Archived decisions

THE BROADLANDS ARCHIVES

1. The Broadlands Archives are one of the foremost collections of manuscripts in the Special Collections Division of the University of Southampton Library. They encompass some 4,500 boxes of papers, dating from the sixteenth century to the present, centred on the Temple (Palmerston), Ashley, Cassel and Mountbatten families, and they contain material of the first importance for the history of the UK and its relations with its colonies and foreign powers.

2. The archives have been held on deposit at Southampton for more than 20 years. The collection is owned by the Trustees of the Broadlands Archives, who have now resolved to sell the collection; the net cost is £2.85 million. The University is the preferred purchaser and have six months to raise the sum required, and the Trustees have indicated that they will sell the collection at auction if the University should fail to complete the purchase; this would be likely to lead to the breaking up of the archive, its loss and dispersal.

The contents of the Broadlands Archives

3. The Broadlands Archives contain the principal collections of papers of:

    - Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston (1784-1865). Palmerston was Foreign Secretary, 1830-4, 1835-41 and 1846-51; Home Secretary, 1852-5; and Prime Minister, 1855-8, 1859-65: there are approximately 40,000 items of correspondence, of which three-quarters are Palmerston's papers as Foreign Secretary, principally his private correspondence with British diplomats

    - Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, first Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-79). Lord Mountbatten was Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command, 1943-6; the last Viceroy of India, 1947, and the first Governor General of the newly independent India, 1947-8; First Sea Lord, 1955-9; and Chief of the Defence Staff, 1959-65: there are approximately 250,000 items and 50,000 photographs. While the archive covers the whole of Lord Mountbatten's career, the most important parts are his papers for South East Asia Command; for 1947-8, as the last Viceroy of India and the first Governor General of the newly independent India - this is effectively the foundation archive for the modern states of India and Pakistan; and as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Defence Staff.

4. Also of outstanding significance, but smaller in quantity, are:

    - The diaries and some correspondence of Anthony Ashley Cooper, seventh Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-85), social reformer and philanthropist. Shaftesbury married Lady Emily (Minny) Cowper, who was probably the natural daughter of Palmerston and his future wife, Emily, Countess Cowper. The Shaftesbury diaries are one of the great monuments to social progress in Victorian England.

5. The archive also includes the main collections of papers for:

    - William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), Home Secretary, 1830-4, Prime Minister, 1834, 1835-41: correspondence with Lord John Russell and others, 1814, 1830-48 (648 items).

    - Edwina Mountbatten (née Ashley), Countess Mountbatten (1901-60): papers, correspondence and photograph collections, 1923-60, including 128 files as Vicereine of India, 1947, with important material for the United Council for Relief and Welfare, 1947-9, and humanitarian relief

    - Louis Alexander Mountbatten, first Marquis of Milford Haven (1854-1921): naval papers, 1910-14 (Second Sea Lord, 1911-12, and First Sea Lord, 1912-14), including important material on re-armament, naval manpower and planning, 39 files;

    - Estate papers: important collections for Hampshire and for Ireland, with long sequences of correspondence about the management of and improvements to the estates in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Irish material contains papers for the development of Dublin and for the role of landlords during the Great Famine. Papers relating to the house at Broadlands itself includes inventories, lists of paintings, sculpture, and the library, and building accounts, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

6. To this material, already on deposit at the University, the Trustees will add at the point of sale the diaries of Lord Mountbatten (47 volumes: 1920-68), the diaries of Lady Mountbatten (36 volumes: 1921-60), and the correspondence between them (59 files). The University will also acquire an option to purchase the letters from Lady Mountbatten to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the newly independent India (33 files, 1948-60), along with copies of his letters to her (15 files, 1947-60), at future date.

Funding arrangements

7. The University is at an early stage in the fundraising and is looking to a range of trusts and charitable funds in the UK and overseas, as well as to private individuals, to support this purchase. Elements in the funding include the sale of part of the Library's endowed funds (approximately £200,000), donations by alumni and supporters (at this point approximately £20,000), and they expect further funds within the University. The John Henry Hansard Trust has pledged £100,000 towards the purchase. Applications have been made to the Friends of the National Libraries, the Pilgrim Trust, and the Thorneycroft Memorial Fund; other bids are in progress or at an earlier stage of discussion.

8. The University has encouraged the Broadlands Trustees wherever possible to take advantage of taxation benefits in the sale of archival materials: the net price of £2.85 million reflects a substantial contribution from these arrangements. The sale will reflect different patterns of ownership and it includes a conditional offer in lieu of taxation, a private treaty sale, as well as other sales. An application to the National Heritage Memorial Fund for a major grant will be submitted once the acceptance in lieu process has reached its conclusion.

Public benefits of retaining the collection in the county

9. The collection is fully accessible to the public. The Special Collections Division of the University Library has four archivists, two conservators and a librarian, along with support staff. Its collections are open to members of the public as well as to students of the university. The Broadlands Archives are regularly used for public exhibitions, conferences and seminars.

10. The estate papers relating to the Broadlands house, gardens and estate in Hampshire are a significant element of the collection. These constitute an integral record of the economic and social history of the Romsey area and of the county. It would be highly regrettable if they were to be dispersed and lost to Hampshire and such an outcome is likely should the University be unable to raise the finds for purchase. In their present location they are easily accessible for study by local historians.

11. The archive as a whole is a major heritage asset for the county, shedding light on the history of Hampshire families and individuals who have played a significant part in the affairs of the county and of the nation. For the University the archive is a major resource for academic and research work, and for Southampton's reputation. It underpins strategic priorities of the School of Humanities, including work associated with colonial history, migration and diaspora, and eighteenth-century literary and cultural studies. The collection attracts long-term academic visitors from across the UK and overseas, and it is a centrepiece for conferences and seminars. High-profile events included in 2007 an international conference on 60th anniversary perspectives on the independence of India and Pakistan, with more than 100 delegates, many from the subcontinent. Its removal and dispersal would be a loss not only to teaching and research at the University but also to local history and family history research on the part of Hampshire residents and visitors.