English poetry --18th century, Family --England --Domestic relations, Female friendship --Poetry, Humorous poetry, English, and Occasional verse, English
The papers consist of approximately 85 manuscript poems written by, to or for Lady Elizabeth Compton and other family members and a personal account book kept by James Compton from 1716 to 1734. The poems include birthday and wedding poems; elegies on the deaths of Compton children; verse epistles; invitations to visit; animal fables; humorous poems; and topical ballads and satires. There are also several translations of Latin verse by Horace and Catullus, and what may be copies of contemporary published verse. Lord Compton's account book contains detailed records of his daily expenses during his sojourns in London. There are multiple entries for chocolate-house and coffeehouse purchases; fees for plays and operas, wagers on horse races, and losses at cards; purchases of and subscriptions for books and prints, including Hogarth's Harlot's Progress and the first edition of Gay's Poems on Several Occasions; and miscellaneous disbursements to "the boy who brings the news," "a raree Showman," "a magick Lanthorn man," and a shopkeeper for "Play things for my children."
Alternative Title:
Account book
Description:
James Compton, Earl of Northampton (1687-1754) married the heiress Elizabeth Shirley in 1716; she became Baroness Ferrers of Chartley in her own right in the following year. The couple moved into Compton Wynates, and extensively restored and altered the Tudor structure. Although they had eight children, only one daughter, Charlotte (1729-1770), survived into adulthood, marrying George Townshend (later 1st Marquis Townshend) in 1751. Lady Elizabeth Compton died in 1741. James Compton largely withdrew from society after her death, refused a dukedom in 1743, and died in 1754.
Subject (Name):
Compton family, Rushout, Anne Compton,--Lady,--1693-1766, and Townshend, Charlotte Compton,--Viscountess,--d. 1770
Subject (Topic):
Amusements--England, Cost and standard of living--England--18th century, and Family--England--Domestic relations