Introduction
A
Royal letters and orders, 1642-51
B
Letters and papers, mainly addressed to the Speaker of the House of Commons,
1641-60; 1681
C
Papers relating to treaties, 1644-5,
1648
D
Letters from foreign rulers and states, 1645-59
E
Miscellaneous state papers, 1628-9,
1640-60
F
Papers relating to foreign affairs, 1641-59
G
Papers relating to Scottish and Irish affairs, 1638-60,
n.d.
H
Petitions and miscellaneous papers, 1641-52, n.d.
I
Catalogue of the Nalson manuscripts, later 17th cent.
Conspectus
| Abstract: State Papers, mainly 1640-60, removed by the Rev. John Nalson (1638?-86) from the office of the Clerk of the Parliament, to be used in connection with his published work, An Impartial Collection of the Great Affairs of State(London, 1682-3) |
| Royal letters and orders, 1642-51 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 1 Extent: ii + 134 leaves Restrictions on Access: Select MS. = Arch. F. c. 5b. Apply to staff study, Duke Humfrey's Library. Scope and Content: Volume comprising letters and orders from
At folios 121-2 is Charles I's speech to the House of Lords, 3 Nov. 1640, copied by Sir Francis Windebank (1582-1646), endorsed with a statement that the king avows it to be a true copy. There is a list of the contents of the volume at fols. 117-19. |
Letters, petitions, reports and other papers, mainly addressed to William Lenthall (1591-1662), Speaker of the House of Commons, from local officials, commissioners, parliamentary committees, military officers etc.
| May 1641-Mar. 1643 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 2 Extent: 381 leaves Scope and Content: At fols. 374-5 is a letter from John Nalson relating to the reception of Lord Castlehaven's Memoirs, Dec. 1681. |
| Mar. 1643-Mar. 1645 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 3 Extent: ii + 334 leaves |
| Mar.-Oct. 1645 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 4 Extent: ii +326 leaves |
| Nov. 1645-Mar. 1646 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 5 Extent: ii + 276 leaves |
| Apr. 1646-Mar. 1648 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 6 Extent: ii + 201 leaves |
| Apr. 1648-Mar. 1649 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 7 Extent: ii + 279 leaves |
| May 1649-June 1660, n.d., including (fols. 165-288) many letters
from Sept. 1659 to Mar. 1660 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 8 Extent: ii + 328 leaves |
| Papers relating to the Uxbridge treaty negotiations, mostly Oct. 1644-Feb.
1645, and the Newport treaty negotiations, Sept.-Nov. 1648 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 9/1-2 Extent: Two volumes, ii + 487 leaves (MSS. Nalson 9/1-2, foliated in one sequence) Scope and Content: Mainly comprises copies of correspondence between the commissioners appointed by Parliament and those appointed by the King, forwarded to William Lenthall by the former (see original letter dated 18 Feb. 1645 at fol. 82). The papers include
|
| Letters from foreign rulers and states, 1645-59 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 10 Extent: ii + 253 leaves Scope and Content: Comprises letters from
|
| Transcripts of state papers (1640-3) in the Nalson and Tanner collections,
c.1680; early 18th
cent. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 11 Extent: ii + 295 leaves Scope and Content: Made by
|
| Miscellaneous letters and papers, 1640-60 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 12 Extent: ii + 482 leaves Scope and Content: Volume of papers written between 1640 and 1660, many undated. Included are several transcripts of papers elsewhere in the collection, possibly by Nalson. |
| Miscellaneous state papers, 1628-9, 1640-Feb.
1644, n.d. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 13 Extent: ii + 467 leaves Scope and Content: Including speeches, orders from the Houses of Parliament, depositions, informations, examinations, accounts etc. |
| State papers as MS. Nalson 13 above, Apr. 1644-May
1646 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 14/1 Extent: ii + 248 leaves |
| State papers as MS. Nalson 13 above, Apr. 1646-Mar. 1647,
n.d. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 14/2 Extent: ii + 251 leaves |
| State papers as MS. Nalson 13 above, 1646-9, n.d. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 15 Extent: iv + 380 leaves Scope and Content: The papers are dated 1646-9 and undated (between 1641 and 1649). |
| State papers as MS. Nalson 13 above, 1649-60 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 16 Extent: ii + 428 leaves |
| France, Spain and Portugal, 1641-59 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 17 Extent: ii + 431 leaves Scope and Content: Papers relating to the affairs of
|
| Denmark, Sweden, the United Provinces and other states,
1641-59 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 18 Extent: ii + 462 leaves Scope and Content: Papers relating to the affairs of
|
| Papers relating to Scottish affairs, 1638-Mar. 1647 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 19 Extent: ii + 466 leaves |
| Papers relating to Scottish affairs, June 1647-1652,
n.d. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 20 Extent: ii + 468 leaves |
| Papers relating to Irish affairs, 1640-60 Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 21 Extent: ii + 295 leaves Scope and Content: The papers mainly cover the period 1645-52. Restrictions on Use: The volume has suffered damage from damp (noted in the HMC Calendar), and consequently many documents are only partly legible. |
| Petitions and miscellaneous papers, many relating to the Assembly of Divines
1641-52, n.d. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 22 Extent: ii + 462 leaves Scope and Content: Includes
|
| Catalogue of the contents of MSS. Nalson 1-22 above, and also other volumes not now
present in the Nalson collection, briefly describing every document, later 17th
cent. Shelfmark: MS. Nalson 23 Extent: 201 leaves Scope and Content: Includes
|
Conspectus of HMC document numbers to Bodleian shelfmarks
Documents are cited in the appendix to the 13th Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, parts I and II, The Manuscripts of the Duke of Portland preserved at Welbeck Abbey in the form N.I.1 etc, where each number refers to a document. The documents have now been foliated and the Western MSS. references are given below (eg N.XXII.66, 'The humble Remonstrance of...Fairfax and his Generall Councell of Officers...' is now MS. Nalson 22, fol(s). 232-281.