Catalogue of the papers of Emma Alice Margaret (Margot) Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith, 1862-1945

University of Oxford, Bodleian Library

Elizabeth Turner

©2000

Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts
Bodleian Library
Broad Street
Oxford
OX1 3BG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 277046
Fax: +44 (0) 1865 277182
E-mail: modern.papers@bodley.ox.ac.uk
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/

Table of Contents

Introduction
A    Diaries and related papers of Margot Asquith, 1876-1923
    A.1  Diaries, 1876-1923, 1941-3
    A.2  Papers relating to the diaries, 1876-1924, n.d.
B    General and family correspondence of Margot Asquith, 1876-1945
    B.1  General correspondence of Margot Asquith, 1876-1945
        B.1.1  Letters mainly to Margot Asquith, 1876-1945
        B.1.2  Letters mainly from Margot Asquith, 1885-1931
        B.1.3  Miscellaneous correspondence
    B.2  Family correspondence of Margot Asquith, 1884-1945
        B.2.1  Letters, mainly to Margot Asquith, from her mother and father, 1884-1904, n.d.
        B.2.2  Letters to Margot Asquith from her husband, H.H. Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, 1891-1927
        B.2.3  Letters to Margot Asquith from her daughter Princess Elizabeth Bibesco, 1901-41
        B.2.4  Letters to Margot Asquith from her son Anthony (Puffin) Asquith, 1904-40, n.d.
        B.2.5  Letters to Margot Asquith from other members of her family, 1880-1945
C    Literary papers of Margot Asquith, 1879-1945
D    Personal papers of Margot Asquith, 1872-1943, 1965, n.d.
E    Correspondence and papers of other members of the family, 1862-1941
    E.1  Correspondence and papers of Katherine Lucy Graham-Smith, née Tennant 1862-1941
    E.2  Correspondence and papers of Laura Lyttelton, née Tennant 1876-86
    E.3  Correspondence and papers of H.H. Asquith 1864-1927,
    E.4  Correspondence and papers of Princess Elizabeth Bibesco, née Asquith 1908-41
    E.5  Correspondence and papers, of Anthony Asquith, 1906-40
    E.6  Correspondence and papers relating to Raymond Asquith 1893-1916
F    Miscellaneous photographs
Index


Papers of Emma Alice Margaret (Margot) Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith, 1862-1945

Abstract:
Correspondence and papers of Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith, with correspondence and papers of other members of her family, 1862-1945

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6665-6720, c. 6729; d. 3198-3218, d. 3262-3319; e. 3256-7, e. 3280-92; Photogr. c. 120-1, e. 11

Biographical History

Emma Alice Margaret (Margot) Asquith was born in 1864, the sixth daughter of Scots parents Emma and Charles Tennant. Her father 'an exceptionally enterprising and farseeing man of business' (DNB), became very wealthy, and developed a taste for collecting fine art and porcelain. He was a Member of Parliament from 1879 until 1886, and created a baronet in 1885. In 1853 he bought an estate in Peeblesshire, Scotland and enlarged the house The Glen, which was to become the family home in which Margot spent her youth. She received a very limited education from a governess, and recalled 'It was only because my father had a fine library and we were fond of reading that I learned anything before I was sixteen' (More Memories, p. 12) but she and her elder sister Laura were introduced to a large circle of politicians and members of London society who were entertained at The Glen.

Margot had many suitors and in 1894 she married H.H. Asquith, the Home Secretary, as his second wife. His first wife, mother of his five children, had died in 1891. Margot and H.H. Asquith had two children who survived infancy, Elizabeth and Anthony. In 1905 Asquith became Chancellor of the Exchequer and in 1908 Prime Minister. His wife's leading position in London Society is reflected in her correspondence.

From an early age Margot kept a diary and wrote stories and observations about her life. When her sister Laura died in 1886 she compiled an account of her early life, illness and death. In later life she went on to write her autobiography and many other books. She also contributed articles to magazines and newspapers.

