John Locke letters discovered

Two 300 year-old letters by John Locke, one of England’s greatest philosophers, have been discovered at the Record Office.

One of the letters is dated from 1694 and concerns the formation of the Bank of England.  The other is from 1685 and concerns Locke’s expulsion from Oxford University, his exile to Holland and his advice for the education of Edward Clarke’s son.

The letters were found amongst the Sanford Collection (DD\SF), an archive of important historical papers and information which includes those belonging to Locke’s friend, Edward Clarke, MP for Taunton.  The Sanford archives were purchased with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, and have now been fully catalogued.  Liz Grant, the archivist completing the catalogue, recognised John Locke's handwriting and distinctive signature.

The letters were in very bad condition when they were discovered, and major conservation work has been carried out to stabilise them.

To see large images of the letters, please use the links below:
1685 John Locke letter
1694 John Locke letter

John Locke's Somerset connections

John Locke (1632-1704) was born on 29 August 1632 at Wrington, Somerset. His father was a Justice of the Peace in Chew Magna.  Soon after his birth the family moved to Pensford and he then grew up in the village of Belluton (a hamlet in the parish of Pensford).
In 1647 Locke was sent to the prestigious Westminster School, London, under the patronage of Alexander Popham, a Justice of the Peace for Somerset and Somerset land owner. From there he went to Christ Church, Oxford.

John Locke and the Sanfords

The Locke letters appear within the Sanford Estate archive due to his close friendship with Edward Clarke of Chipley, MP for Taunton 1690-1710, and Edward’s wife Mary. (Two of the Clarke daughters married Sanford sons, thus joining the families and amalgamating the family papers). It is unknown how Locke and Edward Clarke became friends.  Locke was a distant relative of Mary Clarke (née Jepp, daughter of Samuel Jepp of Chew Magna) and probably came to know Edward after their marriage in 1675.  The friendship probably then grew in London, where Clarke was a lawyer and fellow Whig.