MS 681
Reference code
MS 681
Title
Moulton-Barrett archive
Level
Sub-fonds
Administrative / Biographical history
Edward Moulton-Barrett (1785-1857) of Cinnamon Hill, Jamaica, and Hope End, Herefordshire, was the father of the poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning (1806-1861), and ten other children, and heir to a prosperous family sugar business. Owning over one thousand slaves on his plantations in Jamaica, he ran his estates mostly from London, sending several of his sons over to the West Indies.
Elizabeth was the first of twelve children of Edward Moulton-Barrett and his wife Mary, nee Graham (1781-1828). Her siblings were Edward Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1807-1840), Henrietta Barrett (1809-1860), Mary (1810-1814), Samuel Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1812-1840), Arabella Barrett (1813-1868), Charles John Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1814-1905), nicknamed "Stormie", George Goodin Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1817-1895), Henry Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1822-1896), Alfred Price Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1820-1904), Septimus James Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1822-1870) and Octavius Butler Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1824-1910). Elizabeth was particularly close to her sisters Henrietta and Arabella.
Elizabeth's mother's parents were John and Arabella Graham (after 1786, Graham-Clarke) of Newcastle upon Tyne. John Graham-Clarke owned Jamaican sugar plantations, ships trading between Newcastle and Jamaica, a brewery, flax spinning mills, and glassworks. Her father's parents were Charles and Elizabeth Moulton (1763–1830), who had married in Jamaica on 28 August 1781. Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett's fortune came not from his father, who soon separated from his wife, but from his maternal grandfather, Edward Barrett (1734–1798), owner of Cinnamon Hill, Cornwall, Cambridge, and Oxford estates on Jamaica's north side: more than 10,000 acres in total. Edward Barrett's income was ‘fifty thousand a year’, his great-granddaughter told fellow poet Robert Browning (1812–1889), during the courtship recorded in their famous love letters.
Starting in the mid-1820's, Edward Moulton-Barrett's fortune took a turn for the worse. Financial reverses in Jamaica (including adverse legal decisions) eventually caused the loss of Hope End. He disinherited all three of the Moulton-Barrett children - Elizabeth, Henrietta and Alfred - who married during his lifetime. He omitted them from his will and Charles John received the Jamaican properties. He eventually lost these properties but he continued to live in Jamaica until he died in 1905.
Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and Robert Browning, poet, had an only child called Robert 'Pen' Wiederman Barrett-Browning (1849-1912). Pen married Fannie Coddington (1853-1935), an American heiress, in 1887. However, they had no children and as a result there are no direct descendants from that line. There are descendants from the lines of Elizabeth's siblings, however, and it is from them that Eton College Library received the Moulton-Barrett archive.
Elizabeth was the first of twelve children of Edward Moulton-Barrett and his wife Mary, nee Graham (1781-1828). Her siblings were Edward Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1807-1840), Henrietta Barrett (1809-1860), Mary (1810-1814), Samuel Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1812-1840), Arabella Barrett (1813-1868), Charles John Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1814-1905), nicknamed "Stormie", George Goodin Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1817-1895), Henry Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1822-1896), Alfred Price Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1820-1904), Septimus James Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1822-1870) and Octavius Butler Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1824-1910). Elizabeth was particularly close to her sisters Henrietta and Arabella.
Elizabeth's mother's parents were John and Arabella Graham (after 1786, Graham-Clarke) of Newcastle upon Tyne. John Graham-Clarke owned Jamaican sugar plantations, ships trading between Newcastle and Jamaica, a brewery, flax spinning mills, and glassworks. Her father's parents were Charles and Elizabeth Moulton (1763–1830), who had married in Jamaica on 28 August 1781. Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett's fortune came not from his father, who soon separated from his wife, but from his maternal grandfather, Edward Barrett (1734–1798), owner of Cinnamon Hill, Cornwall, Cambridge, and Oxford estates on Jamaica's north side: more than 10,000 acres in total. Edward Barrett's income was ‘fifty thousand a year’, his great-granddaughter told fellow poet Robert Browning (1812–1889), during the courtship recorded in their famous love letters.
Starting in the mid-1820's, Edward Moulton-Barrett's fortune took a turn for the worse. Financial reverses in Jamaica (including adverse legal decisions) eventually caused the loss of Hope End. He disinherited all three of the Moulton-Barrett children - Elizabeth, Henrietta and Alfred - who married during his lifetime. He omitted them from his will and Charles John received the Jamaican properties. He eventually lost these properties but he continued to live in Jamaica until he died in 1905.
Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and Robert Browning, poet, had an only child called Robert 'Pen' Wiederman Barrett-Browning (1849-1912). Pen married Fannie Coddington (1853-1935), an American heiress, in 1887. However, they had no children and as a result there are no direct descendants from that line. There are descendants from the lines of Elizabeth's siblings, however, and it is from them that Eton College Library received the Moulton-Barrett archive.
Date
[1772-1942]
Extent & medium
6 shelves and 1 drawer
Content description
The Moulton-Barrett archive is a rich resource for research into both the family background of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and the history of plantation ownership and slavery in Jamaica. The papers are in two parts; there are personal family papers and papers relating to the Jamaican plantations owned by the family.
The family papers include Elizabeth Barrett-Browning but also extend to the wider family. The archive includes autograph letters of Elizabeth, autograph manuscript fragments and drawings. This is also the case for Elizabeth's siblings, building a detailed picture of Elizabeth's early life. Highlights include letters Elizabeth received from her eldest brother Edward from Charterhouse, the letters she herself wrote to her siblings when away from home, and an early playscript that the siblings performed at Hope End. There are also papers relating to Pen Barrett-Browning, Elizabeth's son, and material relating to the play 'Barretts of Wimpole Street' which directly features the Moulton-Barrett family. The papers of the wider family consist mostly of letters that date from 1772 to 1942. The majority of the earlier letters are to and from Edward Barrett (1734-1798), plantation owner. There is also a collection of notes by Jose Moulton-Barrett, including copious research into the family's history, and the papers of Edward R. Moulton-Barrett, donor.
The papers relating to the Jamaican estates date from 1774 to 1927. They deal with business matters and include correspondence with agents, business partners and other members of the extended family, legal documents, contracts, account papers and handwritten lists of slaves, which make sombre reading today. There are interesting letters from the local non-conformist clergyman Hope Waddell, which give accounts of the treatments of the slaves before and after their emancipation. These documents were filed chronologically by the previous owner, making it easy to track the fortunes of these plantations and those who lived on them.
In addition to the papers, there are a number of notebooks, sketchbooks and scrapbooks that belonged to members of the family, including a sketchbook that belonged to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning.
As well as the family papers, the archive also has a large collection of likenesses of individual members of the family. These likenesses include portraits, photographs (some in albums), miniatures, and sketches, often by particular members of the family like Alfred Moulton-Barrett, Elizabeth's brother. There is also a collection of watercolours, sketches and photographs of Hope End, the family seat in Herefordshire.
The archive also contains artefacts that belonged to the Moulton-Barrett family, including seals and brooches.
The papers relating to the Jamaican estates are enhanced by printed material about Jamaica from the library of Edward R. Moulton-Barrett.
The family papers include Elizabeth Barrett-Browning but also extend to the wider family. The archive includes autograph letters of Elizabeth, autograph manuscript fragments and drawings. This is also the case for Elizabeth's siblings, building a detailed picture of Elizabeth's early life. Highlights include letters Elizabeth received from her eldest brother Edward from Charterhouse, the letters she herself wrote to her siblings when away from home, and an early playscript that the siblings performed at Hope End. There are also papers relating to Pen Barrett-Browning, Elizabeth's son, and material relating to the play 'Barretts of Wimpole Street' which directly features the Moulton-Barrett family. The papers of the wider family consist mostly of letters that date from 1772 to 1942. The majority of the earlier letters are to and from Edward Barrett (1734-1798), plantation owner. There is also a collection of notes by Jose Moulton-Barrett, including copious research into the family's history, and the papers of Edward R. Moulton-Barrett, donor.
The papers relating to the Jamaican estates date from 1774 to 1927. They deal with business matters and include correspondence with agents, business partners and other members of the extended family, legal documents, contracts, account papers and handwritten lists of slaves, which make sombre reading today. There are interesting letters from the local non-conformist clergyman Hope Waddell, which give accounts of the treatments of the slaves before and after their emancipation. These documents were filed chronologically by the previous owner, making it easy to track the fortunes of these plantations and those who lived on them.
In addition to the papers, there are a number of notebooks, sketchbooks and scrapbooks that belonged to members of the family, including a sketchbook that belonged to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning.
As well as the family papers, the archive also has a large collection of likenesses of individual members of the family. These likenesses include portraits, photographs (some in albums), miniatures, and sketches, often by particular members of the family like Alfred Moulton-Barrett, Elizabeth's brother. There is also a collection of watercolours, sketches and photographs of Hope End, the family seat in Herefordshire.