Margot Asquith and family

Reproduced with the permission of the Bonham Carter Trust

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in five main sections. A, diaries, 1876-1923 (available on microfilm in the Modern Papers Reading Room): B, general correspondence, 1876-1945, followed by family correspondence, 1884-1945: C, literary papers, 1879-1945: D, personal papers: E, correspondence and papers of other members of the family, 1862-1941. A few miscellaneous photographs were removed from the collection and stored separately as MS. Photogr. c. 78, fols. 55-75 (section F).

Acquisition

The papers were given (with MS. Photogr. c. 78, fols. 55-75) to the Bodleian Library by Mrs. Priscilla Hodgson, September 1998, except for the letters to Margot Asquith from H.H. Asquith (MSS. Eng. c. 6685-92) which were given by the Trustees of the late Lord Bonham Carter, July 1999. Photocopies from two albums owned by the Trustees were made in the Library, Feb. 2000 (MS. Eng. c. 6729).

A   Diaries and related papers of Margot Asquith, 1876-1923

A.1   Diaries, 1876-1923, 1941-3

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. d. 3198-3218, d. 3262, d. 3264, e. 3256-7


Scope and Content:

The diaries kept between 1904 and 1913 are divided into political and family life, d. 3204, d. 3206, d. 3208 are political diaries and d. 3205, d. 3207, d. 3209 are family diaries.

Alternative Form Available: (Available on microfilm in the Modern Papers Reading Room.)

Oct. 1876
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3256
Extent: 25 leaves

1877
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3257
Extent: 177 leaves

Feb. 1878-May 1886
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3198
Extent: 232 leaves

Nov. 1892-Jan. 1895
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3199
Extent: ii + 192 leaves

1895
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3200
Extent: ii + 175 leaves

Jan. 1896-Jan. 1897
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3201
Extent: xiii + 201 leaves

Feb.-Dec. 1897
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3202
Extent: iii + 218 leaves

Jan. 1899-Jan. 1900
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3203
Extent: iv + 221 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes (fols. 1-13) a retrospect of 1898


Oct. 1904-Oct. 1906
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3204
Extent: i + 179 leaves

Jan. 1905-Jan. 1909
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3205
Extent: 186 leaves

Jan. 1907-Nov. 1909
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3206
Extent: 234 leaves

Jan. 1909-Apr. 1911
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3207
Extent: 149 leaves

Jan. 1910-Dec. 1911
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3208
Extent: vi + 244 leaves

Apr. 1911-Apr. 1913
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3209
Extent: iv + 292

Feb. 1912-Sept. 1914
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3210
Extent: 309 leaves

Oct. 1914-May 1915
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3211
Extent: 280 leaves

May-July 1915
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3212
Extent: iii + 153 leaves

July-Nov. 1915
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3213
Extent: 227 leaves

Dec. 1915-July 1916
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3214
Extent: ii + 534 pages

July 1916-Aug. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3215
Extent: ii + 263 leaves

Sept. 1917-Nov. 1918
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3216
Extent: i + 261 leaves

Nov. 1918-Sept. 1919
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3217
Extent: i + 261 leaves

Apr. 1922-Dec. 1923
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3218
Extent: i + 255 leaves

Typed transcript of the diary for Nov. 1892-Jan. 1895
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3262
Extent: 129 leaves
Note: The original diary is MS. Eng. d. 3199 above

Engagement diary, 1941-3
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3264
Extent: 116 leaves

A.2   Papers relating to the diaries, 1876-1924, n.d.

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6665-8, d. 3263


Scope and Content:

Miscellaneous papers relating to the diaries


1876-99
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3263
Extent: 153 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 65-83) the phrenological analysis of Margot Tennant by Professor W. Cross, 1890
  • (fols. 84-112) loose leaves from a commonplace book
  • (fols. 119-37) Margot's will, 1894

1900-14
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6665
Extent: 204 leaves

1915-20
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6666
Extent: 166 leaves

Newspaper cuttings, 1908-16
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6667
Extent: 159 leaves

Newspaper cuttings, 1917-24, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6668
Extent: 123 leaves

