Reference
SF
Title
Swaffield & Son, auctioneers and estate agents, Ampthill
Date free text
1856-1952
Production date
From: 1856 To: 1952
Admin/biog history
Records deposited by the firm in 1958 (Acc No 2487) and by Andrew Underwood, a descendant of the Swaffields, in 1972 (Acc 3479). c 1848-1951
The company began as Thomas and George Greene. Thomas Greene is listed as auctioneer, appraiser and surveyor, Bedford Street in 1853. By 1864 George had taken over the business now based in Church Street.
Samuel Exton Swaffield came to Bedfordshire from Dorset to be Lord Holland's steward at Ampthill Park. He joined the firm of John Greene, solicitor of Ampthill, in 1840. Samuel's son Henry Richard James Swaffield carried on the business and is listed as farmer and land agent, Ampthill Park Farm in 1869. H R J Swaffield was taken into partnership by George Greene on the 1st January 1873 see Bedfordshire Mercury 7th Jan 1873. In 1878 he was appointed secretary to the Bedfordshire Agricultural Society, a position he held until 1904. He was followed in this position by his son, Henry and later his grandson, Leslie.
All existing loans now gifted under Andrew Underwood's will of January 2011. Only proviso is 'it is my particular request that the future publication of anything that I have written which throuhg this my Will passes into the ownership of the record office should be done only after consultation and with the agreement of my surviving trustees'.
Archival history
Accession numver 3479 deposited July 1972 - estate records, 26 items
System of arrangement
Box lists were drawn up at the time of the 1958 deposit. In 1982 duplicates of maps were destroyed or transferred and the sales catalogues, bills, valuations etc deposited in 1958 were sorted into parish order and very limited bundle lists drawn up. In 2002 the current recataloguing and sorting was commenced. The classification scheme for items already sorted by parish has been retained but the bundle lists have been expanded and corrected and duplicates have been removed. The SF uncat material received in 1972 will be added at the end of the scheme
Level of description
fonds