Coronations in the Archives

Posted on 5 May, 2023 by nspeccoll

6^th of May 2023 marks the coronation of King Charles III. Coronations are often associated with pomp, pageantry, music and tradition. New works are published and events are recorded by people attending or celebrating the coronation of a new monarch.

One example of this can be found in our Collection of books published in the 19th Century. In 1727 George II commissioned his favourite composer George Frederic Handel to compose new music for his coronation. Handel’s Anthems for the Coronation included The King Shall Rejoice, Let Thy Hand be Strengthened, My Heart is Inditing, and perhaps most famously, Zadok the Priest. Special Collections holds a copy of the music of the four anthems, published in 1843 by the Handel Society. Since George II’s coronation the anthems have been used in all coronations since.

Traces of the pageantry and celebrations of coronations past can also be found in our archives. In August 1902 King Edward VII was crowned at Westminster Abbey and London was well decorated for the occasion! In one of the photograph albums of our Plowden Archive we find several photographs, likely taken a member of the local Bell family of industrialists, of preparations for the event. This included the hanging of garlands in the City, the erection of temporary stands for spectators of the processions to and from Westminster Abbey, and a temporary annexe built at the West end of the Abbey to allow formal processions to assemble under cover.

Plowden (Bridget) Archive BP/30/4/10 – street scene in London

In our photograph albums, compiled by the Trevelyan family of Wallington we find another link to the 1902 coronation in the form of an admission ticket to 49 and 50 Parliament Street. This address is only a very short walk from Westminster and would have given the bearer a prime seat to see the king travelling to and from Westminster Abbey.

Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive CPT/PA/1 – Admission ticket to spectator seating

King Edward reinged until 1910, when he was succeeded by his son, who became King George V. His coronation was held on the 22^nd June 1911. In our Plowden Archive we find evidence that members of the Bell family had an even closer view of proceedings than close by on the procession route. This is in the form of an official invitation to His Majesty’s Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire and Lady Bell to attend the coronation service in Westminster Abbey. They are better known as Sir Hugh and Lady Florence Bell, industrialists, and parents of explorer and political figure Gertrude Bell.

Plowden (Bridget) Archive BP/30/4/32 – Invite to attend the Coronation of George V at Westminster Abbey

In 1904 Hugh and Florence’s daughter, Molly (Mary) married Charles Philips Trevelyan a landowner and politician. His political career led him to joining the Privvy Council in 1924 and becoming Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland in 1930. In early 1936 George V died and he was succeeded by his son, Edward VIII. Edward’s reign was a short and controversial one which ended with his well-known abdication on the 11^th of December 1936, without him being crowned in a coronation. His younger brother George VI succeeded him, and as a member of the Privvy Council Charles Trevelyan had a front row seat at the proclamation of the new king. As he wrote in a letter to his wife Molly “I am going to St James’ Palace to the signing of the Proclamation and whatever other formalities there may be in regard to the new king.”

Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive CPT/3/92/103 – Letter from Charles to Molly regarding Charles’ attendance at the proclamation of King George VI.

Later letters in the archive go on to document the celebrations surrounding King George VI’s coronation in 1937 which was attended by Charles and Molly, and the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. The archive was deposited with Newcastle University by Charles and Molly’s family following Molly’s death in 1966.

There are many other items in our rare book and archive collections which document celebrations around the crowning of a new monarch, ranging in date from the crowing of Queen Victoria in 1838 to the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. These include song books, Many of these have been digitised and can be found on our CollectionsCaptured site here: https://collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/search/searchterm/coronation

The Hospital at Rounton, New Years Eve – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 13

Posted on 13 December, 2018 by nspeccoll

#ChristmasCountdown
Door No. 13

Photograph of nurses outside the auxiliary Hospital at Rounton Grange, New Years Eve, 1916 (Charles Philips Trevelyan Archive, CPT/PA/6)

Photograph of soldiers and nurses around a table at the auxiliary Hospital at Rounton Grange, New Years Eve, 1916 (Charles Philips Trevelyan Archive, CPT/PA/6)

Photograph of wounded soldiers outside the auxiliary Hospital at Rounton Grange, New Years Eve, 1916 (Charles Philips Trevelyan Archive, CPT/PA/6)

Nurses outside the auxiliary Hospital at Rounton Grange, New Years Eve, 1916 (Charles Philips Trevelyan Archive, CPT/PA/6)

Playwright Florence Bell, stepmother of Gertrude Bell was an active Red Cross nurse during the First World War. These images, from her daughter’s (Mary Katharine Trevelyan, nee Bell [Molly]) family photograph album, show soldiers and nurses celebrating New Years Eve at the auxiliary hospital at Rounton Grange, 1916.

