Royal Weymouth Volume 4: Horatio and Hair

The fourth and final volume of ‘Royal Weymouth’ contains perhaps the most unusual addition of any of the books by Broadley that we have looked at in our blog series – some of Lord Cathcart`s hair, which was in an envelope that had been stuck into this volume. Lord Cathcart was a Scottish general who also served as the ambassador to Russia. The hair was accompanied by the following short letter by his valet, James.

Cathcart House, 18^th March 1841.

I am exceedingly sorry that I have been so long on complying with your request but as I had for to postponed as I was not shower whether I would be able for to get one from my father or not but I have got one which I send with great pleasure also a lok of his lordships hare which I hope will be no offence.

Your most obedient

James Milne

P.s. I never received the first letter allouded in yours of the 6^th March

The hair was sent in an envelope addressed to ‘S. Dyer Knott, The Castle, Exeter‘. Samuel Dyer Knott was a Clerk, who was later the secretary of The Devon and Exeter Reformatory Farm School for Boys. We have discovered some letters on the internet that suggests he had an interest in autographs. One of these letters was from Charles Dickens, who Dyer Knott knew through Dickens parents who, like Samuel lived in Alphington, Exeter. We are not sure how he was connected to James Milne or why Milne thought he might like a lock of Lord Cathcart’s hair.

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There are also a lot of documents connected with the Navy in this volume. Many of these are celebrating Horatio Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile. There are poems and drawings and a wonderful cartoon of Nelson battling crocodiles representing the French fleet. There is also a large poster created in 1801 detailing the naval victories that had led to peace. The poster is illustrated by a large tree with the names of the Admirals who commanded fleet in its branches. On the tree’s trunk is written England, Scotland and Ireland. A band with the word ‘Union’ on it encircles the trunk. Below the tree stalks a lion tramples over the fallen flags of France and Spain. In the background you can see a fleet of ships. The names and strength of the ships in each battle as well as a description of the fighting in each battle are recorded below the picture, making it an interesting resource for those studying naval history.

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Finally, we wanted to mention a newspaper clipping describing the celebrations held at Maiden Castle in celebration of the birthday of the King and Queen’s eldest daughter, Princess Charlotte. This celebration included a lot of sports and reading the list of events is fascinating. We particularly like the line ‘Half a guinea to the rider of the ass who wins the best of three heats by coming in last’. We aren’t quite sure how a race to come last would work, but would have liked to have seen it!

This brings us to the end of our series of blogs about ‘Royal Weymouth’. We hope that you have enjoyed them and that they have given you a little taste of the varied documents that can be found within these four volumes.

If you want to know more about Mr A.M. Broadley, who collected these books, look out for our blog about him, which is coming soon!

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This blog follows our monthly series on the 12 extra-illustrated volumes of “Hutchins’ History and Antiquities of Dorset.” You can read the rest of the series through the links below:

Part one: An introduction to the history and antiquities of Dorset.

Part two: The Pitt family, a piano player, and a plague of caterpillars.

Part three: Coastline, Castles and Catastrophe

Part four: A Phenomenon, Fake News and a Philanthropist

Part five: Antiquities, Adventurers, and an Actress

Part six: A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth

Part seven: Physicians, fires and false allegations

Part eight: Graves, Grangerising and a Man who wore Green

Part nine: Desertion, Drinks and a Diarist

Part ten: Music, medical miracles, and mills

Part eleven: Courtiers, Criminals, and Cuttings

Part twelve: An Abbey, the Arts, and the Athelhampton Ape