James West FRS (2 May 1703 – 2 July 1772) Recorder of Poole An archive of correspondence, petitions and electoral papers, 1747–1768.
Twenty five manuscript documents, principally on folded bifolia; nineteen letters signed by Sir Peter Thompson, mostly from Poole, dated 20 December 1760; 4 and 16 April, 21 July and 15 September 1764; two letters of 1 May, followed by 4, 13, 18, 20, 22 and 25 May, 1, 5 and 22 June, 11 July from London, and 31 August 1765; and 20 February 1768; together with Pusey Brooke’s signed letter, Portsmouth, 15 June 1747, to “My Lord”, probably the Duke of Newcastle; two extensively signed corporation petitions, 9 October 1759 and 2 April 1764; John Stanley’s signed letter concerning the Recordership, 4 March 1765; Mr Jolliffe’s unsigned note to Thompson, 18 May 1765; and a four-page list of Poole’s burgesses and their votes, 30 May 1765, annotated in red and black ink; one to four written pages per document, frequently with contemporary dockets, occasional address panels, postal markings and wax seals; original folds, occasional splitting, tears and small losses, chiefly to petitions and seal openings; scattered toning, spotting and staining, some ink show-through, the letter of 11 July 1765 on thin paper with leached ink; generally legible and well preserved. (25) A substantial archive concerning West’s duties as Recorder, his son’s proposed parliamentary candidature, and the contested Poole election of May 1765, with additional material on Newfoundland commerce, naval patronage and antiquarian collecting. The corporation’s petition of 1759 requests West’s resignation in favour of John Bond, citing his distance and inability to attend. Subsequent letters nevertheless seek his presence at judicial and civic occasions, Thompson arguing that regular attendance could establish parliamentary support for West junior. When Gulston senior proposes surrendering his seat to his son in May 1765, Thompson promotes a competing scheme linking West junior’s election with the transfer of the Recordership to Bond. West’s absence allows Joshua Mauger to gather the opposition. The burgesses’ list of 30 May 1765 records 120 names, identifying voting allegiances, placemen, minors and absentees, and the result: 45 votes for Gulston against 41 for Mauger. Thompson explains that both received 37 resident votes, Gulston’s advantage coming from non-resident supporters. The remarkable letter of 22 June 1765 recounts alleged bribery, disputed votes and the violence following Thompson’s decision to support Gulston. He reports an offer of 800 guineas for a bedridden burgess’s vote and describes money, ribbons and alcohol distributed to the crowd. Threatened with burning in effigy, he encounters the rioters: “Tito gave me several blows in my face; others pulled my Wigg.” Rescued by friends, he concludes: “I am almost certain, I should have been murdered if I had not been got into the House.” The correspondence survives despite his earlier request that West “offer it to Vulcan”. Beyond electoral affairs, the letter of 16 April 1764 seeks intelligence for Poole merchants concerning French claims in Newfoundland, warning of the loss of that “valuable Nursery of Seamen”. Appeals for the Tindalls seek naval gunner appointments after ships have been broken up, while Dampier’s prospects in the East India trade depend upon West’s influence. Collecting references include Collins’s unsold library and Dugdale’s Baronage with the author’s manuscript annotations. On 11 July 1765, Thompson discusses Mrs Lockyer’s coin collection, reportedly valued by Snelling, and the forthcoming sale of Serjeant Eyre’s collection, alongside West’s Royal Society business. An August postscript seeks a portrait or bust of Bacon, recalling examples associated with Mead, Folkes and Gorhambury. The final letter, 20 February 1768, advises keeping West’s proposed resignation of the Recordership secret until after the election. Sir Peter Thompson (1698–1770), merchant, antiquary and collector, was a native of Poole who established himself in Bermondsey, trading with Hamburg and Newfoundland. Knighted in 1745, he served as High Sheriff of Surrey and MP for St Albans (1747–54). A Fellow of the Royal Society and friend of the bibliographer Joseph Ames, he combined commercial and political interests with the collecting of books, manuscripts and antiquities, retiring to Poole in 1763. (“Thompson, Sir Peter (1698–1770), of Mill St., Bermondsey and Market St., Poole, Dorset”, in The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1715–1754, ed. Romney Sedgwick (London: HMSO, 1970)