The photograph albums belonged to Molly Trevelyan. This volume, alongside 38 others are part of the Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive.

Flick through the full 1911-1916 photograph album that this page is taken from, along with others from the Philips (Charles) Archive on Page Turners.

Page Turners – Generations

Posted on 14 August, 2017 by nspeccoll

A further three Trevelyan family albums have become available to browse and search on Page Turners. They fill the gaps between those already available, and bring the family to a great turning point in their lives.

George Lowthian, Kitty and Pauline Trevelyan in 1909

Volume Six is an album of two parts – the earlier pages having been compiled prior to Charles and Molly’s marriage. It includes photographs of Charles at Harrow in the 1880s, and early photographs of the family’s homes at Wallington and Welcombe. These early pages include the marriage of Charles’ brother Robert Calverley to Elizabeth des Amorie van der Hoeven from Holland as well as photographs of Philips Park in Prestwich.

The second half of this album is compiled by Molly, and spans 1908 to 1911. There are many pictures of their three eldest children; Pauline, George and Kitty, as well as their extended family, including Robert and Elizabeth’s only son the artist Julian Trevelyan. There are photographs of the family enjoying the countryside on the Wallington estate, and visiting family at Stocks, Sidmouth and Welcombe. There are more wedding photographs, although this time from the wedding of the family’s former nurse – Florence Lister.

Charles and other cabinet members at Downing Street at the end of the first Labour Government, November 1924

The next album in this instalment is Volume 11, which is laden with cuttings and photographs relating to the first Labour Government in 1924, in which Charles became President of the Board of Education. By the time this album was begun in 1924, Charles and Molly’s family of six children was complete, and photographs of their youngest, Geoffrey, playing with his young Richmond and Bell cousins. Further ephemera in the album relates to Molly’s work with the Women’s Institute, and local events at Cambo.

One event which features across these albums and others is the famous ‘Trevelyan Man Hunt’. This annual event saw one or more participants designated as ‘hares’, whose would spend the day evading capture by the others – the ‘hounds’. From 1898 this event took place annually, based at Seatoller – a family holiday home in the Lake District. Charles was ‘Master of the Hunt’ from 1901 to 1934. These three albums include photographs from the hunt in 1909, 1910, 1924 and 1926-28.

Group photograph of participants in the 1926 ‘Man Hunt’

The latest album of the three, Volume 13, shows a great deal of change taking place within the family between 1926 and 1928. Much of the album reflects the children’s ongoing education, including the younger children at Sidcot School, Kitty as the title role in a school performance of ‘St Joan’, and a visit to Schule Schloss Salem – an elite reformist school in Germany. There are images of two eldest children in their new homes – Pauline at Wessex College, University College Reading and George in his rooms at Trinity College, Cambridge.

The Trevelyan cousins at Cambo in September 1926

As well as their eldest children starting their life as adults, the end of this album features cuttings and photographs relating to the deaths of Charles’ parents – George Otto and Lady Caroline Trevelyan. This marks the point in the family’s life where they left Cambo House – the home they had known since their marriage 25 years before, moving into Wallington Hall, and taking on the management of a large and neglected estate.

Showing the Way to Wallington – July 2016

Posted on 8 August, 2016 by nspeccoll

Exhibition can be seen on Level 2 Exhibition Space, Philip Robinson Library, until October 2016

The lives of Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan and Molly Trevelyan, as shown through their family photograph and ephemera albums, from the Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan Archive.

‘Showing the Way to Wallington’ gives a unique insight into the family life of Charles Philips Trevelyan and Mary Katherine Bell, who in 1928 made Wallington Hall their home until it was gifted to the nation in 1941. The images and articles showcased in the exhibition covering areas such as Arts, Politics and War, and come from the family photograph albums which Charles and Mary (better-known as Molly), compiled themselves in scrapbook form.

As part of an ongoing project, 39 Volumes are being digitised and converted into an accessible online virtual book format called ‘Turning The Pages’ by Karen Atkinson, our digitisation assistant in Special Collections. This exhibition contains some favourite and striking images along with interesting facts discovered in the course of her work.