The archive also contains artefacts that belonged to the Moulton-Barrett family, including seals and brooches.
The papers relating to the Jamaican estates are enhanced by printed material about Jamaica from the library of Edward R. Moulton-Barrett.
Provenance
The Moulton-Barrett family archive consists of two large bequests from descendants of the family. The first bequest was by Edward Richard Moulton-Barrett (1916-1992) in 1993, a descendant of Alfred Price Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1820-1904), Elizabeth Barrett-Browning's brother. It contained the majority of the family papers, letters and Jamaican estate papers, some scrapbooks, sketchbooks and photograph albums, and printed material about Jamaica.
The second bequest was by Nadia Moulton-Barrett in 2003, the widow of Ronald Moulton-Barrett (1906-), a descendant of Octavius Butler Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1824-1910). It contained the majority of photographs, miniature portraits and other visual material that now forms part of the archive.
The second bequest was by Nadia Moulton-Barrett in 2003, the widow of Ronald Moulton-Barrett (1906-), a descendant of Octavius Butler Barrett Moulton-Barrett (1824-1910). It contained the majority of photographs, miniature portraits and other visual material that now forms part of the archive.
Arrangement
The original arrangement of the family and estate papers that was implemented by Edward R. Moulton-Barrett has been retained.
The papers in the archive are divided primarily into the Moulton-Barrett family papers and papers relating to the Jamaican estates.
Within the family papers, the papers of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and her immediate family, and the papers relating to Pen Barrett-Browning and the 'Barretts of Wimpole Street' are boxed separately. The other papers are ordered chronologically and are divided into three boxes (1772-1838, 1838-1851 and 1851-1942). Related material and the papers of later members of the family, including Edward R. Moulton-Barrett, have also been kept in their original order.
The papers relating to the Jamaican estates are arranged similarly. There are three boxes: Q1 (1774-1841), Q2 (1841-1875) and Q3 (1875-1927) and within these boxes the documents are ordered chronologically.
There is a card catalogue that includes both the family papers and letters and the Jamaican estate papers. Edward R. Moulton-Barrett commissioned Philip Kelley to create the catalogue.
The remainder of the archive has been arranged by format. The likenesses are subdivided by person or place featured in the image.
As such, the archive has the following series. The box of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning papers can be found within MS 681 01.
MS 681 01: Moulton-Barrett family papers
MS 681 02: Papers relating to the Jamaican estates
MS 681 03: Notebooks
MS 681 04: Likenesses
MS 681 05: Sketchbooks and scrapbooks
MS 681 06: Artefacts
MS 681 07: Printed material
The papers in the archive are divided primarily into the Moulton-Barrett family papers and papers relating to the Jamaican estates.
Within the family papers, the papers of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and her immediate family, and the papers relating to Pen Barrett-Browning and the 'Barretts of Wimpole Street' are boxed separately. The other papers are ordered chronologically and are divided into three boxes (1772-1838, 1838-1851 and 1851-1942). Related material and the papers of later members of the family, including Edward R. Moulton-Barrett, have also been kept in their original order.
The papers relating to the Jamaican estates are arranged similarly. There are three boxes: Q1 (1774-1841), Q2 (1841-1875) and Q3 (1875-1927) and within these boxes the documents are ordered chronologically.
There is a card catalogue that includes both the family papers and letters and the Jamaican estate papers. Edward R. Moulton-Barrett commissioned Philip Kelley to create the catalogue.
The remainder of the archive has been arranged by format. The likenesses are subdivided by person or place featured in the image.
As such, the archive has the following series. The box of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning papers can be found within MS 681 01.
MS 681 01: Moulton-Barrett family papers
MS 681 02: Papers relating to the Jamaican estates
MS 681 03: Notebooks
MS 681 04: Likenesses
MS 681 05: Sketchbooks and scrapbooks
MS 681 06: Artefacts
MS 681 07: Printed material
Associated material
The Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning collection (MS 682) also contains autograph letters, manuscripts, likenesses and artefacts of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and, to a lesser extent, her relatives. It should be emphasised that this material was acquired separately to the Moulton-Barrett family archive, and is therefore catalogued separately.
