Byron Family: Business Correspondence and Estate Management
- AR1057/8
- Series
- 1773-1927
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.