleys of Norton in 1754, with remarks on the version of the story by the author of “Tremaine” and “De Vere” (London: Pickering, 1841).
The title refers to fictionalized versions in novels of Robert Plumer Ward (1765-1846).
Soc.genealoy.medieval (website). “Shute/Offley” (newsgroup thread).
- Account books -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Administration of estates -- England -- Derbyshire.
- Clarke, Cornelius, -1696
- Commonplace books -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Country homes -- England -- Derbyshire
- Davis, P. E. (Percy Edwin)
- Derbyshire (England)
- Derbyshire (England) -- Economic conditions -- 16th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Economic conditions -- 17th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Economic conditions -- 18th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Economic conditions -- 19th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Maps
- Derbyshire (England) -- Social life and customs -- 16th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Social life and customs -- 17th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Social life and customs -- 18th century
- Derbyshire (England) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
- Edmunds, Francis, active 1767
- Edmunds, Hannah Maria Offley, -1805
- Estate sales -- England -- Derbyshire
- Genealogical tables -- England -- 19th century
- Genealogical tables -- England -- 20th century
- Genealogists -- England
- Genealogists -- England -- 19th century
- Genealogists -- England -- 20th century
- Genealogy
- Great Britain -- History -- Restoration, 1660-1688
- Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 17th century
- Great Britain. Army. Derby Militia
- Great Britain. Army. Norton Volunteer Corps
- House furnishings industry and trade -- England -- Oxford
- Inheritance and succession -- Derbyshire
- Land tenure -- England -- Derbyshire
- Land tenure -- England -- Essex
- Land tenure -- England -- Sheffield
- Land tenure -- England -- South Yorkshire
- Landowners -- England -- Derbyshire
- Landowners -- England -- Derbyshire -- 16th century
- Landowners -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Landowners -- England -- Derbyshire -- 18th century
- Landowners -- England -- Derbyshire -- 19th century
- Lawyers -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Lawyers -- England -- London
- Leases -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Leases -- England -- Derbyshire -- 18th century
- Leases -- England -- Derbyshire -- 19th century
- Legal documents -- England -- Derbyshire -- 16th century
- Legal documents -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Legal documents -- England -- Derbyshire -- 18th century
- Legal documents -- England -- Derbyshire -- 19th century
- Manors -- England -- South Yorkshire
- Manors -- England -- Derbyshire
- Manors -- England -- Essex
- Manors -- England -- Sheffield
- Maps -- England -- Derbyshire -- 19th century
- Marriage records -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Marriage records -- England -- Derbyshire -- 18th century
- Marriage records -- England -- Derbyshire -- 19th century
- Military commissions -- England -- Derbyshire -- 18th century
- Nightingale, Florence, 1820-1910
- Offley family
- Offley, Edmund, 1732/3-1754
- Offley, Joseph, 1721
- Offley, Robert, 1634-1678
- P. E. Davis Limited
- Photographs
- Real property -- England -- Derbyshire
- Real property -- England -- Essex
- Real property -- England -- Sheffield
- Real property -- England -- South Yorkshire
- Sheffield (England)
- Sheffield (England) -- Maps
- Shore family
- Shore, Harrington Offley, 1833-1908
- Shore, Offley Bohun Stovin Fairless, 1863-1922
- Shore, Offley Bohun, 1839-1911
- Shore, Samuel, 1738-1828
- Shore, Samuel, 1761-1836
- Shore, Urith Offley, 1737-1781
- South Yorkshire (England)
- Teignmouth, John Shore, Baron, 1751-1834
- Wills -- England -- Derbyshire -- 17th century
- Wills -- England -- Derbyshire -- 18th century
- Wills -- England -- Derbyshire -- 19th century
- Title
- Guide to Papers relating to Norton Hall, South Yorkshire
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Karen Spicher
- Date
- 2021 June
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
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