Unique Manuscripts at William Salt Library Stafford

The William Salt Library in Stafford holds an extraordinary repository of antiquarian material, local history, and rare British documentation collected primarily by the 19th-century banker William Salt. This article outlines the unique manuscripts preserved in the institution, ranging from the nationally significant 1676 Compton Census to medieval cartularies, private family archives, and the working papers of prominent regional historians.

The Compton Census of 1676

Among the most celebrated manuscripts in the library is the Salt Manuscript copy of the Compton Census. Conducted in 1676 under the direction of Henry Compton, Bishop of London, this ecclesiastical survey recorded the numbers of Conformists (Anglicans), Papists (Roman Catholics), and Nonconformists across the provinces of Canterbury and York. The copy preserved at Stafford is exceptionally complete and serves as an indispensable primary source for national religious demographics in the Restoration era.

Antiquarian Notes and Draft County Histories

The library preserves irreplaceable original drafts and research files from the pioneering antiquarians of Staffordshire:

• Stebbing Shaw’s Papers: Notes, correspondence, and unpublished drafts for his ambitious, unfinished History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (published 1798–1801). The collection contains early transcriptions of parish records and descriptions of monuments that no longer survive.
• Walter Chetwynd’s Manuscripts: Chetwynd's 17th-century History of Pirehill Hundred, comprising early local genealogical compilations and parish descriptions.
• Sampson Erdeswicke’s Transcripts: Contemporary manuscript copies of Erdeswicke’s late 16th-century Survey of Staffordshire, which document estate ownership and pedigrees before the English Civil War.

Medieval Deeds, Charters, and Manorial Rolls

Spanning the 12th to the 19th centuries, thousands of unique estate documents detail land tenure and local administration. These include:

• Early parchment charters with surviving wax seals from monastic houses and baronies across Staffordshire and the West Midlands.
• Manorial court rolls documenting copyhold tenures, boundary disputes, and local governance.
• Cartularies and title deeds connected to prominent historic families, such as the Bagot, Wolseley, Littleton, and Chetwynd lineages.

Heraldic Visitations and Pedigrees

William Salt gathered numerous illuminated and drawn heraldic manuscripts. These include:

• Manuscript transcripts of Heraldic Visitations to Staffordshire by the College of Arms, including visitations carried out by Robert Glover (1583), Richard St George (1614), and Sir William Dugdale (1663–1664).
• Unique hand-painted rolls of arms, armorial indices, and genealogical scrolls tracing local landowning dynasties back to the Norman Conquest.

The Staffordshire Views and Architectural Surveys

While largely visual, the collection of topographical manuscripts represents a distinct archival asset. Salt systematically commissioned artists—most notably John Buckler and Thomas Peploe Wood—to produce original watercolour studies and measured architectural sketches of every church, manor house, and ancient bridge across the county during the 1830s and 1840s. These bound volumes serve as a detailed record of buildings that were subsequently altered or demolished during the Victorian era.