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Record description
Records of the Byron Family of Coulsdon Court
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Byron Family: Business Correspondence and Estate Management

A significant element of this Series is a comprehensive bundle of papers concerning the appointment and employment of bailiffs on the estate from 1880 to the sale of the estate in 1921. The bundle includes a memoir of John Gilbert, bailiff to the Byrons from 1839 to 1880, written by Edmund Byron probably on John’s death in 1889.

There is also a set of correspondence concerning the case of Hall v Byron, a legal challenge brought against Edmund’s plans to enclose Farthing Downs. The case was heard before Chancery in 1873. The Series also includes documentation concerning the subsequent sale of the Coulsdon Commons to the City of London in 1883. It is recommended that researchers consult collection AR384 in conjunction with these papers. (AR384 comprises an archive donated by Eric Byron to the Museum of Croydon in 1934).

There is correspondence with solicitors, other professionals, and companies and individuals who had some involvement with the estate, including matters of dispute.

There are schedules listing details of the land held and tax schedules; the tax schedules give snapshots of the overall sources and taxable value of Edmund’s annual income.

The extent of the Byrons’ land holdings is highlighted, with land held in Golders Green and Hendon as well as in Coulsdon.

Byron Family: Domestic and Family Expenses and Accounts

This Series covers the domestic life and running of the household of the Byron’s at Coulsdon Court. It includes a wages book covering the appointment, length of service and other information on all the core domestic staff appointed between 1890-1921. There are receipts and other papers relating to a wide range of domestic purchases and household items. Edmund Byron was a collector of fine art, furniture, and artefacts and many of these purchases are detailed, including how they were hung and distributed around the house.

There is a set of receipts detailing nursing expenses during Edmund’s final illness in 1921.

There is a valuation of the furniture and contents of Coulsdon Court, listing items room by room, produced for insurance purposes in 1905.

There is overlap between this item and AR1057/10, which covers the sale of the estate, including that of Coulsdon Court itself including more inventories and sales particulars of the contents of Coulsdon Court, with lists room by room. These documents together give an insight into the house itself and how it was furnished, both in the domestic spaces as well as the more public rooms.

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