Hartshorne collection on monumental sculpture in churches and military architecture
Reference code
HAC
Title
Hartshorne collection on monumental sculpture in churches and military architecture
Date
1839-1885
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and format
1 box, 1 volume, 1 portfolio
Scope and content
This accumulation of drawings and notes, mainly on matters of military or ecclesiastical architecture and sepulchral monumental and memorials, is part of the substantial surviving manuscript output of two antiquaries: Charles Henry Hartshorne (1802-1865) and his son Albert (1839-1910), both Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Charles Henry Hartshorne was born in Shropshire, the only son of a Liverpool ironmaster. After graduating from St John's College Cambridge, he travelled in the Mediterranean, before being ordained in the Church of England in 1827-28. He married the daughter of the recently-deceased Rev Thomas Kerrich, FSA, who had been principal librarian of Cambridge University, and who was also an antiquarian with diverse interests including sepulchral monuments. Following curacies in two Shropshire parishes, C H Hartshorne moved in 1838 to Cogenhoe, Northants, and was appointed perpetual curate of Holdenby, Northants, in 1850, where he remained until his death aged 62, in 1865.
He pursued in detail a wide range of antiquarian interests, including the architecture of medieval castles (represented among the papers in this collection) and in sepulchral monuments (shared with his father-in-law and inherited and carried further by his son).
Albert Hartshorne appears to have relied on private means. After leaving Westminster School in 1857, he is said to have 'completed his education in France and at Heidelberg' (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 'Albert Hartshorne': entry by Brian Dix, 2004). He is not recorded as following any profession, but served twice as secretary to the Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain. He was an active member of the Society of Antiquaries, attending meetings, giving a number of papers and in some instances presenting the related drawings which he had produced as illustrations.
Albert’s personal identification with the Kerriches, his mother’s family, was clearly a matter of pride, reflected in more than one of his papers given at meetings of the Society (Proc. Ser 2 XI (1887-1889), p 77-8 and Proc. Ser 2 XXIII (1909-1911. In 1828, Kerrich had bequeathed 25 paintings to the Society , from his collection of 28 as catalogued by Kerrich himself in 1805; a further three (including one not in the 1805 catalogue) were given by Kerrich’s son Richard in the 1840s, although Albert retained Kerrich’s original manuscript catalogue. Following Richard Kerrich’s death in 1872, Hartshorne was ‘active in the eventual disposal’ of Kerrich’s remaining possessions in 1872 (J Franklin, B Nurse and P Tudor-Craig, Catalogue of Paintings in the Collection of the Society of Antiquaries of London (2015), p 25), and at some date between c.1887 and 1910 he lent the catalogue to Freeman Marius O’Donoghue FSA, whose copy survives, while the fate of the original is unknown (https://collections.sal.org.uk/ker).
Family generosity to the Society was not, however, limitless. In 1907 as ‘a lineal descendant of the collector’ and alleging ‘the difficulty of their being properly displayed’, he successfully reclaimed the collection of coins and medals collected by Thomas Kerrich and given to the Society in 1848 by Richard Kerrich (Proc. Ser 2 XXI (1905-1907), pp 297-99, 319). A panel painting, the third of a group depicting the legend of St Etheldreda https://collections.sal.org.uk/object-ldsal317 and https://collections.sal.org.uk/ker LDSAL 317a and 317b), also remained with the family; it was loaned to the Society in 1896 for an exhibition, by Albert’s daughters ‘the Misses Hartshorne’ (Proc. Ser 2 XVI (1895-1897), pp 198, 205), but SAL’s 2015 Catalogue of Paintings, p 240, describes this panel as both ‘missing’ and ‘lost’).
Albert’s researches resulted in numerous publications, many of them articles but some more substantial books. Of these, the most significant related to monumental effigies, including the dress, armour, jewellery depicted on them; in addition to his major publication on The Recumbent Monumental Effigies in Northamptonshire (1876), he also produced studies of The Sword Belts of the Middle Ages (1891), and Notes on Collars of SS [esses] (c.1882). The papers in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries also indicate an interest in architectural details, particularly in English churches, and include a few items which reflect his known expertise in the field of drinking glasses, on which he published a substantial monograph, Old English glasses: An Account of Glass Drinking Vessels in England (1897).
