At Mr Whitehurst's, Chirk.—Describes his journey (from Nuneaton), visiting Whitchurch and his sister at Llangollen. Is going to Croisllwd (Croesllwyd?) for the signing of an agreement.
(This letter was written some time between the departure of Francis Henry Egerton to Paris in 1802 and the death of his cousin the 3rd Duke and 6th Earl of Bridgewater on 8 March 1803. Since it comprises only a single sheet and there is no valediction, it is possible that it is incomplete.)
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Transcript
At Mr Whitehurst’s. Chirk
Friday Morning—
My dear Jane
Humphrey myself & two Sisters came here yesterday morning & stay’d dinner &c & Hump[h]r[e]y & I stopped all night—I had a very pleasant Journey to Wales thro’ Lichfield Stafford Eccleshall Market Drayton where I slept & started the next morning at six oClock for Whitchurch where I breakfasted I went to see the Church which is one of the handsomest I ever saw & so is the Income about 4000 £ P[e]r Annum the Rector is the Hon: Mr Eggerton first cousin to the Earl of BridgeWater who is the patron, the Rector is now in france has four Curates at 75 £ each but one is just left to take possession of a College living & the Other three are going to petition the trustees to divide his Salary between them & not to elect a fourth, the three Curates thinking themselves quite competent to do the duty between them—prayers every day, the other duty but little more than Nuneaton if any—From thence I came to Hanmer Overton by Winstay to Rhuabon & Llangollen where I safely arrived both me {1} & my Mare well & hearty between three & four in the afternoon on Tuesday Evening—My Sister Sally came to the door & did not know me until I spoke to her—She had been a little unwel† a week or two before but is fast recovering—I am going this Morning to Croisllwd to see Hugo with Mr Whitehurst Hump[hre]y David Edwards to sign an agreement between him & his Brothers that he shall have a Lease of all his Eldest Brother’s Lands for one and twenty years or for the joint lives of both his Brothers for their lives at a very low rent—I purpose being at home by Saturday week as I first {2} intended & unless you hear again from me to the contrary which is not likely you will expect me then—
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Some abbreviations by superscript letters have been expanded, the letters supplied being printed in square brackets. In the MS the indefinite article ‘a’ is sometimes attached to the succeeding word.
{1} A mark resembling a letter ‘d’ has been written over this word in pencil.
{2} Spelling uncertain.
† Sic.