B   General and family correspondence of Margot Asquith, 1876-1945

B.1   General correspondence of Margot Asquith, 1876-1945

B.1.1   Letters mainly to Margot Asquith, 1876-1945

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6669-82, d. 3265-77, e. 3280-3

Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically, with some letters from her

Adams - Baldwin
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6669
Extent: 115 leaves

Balfour - Bibesco
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6670
Extent: 243 leaves

Bigge ( A.J.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6671
Extent: 165 leaves

Birkett - Brocklehurst
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3265
Extent: 116 leaves

Brodrick - Byles
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6672
Extent: 162 leaves

Cabinet - Chaplin
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6673
Extent: 157 leaves

Charteris (Evan)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3280
Extent: 151 leaves

Cheyne - Curzon
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6674
Extent: 240 leaves

D'Abernon - Dixon
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3266
Extent: 136 leaves

Dixon (W.M.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3267
Extent: 173 leaves

Donaldson - Evans
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3268
Extent: 60 leaves

Farquhar - Froude
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6675
Extent: 157 leaves

Gardiner - Godley
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3269
Extent: 84 leaves

Godley (J.A.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3270
Extent: 255 leaves

Gollancz - Gwynne
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6676
Extent: 184 leaves

Haas - Harrisson
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3271
Extent: 154 leaves

Heffer - Jowett
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6677
Extent: 183 leaves

Keith - Lytton
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6678
Extent: 205 leaves

Macassey - Maxwell
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6679
Extent: 246 leaves

Meiklejohn - Monro-Ferguson
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3272
Extent: 128 leaves

Montagu - Morgan
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3273
Extent: 138 leaves

Morley (J.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3281
Extent: 154 leaves

Muir - Pringle
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6680
Extent: 244 leaves

Quiller-Couch - Russell
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6681
Extent: 169 leaves

Sackville-West - Strutt
Shelfmark: MS. c. 6682
Extent: 204 leaves

Symonds (J.A.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3274
Extent: 273 leaves

Talbot - Welby
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3275
Extent: 76 leaves

Wemyss (Anne), 1 1885-93
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3282
Extent: 136 leaves

Wemyss (Anne), 1894-6, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3283
Extent: 226 leaves

Wemyss - Zaharoff
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3276
Extent: 150 leaves

Unidentified letters, 1903-43, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3277
Extent: 145 leaves

B.1.2   Letters mainly from Margot Asquith, 1885-1931

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. d. 3278-82, e. 3284

Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically

Cust (H.J.C.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3278
Extent: 212 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 86-93) letters from Pauline Duff to Cust
  • (fols. 94-205) letters mainly from Lady Ribblesdale to Cust
  • (fols. 206-12) letters from Baron Ribblesdale to Cust

Falk (O.T.)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3279
Extent: 233 leaves

Godley (J.A.), 1902-16
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3280
Extent: 177 leaves

Godley (J.A.), 1917-31, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3284
Extent: 192 leaves

Lyttelton (G.W.S.), 1886-9
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3281
Extent: 193 leaves

Lyttelton (G.W.S.), 1890-1907, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3282
Extent: 178 leaves

B.1.3   Miscellaneous correspondence

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6683-4, c. 6729, d. 3283-5


Condolence letters, May 1911
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3283
Extent: 200 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically

Scope and Content:

Written to Margot Asquith on the death of her sister, Charlotte, Lady Ribblesdale


Condolence letters, as MS. Eng. d. 3283 above, May 1911
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3284
Extent: 173 leaves

Letters, mainly congratulations after the Paisley by-election, 1920
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6683
Extent: 141 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically, Askwith - Hutchinson

Letters as MS. Eng. c. 6683 above, 1920
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6684
Extent: 129 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically, Inverarity - Wood

Letters to Margot Asquith concerning H.H. Asquith's last illness 1927-9
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3285
Extent: 144 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically

Scope and Content:

With (fols. 20-134) condolences on his death


Photocopies of letters to Margot Asquith, 1887-1944
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6729
Extent: 105 leaves
Acquisition: Made in the Library from two albums of Margot Asquith, retained by the Trustees of the late Lord Bonham-Carter

B.2   Family correspondence of Margot Asquith, 1884-1945

B.2.1   Letters, mainly to Margot Asquith, from her mother and father, 1884-1904, n.d.