Many of the surviving papers of Charles Henry and Albert Hartshorne are now held by Northamptonshire Archives, including a substantial number of albums of watercolours and sketches. At present, no detailed catalogue is available online.
Charles Henry Hartshorne was born in Shropshire, the only son of a Liverpool ironmaster. After graduating from St John's College Cambridge, he travelled in the Mediterranean, before being ordained in the Church of England in 1827-28. He married the daughter of the recently-deceased Rev Thomas Kerrich, FSA, who had been principal librarian of Cambridge University, and who was also an antiquarian with diverse interests including sepulchral monuments. Following curacies in two Shropshire parishes, C H Hartshorne moved in 1838 to Cogenhoe, Northants, and was appointed perpetual curate of Holdenby, Northants, in 1850, where he remained until his death aged 62, in 1865.
He pursued in detail a wide range of antiquarian interests, including the architecture of medieval castles (represented among the papers in this collection) and in sepulchral monuments (shared with his father-in-law and inherited and carried further by his son).
Albert Hartshorne appears to have relied on private means. After leaving Westminster School in 1857, he is said to have 'completed his education in France and at Heidelberg' (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 'Albert Hartshorne': entry by Brian Dix, 2004). He is not recorded as following any profession, but served twice as secretary to the Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain. He was an active member of the Society of Antiquaries, attending meetings, giving a number of papers and in some instances presenting the related drawings which he had produced as illustrations.
Albert’s personal identification with the Kerriches, his mother’s family, was clearly a matter of pride, reflected in more than one of his papers given at meetings of the Society (Proc. Ser 2 XI (1887-1889), p 77-8 and Proc. Ser 2 XXIII (1909-1911. In 1828, Kerrich had bequeathed 25 paintings to the Society , from his collection of 28 as catalogued by Kerrich himself in 1805; a further three (including one not in the 1805 catalogue) were given by Kerrich’s son Richard in the 1840s, although Albert retained Kerrich’s original manuscript catalogue. Following Richard Kerrich’s death in 1872, Hartshorne was ‘active in the eventual disposal’ of Kerrich’s remaining possessions in 1872 (J Franklin, B Nurse and P Tudor-Craig, Catalogue of Paintings in the Collection of the Society of Antiquaries of London (2015), p 25), and at some date between c.1887 and 1910 he lent the catalogue to Freeman Marius O’Donoghue FSA, whose copy survives, while the fate of the original is unknown (https://collections.sal.org.uk/ker).
Family generosity to the Society was not, however, limitless. In 1907 as ‘a lineal descendant of the collector’ and alleging ‘the difficulty of their being properly displayed’, he successfully reclaimed the collection of coins and medals collected by Thomas Kerrich and given to the Society in 1848 by Richard Kerrich (Proc. Ser 2 XXI (1905-1907), pp 297-99, 319). A panel painting, the third of a group depicting the legend of St Etheldreda https://collections.sal.org.uk/object-ldsal317 and https://collections.sal.org.uk/ker LDSAL 317a and 317b), also remained with the family; it was loaned to the Society in 1896 for an exhibition, by Albert’s daughters ‘the Misses Hartshorne’ (Proc. Ser 2 XVI (1895-1897), pp 198, 205), but SAL’s 2015 Catalogue of Paintings, p 240, describes this panel as both ‘missing’ and ‘lost’).
Albert’s researches resulted in numerous publications, many of them articles but some more substantial books. Of these, the most significant related to monumental effigies, including the dress, armour, jewellery depicted on them; in addition to his major publication on The Recumbent Monumental Effigies in Northamptonshire (1876), he also produced studies of The Sword Belts of the Middle Ages (1891), and Notes on Collars of SS [esses] (c.1882). The papers in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries also indicate an interest in architectural details, particularly in English churches, and include a few items which reflect his known expertise in the field of drinking glasses, on which he published a substantial monograph, Old English glasses: An Account of Glass Drinking Vessels in England (1897).
Many of the surviving papers of Charles Henry and Albert Hartshorne are now held by Northamptonshire Archives, including a substantial number of albums of watercolours and sketches. At present, no detailed catalogue is available online.
