| Description | This is another artificial grouping of documents, created before the involvement of the Record Office in listing. Although many of the items are from the time of Sir Robert John Wilmot Horton, some come from the two Sir Robert John Wilmots in the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
There is no real distinction between the `bound volumes', the `subject sequence' and the `ABC sequence': for example, D3155/WH 2954 relates closely in content to the items on Ceylon in the subject sequence (WH 2907-2912). The format too is similar, with many limp-bound groups of letters, with a broad description of contents on the front cover (often including a number which may be part of an earlier reference system). Some volumes, though are hard covered, for example, D3155/WH 2939-2941. However, there are many individual items here, which have never been part of a bound volume, for example, the two copy deeds, D3155/WH 3076 and 3077
Many volumes bear distinct signs of examination and some kind of sorting in the 1840s (a frequent date is 1843). Before his return from Ceylon, Wilmot Horton had been discussing the making of extracts from his papers with his private secretary, George Lee (see D3155/WH 2828-2829, 2960, 2969). Quite probably, this kind of work continued after Wilmot Horton's death, perhaps with a view to publication. A number of surviving volumes (eg, D3155/WH 3020 and 3060) give some idea of the arrangement of the correspondence in the mid-nineteenth century, which should prove useful in any final classification |
| Administrative History | Earl Bathurst was secretary of state for war and the colonies between Jan 1812 and Apr 1827. The post was then held by Goderich until Sep 1827 and by Huskisson until May 1828. Of course, these men figure prominently in Wilmot Horton's correspondence and in notes and memoranda during the term of his under-secretaryship in that department. |