And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from E. PONSONBY, 116, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN. UK PREFACE. The manuscripts of the Earl of Verulam, preserved at Gorhambury, near St. Albans, consist for the most part of correspondence belonging to the latter half of the seventeenth century and to the eighteenth; there is extremely little relating either to Sir Nicholas Bacon, the Lord Keeper of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, or to his more famous son, Sir Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam and Viscount St. Albans. Gorhambury itself formed part of the possessions of St. Albans Abbey, and a hitherto unknown charter granted to the Abbey by Henry II is printed in extenso on page 1 of this report; Archbishop Beket witnesses the charter as Chancellor. After the dissolution Gorhambury was granted to Sir Ralph Rowlatt, of whom it was acquired by Sir Nicholas Bacon in 1555 (p. 185). It is probable that at least a considerable portion of the house (now a ruin) in Gorhambury Park, was erected after the acquisition of the property by Sir Nicholas. Sir Francis, as is well known, was dissatisfied with the means of obtaining a supply of water for the house, and erected, some distance to the north east, and on the road from St. Albans to Dunstable, a residence which became known as Verulam House, or the Pondyards. He died there in 1626. After his death the Gorhambury estate passed to his great niece, the wife of Sir Harbottle Grimston, speaker of the House of Commons, and Master of the Rolls. He appears to have resumed residence at Gorhambury itself and to have bestowed Verulam House upon his son George, who died issueless in 1655, after marrying Sarah, a daughter and co-heir of Sir Edward Alston; she enjoyed possession of it for life. Several letters from her, written to father-in-law, Sir Harbottle Grimston, during the year following that in which she was left a widow, occur in the collection (pp. 51-53), and refer to the house. It was finally pulled down in 1663, with the exception of a small portion which still stands. The building can have been of but modest dimensions as we learn from the Hearth Tax return for that year, that the demolished portion only contained eleven hearths. The old mansion at Gorham |