The panel above is the first of 6 display cabinets and features a preserved ‘perfect, six-bloomed Sweet Pea’, which was pressed between the pages of Volume 10 of the Trevelyan family albums in 1922.

Volume 10 front cover (CPT/PA/9)

Here’s how the sweet pea stem looks in the album

Sweet pea stem in the album (CPT/PA/9)

Page 49 of the same Volume (image below) contains a newspaper clipping (see left) dated November 1923 and written about a gathering at the Village Hall in Cambo to honour the outgoing needlework Exhibition Secretary, Mr. Edward Keith, on his retirement. Apart from his other talents such as wood-carving and bee-keeping, Mr. Keith was also a well-respected gardener at Wallington Hall. The article pasted into Volume 10 reads, “His work is excellent and artistic. His sweet peas are famous nationally. The Wallington garden is one of the best in our country.”

Sweet peas and the beauty of Wallington are also mentioned in ‘Wallington’ by Sir Charles Trevelyan – Its’ History and Treasures [6^th ed.] published in 1950 (Edwin Clarke Local, Clarke 631).

Page 38 in the Out of Doors section in Its History and Treasures:

“In summer the place is gay with flowers. Wallington is famous for its sweet peas, and near the house they often grow in a great profusion of colour.”

Page 39 in The Garden section:

“Below may be found beds of roses, lilies, gladioli, etc, but above all sweet peas, which two generations of Wallington gardeners have made famous.”

Shew’s the Way to Wallington
The exhibition title was inspired by a border pipe version of a tune called “Shew’s the Way to Wallington”, the manuscript of which is dated 1830, and was written by Robert Elliot Bewick, son of the famous naturalist and engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828).

Below are the words to the song, found on page 3 of TREV/CET/76:

The Songster, found on page 3, TREV/CET/76

The Wallington Songster, found on page 3, TREV/CET/76

The Outbreak of World War I: “Charlie” Resigns – July 2014

Posted on 27 July, 2014 by nspeccoll

Photograph of Charles Philips Trevelyan & Molly Trevelyan — Photograph of Charles Philips Trevelyan and Molly Trevelyan.

The 28th June marked the centenary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. This became known as the ‘shot heard round the world’ because of the diplomatic crisis it caused between Britain, Germany, and Russia, leading to the outbreak of World War I.

Such hostilities were not universally welcome, especially amongst the more radical elements of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith’s Liberal party. Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan (1870 – 1958), was one such dissenter, who felt Britain’s declaration of war was wholly unjustified.

In her diary, contained within our Trevelyan Papers, his wife Mary “Molly” Katharine Trevelyan (1881 – 1966) explains:

EXTRACT 1

Extract from Molly Treveylan's diary "Towards the end of July, an Austrian Grand Duke, on a visit to Servia, had been murdered. Austria demanded an apology, Servia would not give it. On July 28th Austria declared war on Servia. Russia at once joined in as Servia's ally, and Germany as Austria's" — Extract from personal diary of Molly Trevelyan, April 22nd 1912 – December 28 1914 (**Trevelyan (Charles Philips,** **CPT/2/1/14)**

Transcription: Towards the end of July, an Austrian Grand Duke, on a visit to Servia, had been murdered. Austria demanded an apology, Servia would not give it. On July 28th Austria declared war on Servia. Russia at once joined in as Servia’s ally, and Germany as Austria’s.

Molly goes on to detail Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Sir Edward Grey’s now much derided lack of clear communication towards Germany. She states on two occasions when asked whether Britain would act if Belgium was invaded or France was engaged, he merely replied cryptically “we must keep our hands free.” Molly also touches on the view held by many Liberal radicals that Grey “had in secret committed himself so deeply to France, in what was practically an alliance, that in honour he could do no less than declare war on Germany.”

Indeed, her husband was chief amongst this opposition. She writes:

EXTRACT 2

Extract from Molly Trevelyan's personal diary "I had expected him home on Sat. Aug. 1st but he telegraphed to say the state of affairs kept him in London. He and Norman Angell had formed a Neutrality C'tee and were trying to get people together to support their views. On Aug 5, Wednesday, we heard that war had been declared at midnight. That same day Charlie resigned" — Extract from personal diary of Molly Trevelyan, April 22nd 1912 – December 28 1914 (**Trevelyan (Charles Philips,** **CPT/2/1/14)**

Transcription: I had expected him home on Sat. Aug. 1st but he telegraphed to say the state of affairs kept him in London. He and Norman Angell had formed a Neutrality C’tee and were trying to get people together to support their views. On Aug 5, Wednesday, we heard that war had been declared at midnight. That same day Charlie resigned.

