On 8 December HAT was contacted by Hampshire Archives who had just been notified an important document was up for auction that day- and asked if HAT could help with its purchase.
The document, really a volume of some 545 pages, is a manuscript account book and will of Francis Russell 1740-1795. The estate was sizeable and was valued at £50,000 in 1799. Most of the information in the book was for Goldings along with some other estates in Hampshire, in London and Yorkshire. Goldings is now the registry office for Basingstoke
HAT’s fast-track emergency grant system sprung into action and by noon Hampshire Archives had an agreement for the purchase funds, and by tea time the document was successfully purchased at the online auction and kept in Hampshire.
It was quicker to buy than get here! It’s on its way back to Hampshire via the auctioneer. Watch for updates and more images when it gets here.
