JERSEY FAMILY AND ESTATE

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0074 ACC/1401
Held at	: London Metropolitan Archives   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma ›
Full title	: JERSEY FAMILY AND ESTATE
Date(s)	: 1805-1974
Level of description	: Collection
Extent	: 2.07 linear metres (142 documents).
Name of creator(s)	: Jersey | family | of Osterley Park Child | family | bankers

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Manor of Osterley in Heston was purchased by property developer Nicholas Barbon in 1683. Barbon conveyed the Manor to two co-mortgagees including the banker Sir Francis Child the elder (1642-1718). Child took possession of the Manor on Barbon's death in 1698, while his son Robert Child (d. 1721) bought out the co-mortgagee, so that the Child family owned the whole estate. The family expanded the estates by purchasing nearby Manors and commissioned Robert Adam to redesign the house.

The estates and Child's Bank were inherited by Sarah Anne (1764-1793), daughter and sole heir of Robert Child (d. 1782). Under the terms of Robert Child's will the estates passed to Sarah Anne's daughter Lady Sarah Sophia Fane (1785-1867), who was said to have an income of £60,000 a year. Lady Sarah married George Villiers, the fifth Earl of Jersey (1773-1859) who took the name Child-Villiers in 1812. Osterley Park stayed in the Jersey family until 1949 when it was sold to the National Trust.

In 1800 the Manor of Hayes was sold to the executors of Robert Child's will and was therefore added to Osterley and passed to Lady Sarah Sophia Fane and her husband the Earl of Jersey. They sold the Manor in 1829 to Robert Willis Blencowe.

The Manors of Norwood and Southall were united in 1547. In 1754 they were sold to Agatha Child who left them to her son Francis Child. They were united with the Manor of Hayes and followed the same descent-passing to the Jersey family and then sold to Robert Willis Blencowe.

For more information about Osterley Park and Manor see 'Heston and Isleworth: Osterley Park', and 'Heston and Isleworth: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 100-111 (available online).

See also 'Hayes: Manors and other estates' and 'Norwood, including Southall: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 26-29 and pp. 43-45.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the Jersey family of Osterley Park. This deposit forms a valuable addition to the extensive collection of records relating to the family and Middlesex estates of the Earls of Jersey already deposited in the London Metropolitan Archives. It consists of material that had remained in the Estate Office at Osterley House after the family had ceased living there. Estate records predominate in the deposit but it does include an interesting group of late nineteenth century solicitors' papers. The estate records in this deposit contain a large number of ledgers and other account books, reflecting in some detail the financial administration of the Osterley estate and the central London properties during the second quarter of the twentieth century.

Apart from the light thrown upon the financial management of the home farm and gardens at Osterley Park, and of the properties in Heston, Isleworth, Southall and Norwood, much can be discovered about the structure of the household responsible for the day-to-day running of Osterley House and the town house in Farm Street, Mayfair. The late nineteenth century papers include a valuable collection of accounts and specifications concerning repairs and renovations both interior and exterior to Osterley House and to the then town house, 38 Berkeley Square.

Most of the nineteenth century material contained in this deposit must at one time have been in the custody of Charles Fane. Correspondence is addressed to him and accounts for settlement directed to him. Charles Fane was one of the trustees of the settled estates of the 6th Earl of Jersey and seems to have acted as trustee for other members of the family (see Acc/1401/118). It is possible that he is the Charles Fane, born 1822, great-grandson of the 8th Earl of Westmorland and cousin to Sarah Sophia Fane, wife of the 5th Earl of Jersey. He was a partner in Childs Bank.

The maps and plans, leases and sale particulars are of considerable value as evidence of estate management with especial regard to urban development in the Heston and Southall area. One unusual item is the set of detailed plans of the Odeon Cinema in Southall, 1935, with its Art Deco elevation, typical of the period.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

The collection is arranged as follows:
ACC/1401/001 Muniments of title;
ACC/1401/002-026 Estate accounts and household expenses;
ACC/1401/027-033 Miscellaneous schedules;
ACC/1401/034-036 Fishing rights;
ACC/1401/037-039 Osterley House;
ACC/1401/040-042 No. 38 Berkeley Square;
ACC/1401/043-047 Sale particulars of parts of Osterley estate;
ACC/1401/048-092 Leases and related papers concerning properties forming Osterley estate;
ACC/1401/093-100 Insurance policies and related papers;
ACC/1401/101-116 Solicitors' accounts, etc.mainly concerning estates and property;
ACC/1401/117-126 Solicitors' papers concerning probate, family and personal finances;
ACC/1401/127-128 Miscellaneous;
ACC/1401/129-142 Maps and plans.

Conditions governing access:

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to access restrictions. Access by written permission only.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Records deposited in January 1978.

Allied Materials

Related material:

This deposit forms what might be called the 'rump' of the family and estate records. The LMA holds a large number of Jersey family papers, catalogued in 13 collections with the following reference codes: ACC/0331; ACC/0405; ACC/0435; ACC/0436; ACC/0506; ACC/0510; ACC/1128; ACC/1275; ACC/1401; ACC/2839; ACC/3076; LMA/4195; LMA/4446.

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

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:
Records prepared May to September 2011.