Finding aids
A card catalogue for the family and estate papers is available. These are also catalogued electronically on 'The Browning Database', hosted by Baylor University. They can be found by searching under 'Supporting Documents': http://www.browningscorrespondence.com/supporting-documents/search/
Location of this record in the archive hierarchy
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- Literary archives & personal papers, ECL MSS, (c. 1850 - present)
- Archdeacon Basil Wilberforce letters, MS 234, (1900-1915)
- Album of various autograph letters mainly from and to Etonians and school exercises, MS 241, (1782 - 1901)
- William Johnson Cory (Halsdon collection), MS 308, (1838-1894)
- William Johnson Cory (Additional papers), MS 309, (1826-1892)
- Arthur Murray Goodhart collection, MS 334, (1890-1932)
- Green Armytage - John Martin Harvey collection, MS 336, (1889 - 1970)
- Frederic Kenyon: Browning papers, MS 340, (1897-1913)
- Hilary Philip Chadwyck-Healey archive, MS 417, (c.1930 - c. 1970)
- Winifred Mary (Mollie) Matthews papers, MS 427, (1938-1989)
- Susan Hill archive, MS 428, (1957-2002)
- Maurice Baring collection, MS 429, (1894-1982)
- Anne Thackeray Ritchie collection, MS 430, (1847-[2000])
- Wilfred P. Thesiger archive, MS 433, (1895-2004)
- Anthony Powell archive, MS 434, (1905-2000)
- John Carter archive, MS 435, (1905-1975)
- Second World War papers of John Henderson, principally relating to Field Marshal B.L Montgomery, MS 436, (1939-1998)
- David Horner archive (Osbert Sitwell material), MS 437, (20th century)
- Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt papers, MS 439, (1928-1989)
- Papers of Duncombe F. B. Buckley, MS 440, (1851-1855, 2011)
- Busk family papers, MS 441, (1892-2001)
- Glen Byam Shaw: letters to Angela Baddeley, MS 442, (1928-1952)
- Noel Blakiston papers, MS 443, (1922-1986)
- Garnett family papers, MS 445, (1872-1922)
- E. W. Hermon archive, MS 446, (1914-1917, 1920s, 2007-2008)
- L. H. Myers papers, MS 447, (1895-1955)
- Leslie Stokes collection, MS 448, (1938-1970)
- Eric Williams literary papers, MS 449, (1948-1959)
- Douglas Rutherford literary archive, MS 450, (1955-1986)
- Harold Acton collection, MS 451, (1922-1980)
- Jeremy Clarke archive, MS 452, (2005-2024)
- Stone family archive, MS 496, (1850-1950)
- Alec Clunes archive, MS 509, (1927-1970)
- Collection of papers related to M R James, MS 521, (1828 - 1997)
- Robert Graves collection, MS 542, (1942-1975)
- Geoffrey Gunther papers, MS 543, (191?-1924)
- Rupert Brooke collection, MS 586, (Early 20th century)
- G. W. Headlam archive, MS 598, (1914?-1932?)
- Edward Hope Vere archive, MS 599, (1901-1924)
- Christopher Caslon archive, MS 604, (1915-1919)
- Russell Steele archive, MS 605, (1909-1918)
- Walter Severn collection, MS 608, (1878-1884)
- Winthrop Mackworth Praed and Sir George Young (3rd Baronet) collection, MS 656, (1780-1971)
- Papers of Charles Kelsall, MS 666, (1818 - 1841)
- Harold F. Andorsen archive, MS 667, (1856 - 1967)
- Vernon Dante collection, MS 668, (1891-1900)
- Grizel Hartley collection, MS 669, (1942-1991)
- Lawrence family archive, MS 670, (1870-1930)
- Caccia family archive, MS 671, (19th-20th century)
- Brian Howard archive, MS 673, (1905-1958)
- Festival of Britain papers, MS 674, (1951-1976)
- Gavin Young collection, MS 675, (1970s-2001)
- Lady Diana Cooper collection, MS 676, (1910-1986)
- Frank Ashton-Gwatkin archive, MS 677, (1851-1976)
- Robert McCrum archive, MS 678, (1953-2021)
- Moelwyn Merchant archive, MS 679, ([1913]-2000)
- John Holmstrom archive (relating to Wilfrid Blunt, Raef Payne and Jerry Jarratt), MS 680, (1924-2001)
- Moulton-Barrett archive, MS 681, ([1772-1942])
- Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning collection, MS 682, (1812-1889)
- Mary Coleridge and the Newbolt family collection, MS 683, (1853-1987)
- Thomas Hardy collection, MS 684, (Late 19th century - 20th century)
- Ellen Terry, Edward Gordon Craig and Edward A. Craig (EAC) collection, MS 685, (1856-2009)
- John Wethered Power archive, MS 696, (1909-1922)
- Belinda Norman-Butler archive, MS 707, (1899-2007)
- John Julius Norwich archive, MS 708, (20th century - 21st century)
- Hardy-Sparks archive, MS 710, (19th-20th century)