Creator
Hartshorne, Charles Henry (1802-1865), cleric and antiquary
Hartshorne, Albert (1839-1910), archaeologist and antiquary
Hartshorne, Albert (1839-1910), archaeologist and antiquary
Previous reference number(s)
MS 1025
Archival history
The Society has acquired its holdings of the work of Albert Hartshorne and his father at different times and from different sources. A number of items were presented by Albert Hartshorne himself, during his lifetime, sometimes following a paper given by him at a meeting of the Society (HAC/07-HAC/10).
The bulk of the holdings now part of HAC was offered for sale at Bonhams on 19 February 2013, as lot 42 in a sale of books, maps, manuscripts and photographs (https://www.bonhams.com/auction/20678/lot/42/hartshorne-albert-antiquarian-papers-of-albert-hartshorne-and-of-his-father-charles-henry-hartshorne/ accessed 16 August 2024). The lot was purchased by a consortium of 24 Fellows of the Society and most of the contents were formally presented to the Society in November of the same year. The purchase and gift were reported in The Times on 13 April 2013, somewhat misleadingly described as the ‘Hartshorne Bequest’. It was provisionally assigned the manuscript number SAL 1025 but the material was not then catalogued in detail; it now forms part of a distinct fonds within the Society's holdings (HAC/01-HAC/06).
The bulk of the holdings now part of HAC was offered for sale at Bonhams on 19 February 2013, as lot 42 in a sale of books, maps, manuscripts and photographs (https://www.bonhams.com/auction/20678/lot/42/hartshorne-albert-antiquarian-papers-of-albert-hartshorne-and-of-his-father-charles-henry-hartshorne/ accessed 16 August 2024). The lot was purchased by a consortium of 24 Fellows of the Society and most of the contents were formally presented to the Society in November of the same year. The purchase and gift were reported in The Times on 13 April 2013, somewhat misleadingly described as the ‘Hartshorne Bequest’. It was provisionally assigned the manuscript number SAL 1025 but the material was not then catalogued in detail; it now forms part of a distinct fonds within the Society's holdings (HAC/01-HAC/06).
System of arrangement
Before its presentation to the Society in November 2013, the material purchased at Bonhams earlier that year – with the exception of items described in the sale catalogue as ‘a group of off-prints, proofs, etc of plates and monographs by Albert Hartshorne’, which the Society did not wish to acquire - was partially described in a typescript list and photographed, giving particular prominence to the work of Albert Hartshorne. What are now HAC/04 and HAC/05 were listed in a single sequence numbered 1-97, although it is clear from initial work which followed their presentation that this did not wholly reflect the physical structure and arrangement of this material. The remaining parts of the presentation, now HAC/01-HAC/03 and HAC/06, were listed superficially at that time. The numeration of individual items from 1 to 97 does not appear on photographs taken prior to presentation, but was applied in pencil subsequently, and in a number of cases inaccurately. These numbers remain on the items, and may be visible on images taken at a later date.
The transition from MS 1025 to the fonds HAC retained the initial arrangement of the 2013 acquisition, which did not fully reflect the structure of the material. The HAC numbers originally assigned are now noted as previous references. Other manuscript material created and in most cases presented to the Society by Albert Hartshorne himself has been added, as HAC/07-HAC/10.
The transition from MS 1025 to the fonds HAC retained the initial arrangement of the 2013 acquisition, which did not fully reflect the structure of the material. The HAC numbers originally assigned are now noted as previous references. Other manuscript material created and in most cases presented to the Society by Albert Hartshorne himself has been added, as HAC/07-HAC/10.
Contents
- HAC/01 - 'Military Architecture of the Norman Period. Orford Castle and Castle Hedingham'
- HAC/02 - Plans of Goodrich Castle
- HAC/03 - Drawings of architectural details and monumental effigies
- HAC/04 - Drawings and prints, mainly of monumental effigies
- HAC/05 - Material relating to monuments in churches in Winchelsea and Brede, Sussex
- HAC/06 - Prints and drawings: drinking glasses and other objects
- HAC/07 - Drawings of monumental effigies in Hughenden church, Buckinghamshire and Hereford Cathedral, Herefordshire
- HAC/08 - Drawings of monumental effigies in St Mary's church, Warwick
- HAC/09 - Drawings of buff armour to accompany a paper on a buff coat worn by Sir John Gell in 1643
- HAC/10 - Drawings and photographs relating gold chains, pendants and belts