Lord Brooke, heir of the seventh Earl of Warwick, announced his intention to sell the Greville family archives in March 19781. This was the latest in a long string of items sold from Warwick Castle, which had caused much controversy locally. Madame Tussauds bought the castle later in the year, but there were fears the archives would either leave the country if they were bought by a private collector, or would be split into lots when sold at auction.
A collection with national significance
The archives were stored primarily in Guy’s Tower and consisted of more than 30,000 documents accumulated over several centuries. This material spanned over 800 years of history, with the earliest document dating back to the 12th century. The collection contained a wealth of information relating to the numerous estates held by the Greville family not just in Warwickshire, but spread across England and Wales.
As a collection with national significance, Warwickshire County Record Office negotiated with Lord Brooke for the collection to remain intact and for the documents to stay in Warwick and be made available to public. Lord Brooke agreed to sell the archives to the record office for £120,000 (worth over £664,000 today). Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council each put aside up to £20,000, but they were still only a third of the way towards raising the hefty sum.
Racing against the clock
In April 1978 the archivists sprang into action to set up a fundraising campaign to secure the remaining £80,000. The campaign was named The Warwick Castle Archives Appeal Fund, and those involved moved quickly to raise awareness. With a deadline of 23rd December, campaigners approached local businesses and other organisations and the donations began to trickle in.
A series of talks and concerts were arranged throughout autumn in aid of the cause, while exhibitions of manuscripts were put on at Market Hall Museum, Alcester Library and the Shakespeare Centre. The events culminated in an auction of antiques held at St Nicholas Church on 5 December2. The total raised by the auction was over £11,000, but only £6,500 went towards the Fund; the rest of the money was returned to those who had donated items to be sold3. With just over two weeks to spare before the deadline, the appeal had succeeded.
Joy and sadness
The sale was finalised just before Christmas, but the happy relief of the archives being saved was soured slightly but the sad news of the sudden death of Mr Peter Pepys just days after the sale was agreed4. Mr Pepys was Lord Brooke’s librarian who had spent the previous six years working to catalogue the library and archives, continuing the efforts of Messrs Buck and Baker and Rev. J. Harvey Bloom who had previously started this herculean task in 1845 and 1901 respectively. Shortly after the new year dawned, the archivists from the County Record Office began the gruelling task of removing the archives from the castle. Over 1,000 boxes and approximately 800 loose volumes were carried down the tight spiral staircases of Guy’s and Caesar’s Towers, before being transported to the record office in the County Archivist’s Transit van.
Despite the previous attempts to list the Greville archives while still at Warwick Castle, much of the material remained uncatalogued and each of the existing catalogues only covered part of the archives. A small project was undertaken to locate and list all the accounts in the 1980s, but the lack of a comprehensive catalogue for the collection continued to pose challenges for researchers. In 2021, a project to create a full catalogue for the archives began, which not only amalgamated and improved the previous lists, but also rearranged the catalogue into a useable format. In addition the previously uncatalogued material was finally incorporated, making the collection fully accessible for the first time.
The new catalogue will be available to search online in June 2026.
References
1 Birmingham Daily Post, 20 March 1978
2 Warwickshire County Record Office reference WCC0133
3 Leamington Spa Courier, 8 December 1978
4 Coventry Evening Telegraph, 5 January 1979
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