Memorandum on the administration of Orkney

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0096 MS 506
Held at	: Senate House Library, University of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/our-collections ›
Full title	: Memorandum on the administration of Orkney
Date(s)	: 1760
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 3 leaves
Name of creator(s)	: Possibly: Douglas | James | 1702-1768 | 14th Earl of Morton
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

A royal grant of Orkney and Shetland was made to the Earls of Morton in 1643, and the earls became hereditary stewards and justiciaries of the islands. There was often conflict with the thirty-some Orkney lairds who ruled over Orkney on behalf (and sometimes contrary to the will) of the Earls, as this was a time of strong Jacobite sentiment which culminated in the last Orkney Jacobite uprising of 1745. The uprising was, in part, due to the great discontent with the Earls of Morton which was felt by the lairds and Orcadians.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Memorandum, dated 1760 and probably by James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, on a pamphlet [by the Reverend Thomas Hepburn, Minister of Bursay] entitled A letter to a gentleman from his friend in Orkney containing the true causes of the poverty of that country, [dated 4 March 1757], which had defended Morton against charges of illegally increasing rents and other duties brought against him by the lairds of Orkney. The writer had advised against publication, but the pamphlet was in fact published in 1760.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Uncatalogued material may not be seen. Please contact the University Archivist for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

Finding aids:

Collection level description.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Enclosed with a copy of the pamphlet in question, a Goldsmiths' Library volume lettered 'A Letter from Orkney with MS', 1760, which also includes a copy of A letter to a gentleman from his friend in Orkney containing the true causes of the poverty of that country (1760; G.L. Cat. 9543).

Allied Materials

Related material:

Further material relating to James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, may be found at Nottingham University Library, the British Library, and the national Archives of Scotland.

Publication note:

Namer and Brooke, The House of Commons, 1754-90 (HMSO 1964).

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Aug 2001