Shelfmarks: MS. Eng. d. 3286


Letters from her mother and father, Sir Charles and Lady Tennant 1884-1904, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3286
Extent: 112 leaves

B.2.2   Letters to Margot Asquith from her husband, H.H. Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, 1891-1927

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6685-92

Acquisition: Given by the Trustees of the late Lord Bonham Carter, 1999

1891
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6685
Extent: 187 leaves

1892
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6682
Extent: 184 leaves

1893-4
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6687
Extent: 186 leaves

1895-9
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6688
Extent: 266 leaves

1900-4
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6689
Extent: 270 leaves

1905-11
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6690
Extent: 278 leaves

1912-16
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6691
Extent: 235 leaves

1917-27, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6692
Extent: 160 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes (fols. 144-53) a letter from Margot Asquith, 1936, enclosing two letters from Asquith to her, 1892, 1895

B.2.3   Letters to Margot Asquith from her daughter Princess Elizabeth Bibesco, 1901-41

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6693-4, d. 3287


1901-6
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3287
Extent: 155 leaves

1907-11
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6693
Extent: 138 leaves

1912-41
Shelfmark: MS. Eng.c. 6694
Extent: 145 leaves

B.2.4   Letters to Margot Asquith from her son Anthony (Puffin) Asquith, 1904-40, n.d.

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6695-6, d. 3288


1904-12
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6695
Extent: 152 leaves

1913-14
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3288
Extent: 131 leaves

1915-40, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng.c. 6696
Extent: 200 leaves

B.2.5   Letters to Margot Asquith from other members of her family, 1880-1945

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6697, d. 3289-90

Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically, with a few letters from her

Asquith
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3289
Extent: 184 leaves

Bibesco - Duff
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3290
Extent: 190 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes (fols. 28-38) an exercise book in Violet Bonham Carter's hand and annotated "Baby. Margot from Violet, 2 Feb. 1899''


Elliot - Wilson
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6697
Extent: 195 leaves

C   Literary papers of Margot Asquith, 1879-1945

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6698-6708, d. 3291-3303, e. 3285


Correspondence and papers relating to books, articles and a lecture tour, 1915-27
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6698
Extent: 112 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 37-62) lecture tour in the USA, 1921-2
  • (fols. 89-102) accounts with Curtis Brown, international publishing bureau, 1915-21
  • (fols. 103-12) publishers' agreements, 1916-25

Miscellaneous dated manuscripts, 1879-1945
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6699
Extent: 344 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 72-140) two incomplete drafts of 'Family Politics', Glen, 1894
  • (fols. 184-204) Margot Asquith's preface to H.H. Asquith's Memories and Reflections (London, 1928)
  • (fols. 252-65) memorandum on the formation of the new government, 1940
  • (fols. 316-28) autobiographical notes, written at the Savoy Hotel, 1941-2

Exercise book
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3291
Extent: 51 leaves

Scope and Content:

Contains

  • (fols. 2-8v) writings in various hands, 1880
  • (fols. 51-30 rev.) Chapter I of a novel 'Anne', by Margot Asquith, 1885-7?


Part of an exercise book, containing another version of Chapter I of 'Anne', 1885-7
Shelfmark: MS. Eng.d. 3292
Extent: 21 leaves

Margot's account of her sister Laura's early life to 1881, [late 1880's]
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3293
Extent: 86 leaves

Scope and Content:

In manuscript and typescript


Volume of writings by Margot, 1886-9
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3285
Extent: 146 leaves;
Binding: green calf binding, and bookplate of Margot Tennant

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 18-72) 'Visit to Hawarden'
  • (fols. 73-115) an account of her sister Laura's death

Margot's account of Laura's death, 1886 1888
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3294
Extent: i + 26 leaves

Scope and Content:

Volume of typescript, written at Bournemouth


'Visit to Hawarden', 1889
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3295
Extent: 37 leaves

