Archives and Special Collections: Subject guides - Religious Archives

Forbes-Adam/Lawley/Thompson family papers

The Thompsons were originally a family of merchants from York until they settled at Escrick near York in the 1660s. This collection is quite rich in the correspondence of churchmen. There is a letter to Henry Thompson (d.1683) from Richard Sterne, Archbishop of York, 23 November 1668 [DDFA/39/38ii]. There are also a number of letters described as 'valuable autographs' from 18th-century clerics addressed to or collected by Beilby Thompson (1686-1750). These were all written by men who had controversial careers. For example, there are letters of William Cooke and William Lloyd, respectively Fellow of Eton and Bishop of Worcestor - the latter was put on trial by the Privy Council and both went mad. Another letter is from Edward Chandler, a controversialist involved in millenarian disputes. Two letters are from Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London and missionary in America, and Daniel Waterland, an anti-latitudinarian. There is also a letter to the Reverend J Clark from Arthur Charlett, Master of University College, Oxford, about the Ashmolean Museum [DDFA/39/1, 13, 16-19, 23-24, 36]. Other items include the building account for Escrick church 1848; a letter about laying the foundation stone in 1856 and papers relating to the church's rebuilding after fire [DDFA/39/37/1; DDFA(5)/1/1; DDFA(5)/13/509]. Also to be found are bank books and correspondence about the repair of Kexby church and papers about the benefice [DDFA(5)/2; DDFA(5)/13/103]; Riccall tithe rents for 1843 [DDFA(5)/4/1] and papers about Skipwith rectorial tithes [DDFA(5)/13/598] (see also Stephen Willoughby Lawley).