Title:
BARRINGTON FAMILY OF HATFIELD BROAD OAK
Level: Category
Estate and Family records
Level: Fonds
BARRINGTON FAMILY OF HATFIELD BROAD OAK
Scope and Content:
Before their dispersal begining in the late 19th century, the Barrington family papers at Barrington Hall, Hatfield Broad Oak, were partly calendared by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts ( Seventh Report, 1879). In 1886, during G.A. Lowndes' ownership of the Barrington Hall estate, many of the documents were deposited in the British Museum (Addit. Charters 28313-28637, Egerton 2643-2651). Extensive notes on the archive had already been made by William Cla yton (see ERO D/DBa Z10, 11; T/P 22-38), and much of this was edited by his son G.A. Lowndes for publication in the Transactions of the Essex Archaelogical Society.

The Barrington Hall estate was sold to Mr A.H. Gosling in 1908, when Canon F.W. Galpin, the musician and antiquary (vicar of Hatfield Broad Oak 1891-1915), removed the greater part of the surviving manuscripts to the church library. There they remained until they were deposited in the Essex Record Office at various dates between 1939 and 1965. Several stray documents, which once belonged to the Barrington archive but were scattered and absorbed into other collections, have been deposited as part of those collections.

For further details of the dispersal and re-assembly of the archive, see:
Nancy Briggs, The Barrington Archives, in Bulletin of the National Register of Archives 14 (1967), pp. 19-21;
F.G. Emmison, Reconstruction of an estate archive, in Archives 8, no. 39 (April 1968), pp. 130-132;
J.H. Round, Barrington of Barrington Hall, in Essex Review 31 (1922), pp. 1-5;
G.A. Lowndes (ed.), History of the Barrington Family, in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series 1 (1878), pp. 251-275, 2 (1884), pp. 3-54 (see ERO D/DBa F4; D/DBa T2; T/P 22-38);
M.E. Bohannan, The Essex Election of 1604, in English Historical Review 43 (1933), p. 395.

Some articles based on the Barrington archives and related papers:
G.A. Lowndes, History of Hatfield Broad Oak, in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series 1 (1878), pp. 65-82;
G.A. Lowndes, History of the priory at Hatfield Broad Oak, in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series 2 (1884), pp. 117-152;
Canon F.W. Galpin, Pigs and Pannage, in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series 17 (1926), pp 1-9 (see ERO D/DBa M2; D/DTu 239, 240);
D. Shorrocks, Hatfield Forest 1547-1857, in Essex Review 64 (1955), pp. 54-66 (see ERO D/DB LI; D/DB T15, 16);
Canon F.W. Galpin, Household expenses of Sir Thomas Barrington, 1622-1644, in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series 12 (1913), pp. 202- 224 (see ERO D/DBa A1, 2, 14, 15), and 1645-1667 in new series 23 (1945), pp. 280-297 (see ERO D/DBa A3-10);
A. Searle, Sir Thomas Barrington in London, 1640-1644, in Essex Journal 2 (1967), pp. 35-41, 63-76 (see ERO D/DBa A2, 14).

See also Victoria County History of Essex: Bibliography under Barrington and Hatfield Broad Oak.

Transcripts of Barrington papers:
Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Seventh Report (HMSO, 1879) pp. 537-589;
Clayton transcripts T/P 22-38, D/DBa Z10, 11 (see also articles by G.A. Lowndes in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series, volumes 1, 2)
M.E. Bohannan, A London bookseller's bill, 1635-1639, in The Library, series 4, vol. 18 (1938), pp. 417-446 (whereabouts of original unknown; transcript made by William Clayton but present whereabouts of this also unknown);
G.A. Lowndes, Inventory of the household goods of Sir Thomas Barrington, bart., at Hatfield Priory, 1626 [properly 1629] in Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, new series 3 (1889), pp. 155-176 (whereabouts of original inventory unknown, but see ERO D/DBa E3 for similar inventory of 1632);
W. Notestein, F. Relf, H. Simpson, Commons Debates 1621, volume 3 (Yale University Press, 1935) (see ERO D/DBa F1/1-6, being parliamentary diaries of Sir Thomas Barrington);
Arthur Searle (ed.), Barrington family letters 1628-1632 (Camden 4th series, vol. 28, 1983) (BL Egerton Mss. 2643-2646, 2650).

T/A 364: microfilm copy of Barrington correspondence 1629-1643 in British Library (see BL Egerton 2643, 2645-2648);
T/A 447: xerox copy of transcript of Barrington correspondence, 1643, in British Library (see BL Egerton 2647);
T/A 367: microfilm copy of Hatfield Broad Oak deeds and rolls, 1127-1637, in British Library (see BL Addit. charters 28313-28637)

Stray documents in ERO originally part of Barrington Archive:
D/DU 472, Deeds of Hatfield Broad Oak and other parishes, 1537-1834;
D/DHt T126, Settlements, leases and sales pertaining to Barrington estate in 17th century; will of Sir Charles Barrington, 1712;
D/DQ 14/191, Map of Barrington Hall manor, 1624;
D/DQ 14/192, Map of Barrington Hall estate, 1766;
D/DQ 14/38, Map of Barrington Hall estate, 1766.

Related sources in ERO:
T/P 22-38: Research notes of William Clayton;
T/G 81 (microfilm): Genealogical and heraldic notes on Barrington and Simeon families;
D/DCm L1: Papers relating to tithes of the Town Quarter of Hatfield Broad Oak belonging to the Barrington family, c. 1535-1784.
Admin History:
The Barrington line in Essex can be traced to the 12th century, one of their oldest Essex properties being the manor of Barrington Hall in Hatfield Broad Oak. The family also claimed to be hereditary woodwards of Hatfield Forest. In 1566 Sir Thomas Barrington acquired the manor and site of Hatfield Priory, and in 1612 his son Sir Francis, the first baronet, purchased the manor of Hatfield Broad Oak. Sir Thomas, the second baronet, was a prominent supporter of the parliamentary cause in the Civil War. On the failure of the direct line in 1715, the estate came into the possession of John Shales, and when his son John Shales Barrington died childless in 1788, it passed in the female line to the Lowndes family. When this line in turn failed their inheriting kinsman changed his name from Clayton to Lowndes.