PRIVATE RECORDS
Research & Holdings

The Somerset Record Office holds very extensive collections which have been privately deposited by individuals, families and landed estates, and by solicitors who have acted for property owners large and small. Various ecclesiastical and corporate bodies have also left estate collections. Such collections may consist of a few deeds relating to a single property, or may be vast accumulations reflecting the management of a great estate from the Middle Ages onwards. Lists and indexes of the collections are available in the Somerset Record Office. Brief summaries of the contents of some major collections are provided here.

Estate collections are highly individual in character, but any such collection is likely to contain some of the following kinds of documents:

  • Documents relating to title to the estate, including deeds, leases, and wills, and papers concerning property disputes and litigation.
  • Documents relating to estate administration, including accounts, rentals, surveys, valuations, maps and estate correspondence.
  • Manorial documents, including court rolls and account rolls.
  • Personal papers, including correspondence, diaries and photographs, and papers accumulated in consequence of holding public office.