Sir Charles’ crisis of conscience led to widespread hostility from his contemporaries, including the press, his constituents, and members of his own family. He lost his place in parliament in the 1918 election and spent 4 years in the political wilderness. He was vindicated only amongst likeminded radicals and through the support and comfort of his wife Molly and the affairs of their estate at Wallington.

Royal Wedding Treasure Special – Royal Wedding 2011

Posted on 30 January, 2011 by nspeccoll

Postcard photograph of Mr and Mrs Charles Trevelyan, c. 1904 **(Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive, CPT 1/3/4)**

To celebrate the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29th April 2011 we bring you a special ‘wedding’ treasure!

The postcard photograph above shows Mr. and Mrs. Charles Trevelyan with the Trevelyan family crest, which bears the motto ‘Time tests faith’. Charles Philips Trevelyan (1870 – 1958) married Mary Bell (1881 – 1966), the half sister of Gertrude Bell, in 1904. Special Collections holds Charles’ papers, the Liberal MP who famously defected to Labour in 1918. It is unknown what this postcard was used for. It dates from after their wedding in 1904 as they are identified as ‘Mr and Mrs Trevelyan’. It may have been part of a thank you note to guests for their wedding presents or simply a portrait of the newly-married couple that they sent out to family and friends.

Special Collections also holds the papers of Mary Trevelyan (who was known as Molly), including her diaries for the years 1892 – 1917. The page below is taken from her diary for 1904 and is among a series of entries regarding their wedding day.

Newspaper clippings from Molly Trevelyan's diary, listing the presents that were gifted to Charles and Molly Trevelyan on their wedding day — Newspaper clippings from Molly Trevelyan’s diary, listing the presents that were gifted to Charles and Molly Trevelyan on their wedding day, 1904 **(Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive, CPT 2/1/9)**

They include her handwritten account of the wedding day with cuttings from the press and a complete list of gifts received by the bride and bridegroom.

This page shows one of three cut-out from the newspaper listing all the wedding presents they received and who they were from.

The fact that this was published in the press shows that the public appetite for information about the rich and famous has always been strong!

Gifts included a grand piano from the mother of the bride; a fur coat from the father of the bride to the groom; numerous collections of books and poems, including The Life of Gladstone from Mr and Mrs Gladstone; some letters written by Dickens; tea sets; writing desks; two grandfather clocks; hundreds of items of silverware; and more candlesticks and inkstands than anyone could ever find occasion to use!

Wedding presents have been given since ancient times. They have normally been practical items for the new couple’s home. However, in some cultures guests would have been expected to contribute to the wedding banquet as a thank you for their invitation! The idea of the wedding trousseau or ‘bottom-drawer’ put together by the bride’s family has its origins in the dowry. Dowry is an ancient custom, which has been practised around the world throughout history. This has often been money but can also include a selection of goods paid for by the bride’s family to furnish the newlywed’s home. As many newlywed couples did not have much money, the bride’s mother would put away household goods, including homemade items often in a bottom drawer, starting before their daughters had even met their future husband! The idea was to create a collection of everything a young woman setting-up her first home would need. Some ostentatious Victorians even introduced a ‘trousseau tea’ in an effort to out-do each other, where wealthy families would display trunk loads of linens, china and clothes they had put together for their daughters!

Nowadays, as many couples live together before marriage, wedding gift lists are more likely to include luxury items rather than practical ones and many couples choose not to have traditional gifts at all, instead asking guests to contribute money to a honeymoon, they could perhaps not otherwise afford. Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton have asked guests to donate money to charity rather than buy them wedding presents. This is likely to lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds being donated to the twenty-six, not very well-known, charities that the couple have chosen. Of course there are some advantages – they are less likely to end up with things they do not need. The Queen and Prince Philip received five hundred cases of tinned pineapple and ingredients for their wedding cake from the Australian people when they married in 1947. However, William and Kate they are still likely to receive numerous presents from the general public. Prince Charles and Princess Diana received thousands of presents from well-wishers around the world after their marriage at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981, including a roomful of antique furniture from Canada and twenty silver platters inscribed with their wedding date from Australia. A selection of the presents was placed on display at St. James’s Palace and some items were later distributed to charity. After all there are only so many toasters and kettles that a Royal couple needs!