Scope and Content:

Volume of typescript, written at Glen and Hawarden by Margot Asquith


'A Little Journey to Egypt in 1891'
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3296
Extent: 206 leaves

Scope and Content:

Draft and (fols. 146-206) typescript, published as part I of Places and Persons (London, 1925)


Manuscript and typescript drafts, many incomplete, 1892-1941, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3297
Extent: 341 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-91) 'Peter Flower', n.d.
  • (fols. 92-133) 'A Week of the General Election', 1892
  • (fols. 134-60) 'Paper on the Characters and Temperament of an Asquith and a Tennant', c.1925
  • (fols. 161- 251) 'Rejected Reflections', 1939-41
  • (fols. 252-87) 'Shorthand', with a dedication to Margot's grandchild Priscilla, 1940s

'Love Letters' 1893
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3298
Extent: 195 leaves

Scope and Content:

Manuscript and typescript drafts, written by Margot Asquith, and published in Pearson's Magazine Nov. 1917


'American Impressions', 1922
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6700
Extent: 301 leaves

Scope and Content:

Typescript drafts of 12 articles by Margot Asquith offered for publication by the Bell Syndicate in the USA, 1922, and included in Places and Persons 1925 with (fols. 96-8) related newscuttings


Drafts and articles, by Margot, for the London Magazine 1923-4
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3299
Extent: 313 leaves

Scope and Content:

Some of the printed articles are marked up for inclusion in Places and Persons 1925


H.H. Asquith's last illness and death, 1927-9
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3300
Extent: 172 leaves

Scope and Content:

Notes by Margot Asquith


Off the Record (London, 1943)
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6701
Extent: 253 leaves

Scope and Content:

Margot's typescript, with manuscript alterations, (fols. 242-53) galley proofs


Incomplete typescript and manuscript drafts, 1917-28, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3301
Extent: 180 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-61) 'Double Event', published in the Cornhill Aug. 1917, similar to the chapter on General Booth in Margot Asquith's Autobiograpy
  • (fols. 62-74) part of a draft of her novel Octavia (London, 1928)

Manuscript and typescript drafts of chapters, many incomplete, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6702
Extent: 175 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 26-34) draft notes concerning the death of her daughter Elizabeth, c.1945
  • (fols. 35-91) Chapter I of a new book 'Now and Then'

Manuscript and typescript drafts of an untitled story, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6703
Extent: 131 leaves

Scope and Content:

About John Isherwood and his wife Grace


Draft articles addressed to Sydney Carroll of the Daily Sketch, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3302
Extent: 171 leaves

Scope and Content:

fols. 2-75 were in envelopes identical to the one at fol. 1


Draft articles written for various named newspapers and magazines, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3303
Extent: 124 leaves

Scope and Content:

(fols. 123-4) galley proof of an article for the Lady's Pictorial annotated in Margot's hand 'A talk with Mrs. Asquith on personal service', c.1914-18


Drafts, mainly incomplete, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6704
Extent: 218 leaves

Drafts, mainly incomplete, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6705
Extent: 230 leaves

Drafts, mainly incomplete, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6706
Extent: 243 leaves

Drafts, mainly incomplete, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6707
Extent: 280 leaves

Drafts, mainly incomplete, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6708
Extent: 187 leaves

Scope and Content:

(fols. 111-89) miscellaneous notes

D   Personal papers of Margot Asquith, 1872-1943, 1965, n.d.

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6709-13, d. 3304-7, e. 3286-9; Photogr. c. 120-1, e. 11


Commonplace book, 1884-92
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3304
Extent: 147 leaves 50-147 blank
Binding: Green calf, gilt, lettered 'L' and 28 October 1886, cream watered silk end-papers

Loose papers removed from MS. Eng. d. 3304 above, 1883-1900
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3305
Extent: 42 leaves

Scope and Content:

(fols. 18-42) Margot's account of the birth and death of her baby, Aug. 1900


Notebook, 1885
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3286
Extent: 174 leaves 67-174 blank

Scope and Content:

