OR

Orlebar manuscripts

This collection is an example of the great value to local history of the documents accumulated over centuries by a local family owning land and taking part in local affairs. Deeds, terriers and surveys throw light on the ownership, tenants, and methods of agriculture of the district. The court rolls, one of the best series in the county, show the working of the manor. Various parish documents have survived in the collection. The 16th century legal papers give some sidelights on Quarter Sessions at a time for which the official records do not exist. Other documents deal with such matters as the property of Canons Ashby after the dissolution, and with militia and enclosure. The correspondence includes some of the earliest letters in the County Record Office.

The Orlebar manuscripts, deposited at the County Record Office in several instalments since 1932, were offered for sale by private treaty to the County Council by Messrs Christies (on behalf of Michael Orlebar esq.) in February 1986. The purchase at a cost of £32,400 was made possible through a public appeal sponsored by the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, which received generous support from Bedfordshire and beyond. The ownership of the collection passed to the County Council with the completion of the purchase on 26th August 1986 (reported to the Leisure Committee on 12th September). The documents included in the purchase were: OR 1-2070. The original collection and subsequent deposits (excluding nos. 1397-1405, 1864, 1878 and 1882 - previously withdrawn by the family and not held at the Record Office at the time of the purchase in 1986). OR 2071/1-621 three folio volumes containing about 620 documents (some missing) removed from the main archive and used by Mr Frederica Orlebar when writing the "Orlebar Chronicles" (new accession, August 1986). OR 2072 The Elizabethan Establishment book (new accession, August 1986). Further records of the family deposited in 1980 but only summary listed at the time of the purchase in 1986 were catalogued as OR2073-2394, however not all of these items were then included in the sale and this is indicated in the catalogue as '(not purchased)'. Further deposits of material have been made by Mr Orlebar subsequent to the sale and these have been added to OR as fitting with this collection and in some cases originally forming part of it but not being included in the sale. It should be noted that ownership of these documents remains with Mr Orlebar.

fonds

Orlebar,
Payne

Hinwick, PODINGTON