Papers of the 18th and early 19th century Town Clerks of Bath
Reference Number
BC/3/2
Level of Description
Section
Title
Papers of the 18th and early 19th century Town Clerks of Bath
Date
1710-1888 [mostly 1770s-1830s]
Extent
Extent: 21 boxes
Description
Until the mid-nineteenth century Town Clerks were elected by the Councillors. Local lawyers, they were paid only a small honorarium, and continued their private practice alongside their work for the council. Often, no distinction was made by Clerks between the records created in the course of their work for the council, and those created by their own legal practice. The records reflect this, and include both council records and material related to their private legal practice.
The papers relate to the work of the following three town clerks:
John Jefferys, Town Clerk 1776-1800
Philip George senior, Town Clerk 1800-1817. Appointed 6 October 1800 on resignation of John Jefferys. Acted as deputy to John Jefferys from 1782. Born Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire. Also served as Clerk to the Trustees of Bath Turnpike Roads from 1809, Clerk to the Commissioners of the Bath Improvement Act (resigned 22 Oct 1795), and Visitor to the Mineral Water Hospital. Lived at 7 Belmont in 1819. Mrs Piozzi, in her Letters 1811-1816, described him as "an old superannuated creature". An oil portrait, presented by his grandson the Reverend George, hangs in the Council Chamber. His obituary in The Bath Chronicle stated he was ''late Town Clerk of this city, which important office he fulfilled for many years in a manner honourable to himself and beneficial to the public''.
Philip George junior, Town Clerk 1817-1860. Appointed 20 February 1817 on resignation of Philip George senior. Resigned 1860 on grounds of ill health and died 24 Jan 1861 aged 76. He began practising as a solicitor with his father at 7 Belmont. By 1819 he had moved to 14 Seymour Street and from 1824 he lived at 1 Norfolk Crescent. He was a solicitor, master extraordinary in chancery, commissioned in Court of King's Bench, Common Pleas and the Exchequer. Mrs Piozzi described him as "a handsome young fellow" in her Letters 1811-1816. A small number of private papers of Philip George junior's legal practice are with the records of the Bath Turnpike Trust at the Somerset Archives and Local Studies; however many of the papers in this collection are draft copies of legal papers relating to many aspects of his work as a lawyer, town clerk, and trustee of the Bath Turnpike Trust. This collection also includes some papers of John Morris, a circuit judge and professional associate of Philip George junior.
The collection is partly chronological and includes many draft briefs for prosecution and draft legal documents relating to leases and premises, together with bundles of letters, many of them written to Philip George senior and junior from other solicitors. Interspersed throughout the collection are papers relating to the estate of the Skurray Day family and property affairs relating to Eleazer Pickwick, Bath stage coach proprietor.
These papers are currently being catalogued by volunteers. Catalogue entries for the first 22 items are available online. Please contact the Record Office for more information on uncatalogued items.