Containing notes on the horses Margot rode to hounds, 1879-99


Volume, 1886-91
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3287
Extent: 196 leaves
Binding: Green calf

Scope and Content:

Inscribed, 'Margot Tennant Summer of 1886. Books she has read' containing date read, author, title, and her notes on each one


Volume as MS. Eng. e. 3287 above, 1894
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3288
Extent: 294 leaves, 22-294 blank
Binding: Green calf, bookplate of Margot Tennant

Small notebook, compiled by Margot, 1893-1905
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3289
Extent: 80 leaves
Binding: Brown calf with maroon watered silk end-papers

Scope and Content:

Contains a few notes and sayings about her


Notebook 1914-38
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3306
Extent: 40 leaves

Scope and Content:

Contains Margot's Christmas present lists


Album 1918-19
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6709
Extent: 225 leaves, 17-225 blank
Binding: White vellum, lettered 'Margot' on the spine

Scope and Content:

Contains a telegram from King George V and a few newscuttings


Loose papers removed from MS. Eng. c. 6709 above
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6710
Extent: 81 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-67) newscuttings, 1916-43
  • (fols. 68-74) miscellaneous papers, 1872-1916, n.d.
  • (fols. 75-9) photographs, n.d.

Notebook containing lists of Margot's lunch and dinner guests, 1934-40
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3307
Extent: 94 leaves, 61-94 blank

Papers
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6711
Extent: 291 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-78) memorabilia, 1875-1928
  • (fols. 79-216) miscellaneous notes, poetry and sketches, n.d., belonging to Margot Asquith
  • (fols. 217-85) miscellaneous manuscripts in unidentified hands

Printed papers, 1880-1965, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6712
Extent: 172 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 57-78) auction catalogue for the contents of Margot's house The Wharf, Sutton Courtenay, Berks., 1933, annotated with prices
  • (fols. 109-51) Messrs. Hodgson & Co. sale catalogue including a portion of the library of the late Earl of Oxford and Asquith, 1943
  • (fols. 152-7) From Farm to Factory and High Finance in Four Generations the sixth Charles Tennant memorial lecture of the Society of Chemical Industry by his daughter Lady Crathorne

Newscuttings, 1894-1943
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6713
Extent: 157 leaves

Scope and Content:

(fols. 76-152) reviews of some of Margot's books, 1915-43


Photographs, mainly of the Asquith and Tennant families 1884-1932
Shelfmark: MS. Photogr. c. 120
Extent: 88 leaves

Photograph album belonging to Margot, 1899
Shelfmark: MS. Photogr. e. 11
Extent: 7 leaves

Scope and Content:

'Souvenir of a Saturday at the zoo'


Photographs used in the Autobiography of Margot Asquith, 2 vols. (London, [1920-2])
Shelfmark: MS. Photogr. c. 121
Extent: 42 leaves

E   Correspondence and papers of other members of the family, 1862-1941

E.1   Correspondence and papers of Katherine Lucy Graham-Smith, née Tennant 1862-1941

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. d. 3308-10


Miscellaneous letters and papers of Lucy Graham- Smith, 1862-1941
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3308
Extent: 18 leaves

Letters from Laura Tennant to A.G.C. Liddell, 1884-5
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3309
Extent: 93 leaves, 28-93 blank

Scope and Content:

copied out by Lucy Graham-Smith, 1887


'The Story of a Tramp's Dog' n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3310
Extent: 89 leaves
Binding: White vellum, decorated end papers

Scope and Content:

Volume containing a manuscript, written for and dedicated to Lucy Graham-Smith by Eki?

