| Located At | Staffordshire Record Office |
| Level | Collection |
| Doc Ref No | D(W)1778, D(W)515, D564, 575, D742, D761, D853, D1501, D1517, D3074, D3137, D3629, 3758, 4802, D4544, D5128, D5172 |
| Title | Records of the Legge family of Sandwell and Patshull, Barons Dartmouth, Earls of Dartmouth |
| Administrative History | William Legge, who died in 1672, was the first member of the family to achieve eminence. He was a strong supporter of Charles I and Charles II and a friend of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the royalist army commander, who appointed him to several important military posts including the governorship of the Oxford garrison, 1644. In 1660, William Legge became Lieutenant General of the Ordnance. William's son, George, was created 1st Baron Dartmouth in 1682 after a distinguished naval and military career. He was Governor of Portsmouth from 1673-1682; master of the horse to James, Duke of York from 1673-1685 and Lieutenant General of the Ordnance from 1677-1682. In 1683 as Admiral of the Fleet he was entrusted with the task of evacuating the Tangier garrison and demolishing the fortifications there. His equivocal behaviour as Admiral of the Fleet at the time of the flight of James II led to his subsequent imprisonment and death in the Tower of London in 1691. William, his son, was created Earl of Dartmouth in 1711 and held office as Secretary of State for the South, 1710-1713. William, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, succeeded his grandfather in 1750 and was appointed first Lord of Trade, 1765-1766, 1772-1775 and Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1772-1775. His son, George, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth, was President of the India Board, 1801-02; Lord Steward (1802-1804) and Lord Chamberlain (1804-1810) of the Household. |
| Date | 1569-20th century |
| Description | This collection is arranged under all the separate deposits rather than amalgamated into one catalogue so any search will need to take this into account.
D(W)1778 Papers re political and public office activities of the Legge family, 17th-19th cent
D564 Chiefly 18th and 19th century papers relating to the Staffordshire estates, with some personal papers, 17th - 19th century, primarily of the 2nd Earl.
575 estate map, c.1844
D742 Some estate papers, including Kaye family properties in Yorkshire. Overseas material includes documents relating to the evacuation of Tangiers, 1683-1684, and grants of land in Florida, 18th century Cabinet minutes, 1711-1713, and a long series relating to public appointments and offices of the Legge family.
D761 Documents concerning the administration of the Staffordshire estates of Lord Dartmouth, Lord Sidmouth and Lord Stowell.
D853 Papers relating to the Dartmouth estates in South Staffordshire, mainly 19th century.
D1501 Family papers, including family settlements, estate, household and personal papers, including drawings and sketches, 18th-19th century.
D1517 Plans of the estates of the Earl of Dartmouth, 19th -20th century.
1548 Journals and commonplace books of the Earls of Dartmouth and family members, 1686-1821.
D3074 Chiefly estate papers relating to the Patshull and Pattingham estates purchased from the Pigott family in 1849. Out-county material includes a survey of the Hants. and Sussex estates, 1797. There are also saltpetre accounts, 1686-1687, which complement the ordnance records in D742.
D3137 Documents relating to land in Olney, co. Bucks., and Boscawen family settlement.
D3629 Chiefly title deeds, surveys, correspondence, etc..., relating to the Staffordshire and Salop estates, 17th-19th century, with out-county material including the Yorkshire estates.
D3758 marriage settlement 1779 (mainly lands in Hampshire, and elsewhere in south of England).
D5372, family wills and trust papers, marriage settlement
There are also three documents at the William Salt Library: S.MS.260, S.MS.261, and 11/20. |
| Related Material | Some related material, c.1650s-1680s, is held at the National Maritime Museum (reference DAR/1-27).
See also D859 for further Legge family papers amongst the papers of Lady Dorothy Meynell nee Legge. |