Miscellaneous Documents

I have recently acquired copies of some interesting documents concerning Witley Court and the "Dudley" family. These are as follows:
"The Earl of Dudley, Mr Lumley, And Her Majesty's Theatre: A Narrative Of Facts (1863)" by Benjamin Lumley. Bosworth & Harrison,re-printed by Kessinger Publishing ISBN 1120757258.
Mr. Lumley was an early proprietor/manager of Her Majesty's Theatre in London's west end who became associated with Lord Ward in the 1850's in an effort to provide a more sound financial footing on which to run the premises. This narrative outlines the "facts" from Lumley's point of view with regards to Ward's alleged pecuniary role in the venture which soon began to become financially problematical . Also included are some letters of correspondence between the various parties (written by Ward from Witley Court) which serve to illustrate the strained relations which resulted and the eventual collapse of Lumley's empire.

List of Articles ............ Worcestershire Archaeological Society 1923/24 - 2008 including index, compiled by Rod Sproat. Rod has put together a list of transaction articles of the W.A.S. of which he is a serving official. Witley Court itself is featured in one of these reports dating from 1996 (see bibliography section of main website).

The late Graham Stansfield's widow, Nancy, has kindly provided me with a specification from a firm of chartered architects which dates from late 1998. This document specifies the standards of materials and workmanship to be adhered to with regards to restoration work to be undertaken on the parish church and the link block adjacent to the court.
Of more general interest is a tape recording of reminiscences in an interview with the present 4th Earl of Dudley, which I propose to transcribe at some point in the near future, time permitting. This interview took place on the 25th October 1995 at the Earl's London residence.

Finally, on page 66, Hidden Gems, of the latest edition of the English Heritage house magazine "Heritage Today", there is a full page article devoted to none other than Spencer Trickett, site supervisor at Witley Court heritage centre. He seems to get in everywhere !