University Archives
Baines family, of Bell Hall
John Hewley (1619-1695), Whig MP for Pontefract, began buying land at Naburn near York in the 1660s and in 1679 he erected Bell Hall. He was married to Sarah Woolryche and they are reputed to have hidden nonconformist ministers behind their wood panelling. They left Bell Hall to their great nephew, Hewley Baines (1693-1760), in 1710 and it has stayed in the Baines family since. There are over 3000 items in the collection. They consist of very considerable estate papers including leases and wills for properties in Yorkshire, especially Naburn, Deighton, Wistow and Cawood. There are manorial records dating back to 1421 and the letters patent of 1542 granting to John Aske the site of Ellerton Priory. There are also accounts and vouchers (1671-1883) including the 17th century lawyers' accounts of Arthur Robinson and the household accounts of Mary Robinson 1675-1703. This is also a collection rich in correspondence; numbering just over 3000 items in total, there are over 2000 letters spanning 1760-1918. The earliest includes that of Hewley John Baines (1762-1830), his wife, Mary Mortimer (1762-1826) and their eldest son, Hewley Mortimer Baines (1788-1874). However, it is dominated by that of William Mortimer Baines (1830-1912) who travelled out to New Zealand and bought land in Auckland and the Waikato. His letters thow light on political and economic affairs in New Zealand such as relations with the Maori and goldmining. He married Mary Ann Verdon (1839-c.1932) and they lived in Auckland, before returning to their Naburn inheritance in 1868. There are many letters from friends and contacts in New Zealand. They had 15 children all of whom lived into old age except one and the correspondence contains letters of this generation including some from India and South Australia. [DDBH]