Papers of the Noel, Byron and Lovelace Families

Collection Level Description: Papers of the Noel, Byron and Lovelace Families

Reference: Dep. Lovelace Byron 1-460
Title: Papers of the Noel, Byron and Lovelace Families
Dates of Creation: 1669-1934
Extent: 460 shelfmarks

Language of Material: English, French, and Ancient Greek

Administrative/Biographical History

Anne Isabella, Lady Noel Byron (1792-1860), in her own right Baroness Wentworth, was the daughter of Sir Ralph (1747-1825) and Judith (d 1822) Milbanke (later Noel), and the wife of George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788-1824), the poet. The daughter of Lord and Lady Byron, Ada Augusta (1815-1852), married William King, 1st Earl of Lovelace (1805-1893), and their son was Ralph Gordon Noel King Milbanke, 2nd Earl of Lovelace (1839-1906). Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Scope and Content

The main part of this collection of papers belonged to Lady Byron. It includes the correspondence of her parents and other members of the Noel family. Lady Byron's own correspondence, much of it with eminent contemporaries, as well as with her parents, her husband, and her daughter, forms the bulk of the collection. There are also letters from Lord Byron to his sister Augusta, and holograph verse by him. The collection also contains correspondence of Ada and her husband, and correspondence and personal papers of Ralph Milbanke.

Administrative Information

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers were deposited in the Library in 1972 and 1974.

Access Conditions

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/admissions/).

Further Information

Finding Aids

A full catalogue is available in the Library.

Publication Note

The correspondence of the Noel family formed the basis of Malcolm Elwin's The Noels and the Milbankes (1967).

The correspondence of Ada and William King was used by Doris Langley Moore in her biography Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1978).

Ralph Milbanke made extensive use of the collection in Lady Noel Byron and the Leighs (1887) and Astarte (1905).

Ralph's widow, Mary, used his correspondence and personal papers for Ralph, Earl of Lovelace: A Memoir (1920).

Access Points

Poetry | 19th century

Poets, English | 19th century

Byron | Anne Isabella | 1792-1860 | Baroness Wentworth

Byron | George Gordon | 1788-1824 | 6th Baron Byron | poet

King | Ada Augusta | 1815-1852 | mathematician, wife of 1st Earl Lovelace

King | William | 1805-1893 | 1st Earl of Lovelace

Milbanke-Noel | Judith | d 1822 | nee Noel, afterwards Milbanke wife of Sir Ralph Milbanke-Noel

Milbanke-Noel | Ralph | 1747-1825 | Sir | 6th Baronet MP for Durham

Milbanke | Ralph Gordon Noel King | 1839-1906 | 2nd Earl of Lovelace

Enquiries Transformation from XML to HTML by Lawrence Mielniczuk
09 June 2011