Title	Finding aid for Papers of William Brydges, 1719-1731.
Creator	Brydges, William, 1681-1764.
Extent	59 pieces. 1 box.
Biographical Note	William Brydges (1681-1764) of Tibberton (or Tyberton) in Herefordshire and London, landowner and lawyer, was the son of Francis Brydges of Castle Street, Hereford (d. 1727) and a cousin of James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos (1673-1744). He was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1702; the admissions register for Gray's Inn lists William Brydges in 1713 as one of the Six Clerks of Chancery, but other sources suggest that that office was held by his father Francis or by a Thomas Brydges. William married as his first wife Jane, the daughter of Chandos's longtime lawyer Andrew Card; a daughter Elizabeth was born in 1718. His uncle, another William Brydges (1663-1736), stood unsuccessfully for the constituency of Wells (Somerset) in a Parliamentary by-election in 1719.
Scope and Content	The collection consists of personal, family, legal and business correspondence of a Herefordshire gentry family with strong ties to the London legal community and with some slight connection to their more important relative James Brydges 1st Duke of Chandos (1673-1744). Of particular interest to the correspondents are: (1) the social activities and illnesses of their friends, family, and servants; (2) a long-running dispute over the repair of the chancel of Tibberton's church, involving a dispute with the Dean and Chapter of the diocese over tithes to be used for the repairs, and involving William Brydges' legal research in London's government archives to substantiate his position; and (3) very substantial buying and selling of various estates and other lands, chiefly as an investment. Brydges engaged the noted Bath architect John Wood (1705?-1754) to work on a newly acquired property in Bristol. There are relatively few references to the Duke of Chandos or to national affairs.
Notes	All inquiries about this collection should be direced to the Curator of British Historical Manuscripts at the Huntington Library.
Date	1719-1731.
Provenance	Purchased from Mrs. Inez Dakers of Bath, Somerset, November 1958.
Subject	Brydges family -- Archives. Brydges, William, 1681-1764 -- Archives. Wood, John, 1705?-1754. Church of England. Diocese of Hereford. Administration of estates -- Great Britain -- 18th century. Architects -- Great Britain -- 18th century -- Correspondence. Church buildings -- England -- Herefordshire -- 18th century. Church maintenance and repair -- England -- Herefordshire -- 18th century. Lawyers -- Great Britain -- 18th century -- Correspondence. Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources. Herefordshire (England) -- History -- 18th century -- Sources. Tibberton (England) -- History -- 18th century -- Sources.
Form/Genre	Business letters Great Britain 18th century. (aat) Letters (correspondence) Great Britain 18th century. (aat)
Contributors	Brydges, Francis, d. 1727, recipient. Brydges, William, 1663-1736, correspondent. Hardwick, Joseph, fl. 1719-1720, correspondent. Reeves, Stephan, fl. 1719-1720, correspondent. Wood, John, 1705?-1754, correspondent.
Department	Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscripts Department.
Call Number	mssHM 75705-75763
Physical Collection	William Brydges Papers.
Digital Collection	Finding Aids, Huntington Digital Library
Physical Description	7 p.
Digitization Specifications	Original finding aid converted into PDF document by B. Black, 2011-12-17.
Date Digital	2011-12-17.
DCMI Type	text
Digital Format	pdf
Original Finding Aid	Finding aid prepared by William J. F. Thompson, July 26, 2011.
Citation Information	Finding aid for William Brydges Papers, Huntington Digital Library, San Marino, California.
Restrictions	Images in this collection are for scholarly research; please review the Huntington Library's copyright information: http://cdm16003.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/about. For purchasing images for publication please review our permission to publish policy: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=590.