Sub-series 1 - Letters to Harriette 2nd Countess of Clancarty

37 items

37 letters written to the 2nd Countess of Clancarty by family members and connections, including Charles Napier and his sister Emily Bunbury, who had known the Countess since their childhood. Most of the letters are from the Countess's immediate family. including fourteen letters from her husband Richard Viscount Dunlo, who became 2nd Earl of Clancarty in 1805. Much of the content of his letters concerns health and travel and he writes of his work as a foreign diplomat and member of the House of Lords. In letters written from The Hague and Paris in the years 1813-1815 he describes his involvement in the amalgamation of Holland and Belgium into the new state of The Netherlands, his visit to the house of the former Empress Josephine in Paris the day she died and the transportation of Napoleon to England. A series of six letters in 1835 gives an almost daily account of a visit to London with his brother the Archbishop of Tuam, where he was busy promoting the careers of his nephew Richard Pakenham and his sons Richard and Robert. Two letters from the Countesses eldest son William Viscount Dunlo describe his visits to Constantinople and Paris in 1829 and 1830 respectively, while her second son Richard writes of his time in Halifax, his promotion and his posting to Barbados. Other letters from family members concern family news including the termination of her daughter Emily's engagement of a Mr Warburton. One letter regarding this matter is from Emily to her uncle Robert Le Poer Trench and may have been forwarded to the Countess by Robert. Another letter concerns the sale of the Countess's interest in Bellaghy, Co Antrim. Louisa Conolly describes her visit to the Continent in 1814, while letters from Sir Charles Napier in 1839 articulate his views on absentee landlords and seek preferment of his friend John Pitt Kennedy. Emily Bunbury tended to write 'long rambling letters' to the Countess about her siblings and their offspring, travelling on the Continent and her husband's plans to build a cottage of his estate in Wales. Sometimes her letters refer to spiritual matters and the strong influence that Louisa Conolly had on them both in that context.

Open

Catalog

23/04/2019
11/07/2025