E.2   Correspondence and papers of Laura Lyttelton, née Tennant 1876-86

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. d. 3311-13, e. 3290-1


Address book
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3290
Extent: 152 leaves
Binding: Green calf, gilt

Scope and Content:

(fols. 14v-152) diary, Jan.-Oct. 1876


Diary, Nov. 1876-July 1882
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3311
Extent: 497 pages
Binding: Black calf, lettered 'L.O.T'

Diary, Dec. 1882-Feb. 1885
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3312
Extent: 239 leaves, 89v-239 blank;
Binding: Black calf, lettered 'Laura'

Notebook, 1883
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3291
Extent: 98 leaves
Binding: Lettered 'Laura' on front cover
bookplate of Laura Tennant
Scope and Content:

Contains poetry and pen and ink sketches


Letters to Laura, 1877-83
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3313
Extent: 120 leaves

Scope and Content:

(fols. 32-120) miscellaneous papers, 1875-86, n.d., including (fols. 116-19) two copies of a condolence letter to Alfred Lyttelton from W.E. Gladstone, 1886

E.3   Correspondence and papers of H.H. Asquith 1864-1927,

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6714-17, d. 3314-15


Letters to H.H. Asquith from his wife Margot, 1891-1927, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3314
Extent: 80 leaves

Letters to H.H. Asquith from and relating to other members of his family, 1891-1926
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6714
Extent: 207 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically

General correspondence, 1864-1927
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6715
Extent: 180 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically, Alexandra - Horner

General correspondence, 1864-1927
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6716
Extent: 164 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically, Isaacs - Williamson

Scope and Content:

(fols 163-4) a letter to the first Mrs. Asquith from Edward Grey, 1890


Condolence letters to H.H. Asquith and Margot on the death of their first child, 1895
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3315
Extent: 76 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically

Correspondence with publishers, 1921-7
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6717
Extent: 95 leaves
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically

Scope and Content:

(fols. 77-95) miscellaneous papers

E.4   Correspondence and papers of Princess Elizabeth Bibesco, née Asquith 1908-41

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6718-19, d. 3316, e. 3292


Italian diary, 1908
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. e. 3292
Extent: 32 leaves, 16-32 blank

Scope and Content:

Kept while on holiday with her half-sister Violet


Correspondence, 1911-39
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6718
Extent: 170 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-24) letters from her family, 1917-41
  • (fols. 25-150) letters to Princess Bibesco with a few from her, 1911-39, arranged alphabetically
  • (fols. 151-70) miscellaneous papers, newscuttings and photographs

Miscellaneous manuscripts and typescripts by Princess Bibesco, 1937, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6719
Extent: 224 leaves

'Sayings of sense to guide and help you', 1910-14
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3316
Extent: 39 leaves
Binding: Calf, lettered on upper cover 'Amor...Versi'

Scope and Content:

Volume in Margot's hand and given to Elizabeth, 1914

E.5   Correspondence and papers, of Anthony Asquith, 1906-40

Shelfmarks: MSS. Eng. c. 6720, d. 3317-18


Letters to Anthony (Puffin) Asquith, 1906-40
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3317
Extent: 158 leaves

Scope and Content:

From

  • (fols. 1-142) his mother Margot Asquith, 1906-40, n.d.
  • (fols. 143-58) his father H.H. Asquith, 1914-17, n.d.

Letters to Anthony, 1904-32
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. d. 3318
Extent: 82 leaves

Scope and Content:

From

  • (fols 1-15) other family members, 1904-28
  • (fols. 16-82) various correspondents, with a few letters from him
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically

Papers of Anthony Asquith, 1911-38
Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 6720
Extent: 176 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes examination papers and school reports, with (fols. 112-75) miscellaneous papers

E.6   Correspondence and papers relating to Raymond Asquith 1893-1916

Shelfmarks: MS. Eng. d. 3319


Correspondence and papers relating to the death of Raymond Asquith, 1916
Extent: 64 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 15-22) three letters from him to A.E. Zimmern, 1893, 1897, n.d. and returned to Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, n.d.
  • (fols. 23-4) verse in Raymond's hand 'In praise of young girls'
  • (fols. 25-54) notes on Raymond by Margot Asquith, 1916

F   Miscellaneous photographs


Miscellaneous photographs
Shelfmark: MS. Photogr. c. 78
Extent: 21 leaves

Scope and Content:

Box of miscellaneous photographs, fols. 55-75 forming part of the Margot Asquith collection.


Index


Transformation from XML to HTML by Lawrence Mielniczuk
19 January 2007