- Wyndham Lloyd postcard collection, MS 737, (1901-1980)
- Siegfried Sassoon collection, MS 755, (1886-1967)
- The Sitwells collection, MS 768, ([1887-1988])
- Hallam Tennyson family papers, MS 774, (1852-1928)
- Charles Beresford papers, MS 872, (20th century)
- Henry Dundas archive, MS 907, (c.1905 - 2022)
- Anne Ridler papers, MS 909, (20th century)
- Cazalet family papers, MS 917, (18th century - late 20th century)
- Hannen family archive, MS 920, (1741-2015)
- Malcolm Arnold archive, MS 921, (1828-2024)
- Hubert Parry: autograph music scores composed at Eton, MS 923, (1864-1866)
- Hugo Williams archive, MS 924, (1963-2014)
- Julia Simonne and Robert Graves collection (poems), MS 925, (1963-1975)
- Second World War papers of Sergeant Annie Gouk, MS 927, (1938-1948)
- Second World War papers of J.C. Ogle, 53rd Welsh division, principally relating to ‘Operation Overlord’, MS 928, (1944-1945)
- Second World War papers of Henry Gerson relating to Saint-Denis British Internment Camp, near Paris, MS 929, (1940-1944)
- Second World War collected ephemera, MS 930, (1939-1945)
- Elizabeth Hutchings and Belinda Norman-Butler: correspondence, MS 931, (1992-2010)
- Alan Poulton Malcolm Arnold Collection, MS 933, (c.1934-2023)
- Alexander Grant archive, MS 935, (1913-c1920)
- First World War papers of Major-General S.F. Mott, MS 937, (1917-1987)
- Robert Selwyn Pryor archive, MS 942, (1914-1918)
- Hammond archive of Peter Warlock and Bruce Blunt manuscripts, MS 943, (1916-1930)
- Loyd family archive, MS 950, (20th century)
- Papers of James Frederick Norris and Graham Walter Norris, MS 951, (c.1900 - 1933)
- A.C. Sheepshanks collection of French deeds on parchment and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic letters, MS 959, (1543-1812)
- Victor Gollancz Limited Publishers author files: A.J. Ayer: Language, Truth and Logic (1936), MS 960, (1933 - 1998)
- Papers of Cecilia Fisher, MS 968, (1889 - 1952)
- Thackeray - Ritchie family papers (Murray archive), MS 972, (1748-1986)
- Charles Edmund Macnaghten collection of Ritchie and Freshfield family letters, MS 975, (c.1891-c.1902)
- Thackeray, Ritchie and Warre-Cornish family letters, MS 976, (1837-1920)
- Thackeray and Pollock family letters, MS 977, (1847-1924)
- Jeremy Dibble edition of Hubert Parry's Piano Concerto and related papers of John James Stewart Farmer, MS 978, (1993 - 2008)
- Norman Routledge music collection, MS 980, (1922-1969)
- Michael Kadwell collection of music ephemera, MS 981, (1864-1969)
- Martin Charteris World War II papers, MS 982, (1937 - 1997)
- Design for Eton College arms by Eric Gill and related papers, MS 983, (8 Jan 1936- 14 Sep 1976)
- Collection of various bookplates of Joseph Frederick Burrell, MS 984, (19th century - 20th century)
- Felix Aprahamian Peter Warlock collection, MS 986, (1964-2001)
- Papers of Aimee Lowther, MS 987, (1895-1916)
- Alan Stevenson Nuremberg Trials collection, MS 988, (1945-1946)
- Tony Jarvis collection of royal autographs and portrait photographs, MS 989, (1679 - 1990)
Number 57 of 107 at this Level
Beneath this record in the archive hierarchy
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Moulton-Barrett family papers, MS 681 01, ([19th century])
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Papers relating to the Jamaican estates of the Moulton-Barrett family, MS 681 02, (1774-1927)
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Notebooks belonging to members of the Moulton- Barrett family, MS 681 03, ([19th century])
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Likenesses of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and members of the Moulton-Barrett family, MS 681 04, ([19th century])
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Sketchbooks and scrapbooks kept by members of the Moulton-Barrett family, MS 681 05, ([19th century])
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Artefacts that belonged to either Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, Robert Browning or the collective Moulton-Barrett family, MS 681 06, ([19th century])
- Moulton-Barrett archive: Printed material about Jamaica from Edward R. Moulton-Barrett's library, MS 681 07, ([19th century])