| Admin History | The bulk of this collection (about 100 letters) is made up of letters written by William, as Duke of Clarence and King, to James William Daniell (1773-c.1855). Many of these letters deal with business related to the Park Farm and Gardens around Bushy House: writing from different towns in Germany, William communicates to Daniell specific instructions to be given to the farmer, the gardener (e.g. buying and selling stocks; introduction of a threshing machine) and the main housekeeper at Bushy House, Mrs Oak.
Unfortunately, very little is know about Daniell's life, but it appears that he was, firstly, hired to be tutor to the FitzClarence children and he then served as Librarian to their father and later as steward at Bushy at least until 1826. This very important piece of information is to be found in Claire Tomalin's book, "Mrs Jordan's Profession"; according to Tomalin, Daniell's letters to the FitzClarence family were preserved and handed down through the family and are now in the hands of Daniell's great-great-great niece, Diana Daniell. From Tomalin's words it is unclear, however, whether any of these letters are from or to the Duke of Clarence - in which case they could complement the collection of papers held in the Royal Archives. In the bibliography of her book, however, Tomalin states that letters of the Duke of Clarence, Sophia FitzClarence and others are held in the De L'Isle Archive at Maidstone.
Although the mentioned letters to Daniell make up the bulk of the collection, other papers include: (4) letters from the Duke of Clarence to Miss Sketchley (probably a governess to William's illegitimate children); (6) letters from the Duke of Clarence to Lieutenant General Samuel Hawker; (4) letters from George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, to Daniell; (3) partial letters from Sophia FitzClarence to Miss Turner (Sophia's companion-governess), accompany by a transcription of them and other letters written to Miss Turner during the period when Sophia was in Paris (in 1815); a letter from Sophia FitzClarence to her brother George FitzClarence; a letter from Lord Muldgrave (Phipps, Henry, General, 1st Earl of Mulgrave) to the Duke of Clarence; typewritten, biographical sketches (27 pages) of the FitzClarence Family. Despite their different nature, all documents have been arranged chronologically. |
| Custodial History | The collection of Daniell's papers in the Royal Archives was bequeathed to Sir Robert Christopher 'Robin' Mackworth-Young, Royal Librarian, in 1975 by Thomas R.C. Goff. |