[ translate ]Twenty five manuscript documents, principally on folded bifolia; nineteen letters signed by Sir Peter Thompson, mostly from Poole, dated 20 December 1760; 4 and 16 April, 21 July and 15 September 1764; two letters of 1 May, followed by 4, 13, 18, 20, 22 and 25 May, 1, 5 and 22 June, 11 July from London, and 31 August 1765; and 20 February 1768; together with Pusey Brooke’s signed letter, Portsmouth, 15 June 1747, to “My Lord”, probably the Duke of Newcastle; two extensively signed corporation petitions, 9 October 1759 and 2 April 1764; John Stanley’s signed letter concerning the Recordership, 4 March 1765; Mr Jolliffe’s unsigned note to Thompson, 18 May 1765; and a four-page list of Poole’s burgesses and their votes, 30 May 1765, annotated in red and black ink; one to four written pages per document, frequently with contemporary dockets, occasional address panels, postal markings and wax seals; original folds, occasional splitting, tears and small losses, chiefly to petitions and seal openings; scattered toning, spotting and staining, some ink show-through, the letter of 11 July 1765 on thin paper with leached ink; generally legible and well preserved. (25) A substantial archive concerning West’s duties as Recorder, his son’s proposed parliamentary candidature, and the contested Poole election of May 1765, with additional material on Newfoundland commerce, naval patronage and antiquarian collecting. The corporation’s petition of 1759 requests West’s resignation in favour of John Bond, citing his distance and inability to attend. Subsequent letters nevertheless seek his presence at judicial and civic occasions, Thompson arguing that regular attendance could establish parliamentary support for West junior. When Gulston senior proposes surrendering his seat to his son in May 1765, Thompson promotes a competing scheme linking West junior’s election with the transfer of the Recordership to Bond. West’s absence allows Joshua Mauger to gather the opposition. The burgesses’ list of 30 May 1765 records 120 names, identifying voting allegiances, placemen, minors and absentees, and the result: 45 votes for Gulston against 41 for Mauger. Thompson explains that both received 37 resident votes, Gulston’s advantage coming from non-resident supporters. The remarkable letter of 22 June 1765 recounts alleged bribery, disputed votes and the violence following Thompson’s decision to support Gulston. He reports an offer of 800 guineas for a bedridden burgess’s vote and describes money, ribbons and alcohol distributed to the crowd. Threatened with burning in effigy, he encounters the rioters: “Tito gave me several blows in my face; others pulled my Wigg.” Rescued by friends, he concludes: “I am almost certain, I should have been murdered if I had not been got into the House.” The correspondence survives despite his earlier request that West “offer it to Vulcan”. Beyond electoral affairs, the letter of 16 April 1764 seeks intelligence for Poole merchants concerning French claims in Newfoundland, warning of the loss of that “valuable Nursery of Seamen”. Appeals for the Tindalls seek naval gunner appointments after ships have been broken up, while Dampier’s prospects in the East India trade depend upon West’s influence. Collecting references include Collins’s unsold library and Dugdale’s Baronage with the author’s manuscript annotations. On 11 July 1765, Thompson discusses Mrs Lockyer’s coin collection, reportedly valued by Snelling, and the forthcoming sale of Serjeant Eyre’s collection, alongside West’s Royal Society business. An August postscript seeks a portrait or bust of Bacon, recalling examples associated with Mead, Folkes and Gorhambury. The final letter, 20 February 1768, advises keeping West’s proposed resignation of the Recordership secret until after the election. Sir Peter Thompson (1698–1770), merchant, antiquary and collector, was a native of Poole who established himself in Bermondsey, trading with Hamburg and Newfoundland. Knighted in 1745, he served as High Sheriff of Surrey and MP for St Albans (1747–54). A Fellow of the Royal Society and friend of the bibliographer Joseph Ames, he combined commercial and political interests with the collecting of books, manuscripts and antiquities, retiring to Poole in 1763. (“Thompson, Sir Peter (1698–1770), of Mill St., Bermondsey and Market St., Poole, Dorset”, in The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1715–1754, ed. Romney Sedgwick (London: HMSO, 1970)
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