Reference
AU10/30/12
Title
Letter from Andrew Underwood to Nicola Jerram largely about Sir Anthony Wingfield's friend Charles Matthews (d.1996):
- Matthews collected everything he could about Sir Anthony and about Ampthill House and wrote two books in 1980 "Ampthill House & Sir Anthony Wingfield" and "The Clock Strikes Five", the latter expanded from a 1974 edition thanks to material from 1st Viscount Boyd;
- Matthews did not want his material to be put in Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service but in 2001 his widow Joyce agreed that Andrew Underwood should incorporate it into his collection on the understanding that it went eventually to BLARS, however she kept "The Clock Strikes Five" which Andrew Underwood photocopied;
- Andrew Underwood was archivist at Bedford Modern School until retirement in 1998 and headmaster Stephen Smith's family was from Shepshed [Leicestershire] and know the Matthews family;
- Andrew Underwood had set up the Ampthill History Forum which intended to publish material on a regular basis and intended to publish "The Clock Strikes Five" that November to mark the 50th anniversary of the demolition of Ampthill House; he now offered one for sale to Nicola Jerram along with a copy of the catalogue of Matthews material;
- Ampthill Town Council planned to acquire showcases to display historical material in Ampthill
Date free text
13 Sep 2003
Production date
From: 1953 To: 2003
Level of description
item
Closed until
4037