Sir Thomas Phillipps: Drawings and Descriptions of Parishes, Churches and Castles in Gloucestershire, England, ca. 1820

RLIN ID No.
NYGG05-A0

Main Entry
Phillipps, Thomas, Sir, 1792-1872, collector.

Title
Drawings and descriptions of parishes, churches and castles in Gloucestershire, England, ca. 1820.

Physical Description
63 items ; 33 cm. or smaller

Historical/Biographical Note
Sir Thomas Phillipps was England’s preeminent collector of books and manuscripts. He acquired over 60,000 manuscripts and an almost equal number of books and maintained his collections on his estate of Middle Hill at Broadway, Worcestershire. He transferred them in 1863-1864 to Thirlestaine House in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He had previously inherited Buckland Manor in Gloucestershire and maintained a keen interest in the history of this county. Around 1820 Sir Thomas employed William Henlsey to make notes from parish registers in Gloucestershire and John Osborne to make topographical drawings; their relation to this collection is uncertain.

Scope and Contents Note
Pencil drawings, watercolors and notes about a number of parishes, churches and castles in Gloucestershire. The work is unsigned but may have been prepared by William Hensley and John Osborne. Included are descriptions and or drawings of: Avening, Minchin Hampton and Winchecombe; Bedmington; Berkeley Church and Castle; Beverston Castle; Buckland Rectory; Bitton, Westbury, Albury, Frampton and Weston; Campden; Fairford; Painswick; St. Briavel’s Church and Castle; Sudley (i.e. Sudeley) Castle; Thornbury Castle and Winterbourne.

General Note
Title devised by cataloger.

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift; Jean Mermin Horblit, widow of collector Harrison D. Horblit; 1995.

Finding Aid Note
Unpublished inventory available in repository.

Names
Horblit, Harrison D., collector.
Horblit, Jean Mermin, donor.
Hensley, William, fl. 1820.
Osborne, John, fl. 1820.
Gloucestershire (England). Descriptions. 19th century.
Gloucestershire (England). Drawings. 19th century.

Subjects
Drawings, English. Gloucestershire. 19th century.

Genres
Drawings. England. Gloucestershire. 19th century.
Watercolors. England. Gloucestershire. 19th century.

Location
Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022-1098.


Collection Inventory

Note: The items listed below may be related to the collections known as Phillipps Manuscripts 22736 and 27967. No. 22736 is described as “Gloucestershire Drawings and Prints of View of Churches” in The Phillipps Manuscripts: Catalogus Manuscriptorum in Bibliohteca Thomas Phillipps, Bt…, with an introduction by A. N. L. Munby (London: Holland Press, 1968).

Avening/Minchin Hampton/Winchecombe. Folio sheet of notes with incorporated pencil drawings and sketches with a smaller inserted sheet of pencil drawings of bosses. (2 items)

Badmington. Two folio sheets of drawings of tombs of various dukes of Beaufort and incorporating copies of the inscriptions. (2 items)

Berkeley Castle and Church. Six watercolor drawings; 4 drawings of effigies in brass; 2 sheets of holograph notes. (12 items)

Beverston Castle. 1 folio sheet of notes and a pencil sketch. (2 items)

Bitton/Westbury/Albury/Frampton/Weston. Folio sheet of notes with incorporated sketches of shields; 4 inserted smaller sheets with drawings of heraldic windows and of a tomb at Weston. (5 items)

Buckland Rectory. Two colored drawings of front elevation with floor plan. The second drawing shows proposed alterations to the building. [Sir Thomas Phillipps inherited Buckland Manor from his father.] (2 items)

Campden. 1 folio sheet of notes incorporating sketches of tomb and shields; 6 inserted sheets of rubbings and rough sketches of shields, tomb and local houses of importance. (7 items)

Fairford. History of Fairford Church (Cirencester: Printed by S. Reynolds, 1795). 11th ed. 13 p. Cover title with frontispiece of church. Also: 3 sheets of rough sketches. (4 items)

Painswick. Folio sheet of notes incorporating sketches of local arms. Also: watercolor of Sir William Kingston, Knight of the Garter, d. 1540. (2 items)

St. Briavel’s Church and Castle. Folio sheet of notes; watercolor drawing of archway leading to castle and 2 watercolor drawings of the castle. (4 items)

Sudley [i.e. Sudelely] Castle. Folio sheet of notes with pencil sketch of the Castle chapel, a sheet of pencil notes and 2 drawings of shields; watercolor drawing of castle. (5 items)

Winterborne. Folio sheet of notes incorporating drawings of shields (some in color) and two inserted sheets with drawings of architectural ornaments. Notes are dated 1801 Oct. 4. (3 items)

Thornbury Castle. Folio sheet of notes and drawing of castle. Also: 2 small sheets of notes and 5 sheets of pencil drawings of shields. (8 items)
Unidentified views. (5 items)