New! The Chaworth-Musters Collection

The Chaworths were one of the most prominent landed families in Nottinghamshire. They acquired the manors of Edwalton in the 13th century, Wiverton in the 14th century, and Annesley in the 15th century. The family was joined with the Musters family of Colwick Hall by the marriage of the last Chaworth heiress, Mary Ann Chaworth, to John Musters in 1805.

16 boxes of archival material relating to the Chaworth-Musters family are now available for researchers to consult in the Reading Room at King's Meadow Campus. The documents have been described in detail on the online catalogue under reference number ChM. Unfortunately, the collection is not a full record of the family and their concerns. It contains virtually no title deeds, and includes very few items from before the joining of the Chaworth and Musters families in 1805. The bulk of the collection dates from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The most remarkable part of the collection is a series of personal letters sent home from the trenches of the First World War by six of the seven sons of John P. Chaworth-Musters. Tragically, three of the sons died in action.

Further background material about the family and their records, including biographies of 19th and 20th-century family members, is available in a new Family and Estate Resource on the Manuscripts and Special Collections website.