Thomas Nowell Sermon, Correspondence, and Related Material: Finding Aid mssHM 84141
Melissa Haley
The Huntington Library
November 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Thomas Nowell sermon, correspondence, and related material
Creator:
Nowell, Thomas, 1730-1801
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 84141
Physical Description:
0.08 Linear Feet
(1 volume)
Date (inclusive): 1768-after 1916
Date (bulk): 1768-1772
Abstract: Correspondence and manuscripts regarding the controversy over Thomas Nowell's 1772 Charles I remembrance sermon before the
House of Commons, bound together with the printed sermon.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
mssHM 84141. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Antiquates, May 2023.
According to a manuscript note following the table of contents, the items in this volume were passed down to Margaret Nowell,
niece of the author, and her husband Richard Twopeny (died 1843) following Thomas Nowell's death. The material was then passed
to their son Richard Twopeny (died 1871), his widow Catherine Twopeny (died 1872), William Cayley (died 1916), and Osbert
Arthur Cayley (died 1947).
Thomas Nowell (1730-1801) was born in Cardiff and was educated at Oriel College, University of Oxford. In 1764, he was named
principal of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford; in 1771, he was appointed to a professorship of modern history, also at Oxford. Nowell
delivered a controversial Charles I remembrance sermon before the House of Commons on January 30, 1772, the anniversary of
the king's execution.
Correspondence and manuscripts regarding the controversy over Thomas Nowell's 1772 Charles I remembrance sermon before the
House of Commons, bound together with the printed sermon. Letters to Nowell are from W. (presumably Walter) King and Dr. (presumably
James) King, the sermon's printer Henry Hughs, Lord Lichfield, Thomas Fitzmaurice, the Rev. Richard Scrope, and others; letters
are both in support of and in opposition to Nowell's sermon. In addition, there are two copies of Thomas Nowell letters to
unidentified recipients. Also present in the volume are a manuscript vote of thanks for Nowell's sermon from the House of
Commons with an order to print, January 31, 1772; and manuscript extracts from a letter of Edward Gibbon and from the Annual
Register regarding the sermon. The front of the volume contains a manuscript table of contents and provenance note, the bulk
of which was most likely written in the late 19th century with a note added after 1916 at the end.
Processed by Melissa Haley, November 2023.
Bound in: Thomas Nowell. A sermon preached before the honourable House of Commons, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on Thursday,
January XXX, 1772, mssHM 84141a.
Items were arranged and bound together with the printed sermon prior to acquisition.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sermons, English -- 18th century
Great Britain -- History -- 18th century
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts (documents)
Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649
England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons
Volume 1
Thomas Nowell sermon, correspondence, and related material 1768-after 1916