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[Identification of item], in the Thomas Evans diary of travel in England and Wales, 1755-1759 and undated, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Purchase, 1999
Processed by: Alice Poffinberger, November 2010
Encoded by: Alice Poffinberger, July 2011
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This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Thomas Evans was rector of Severn Stoke beginning in 1775; Archdeacon of Worcester, 1787-1815. Doctor of Divinity, 1764.
Collection comprises a one-volume manuscript diary (131 pgs.) maintained by Evans during 15 journeys, probably begun while he served as a companion or tutor to George Harry Grey, later the 5th Earl of Stamford. For each journey, Evans provided a list of destinations, the number of miles between each, the total mileage for excursions, and occasionally the duration of each stage of the trip. This limited description serves as the only information provided for six of the journeys. For the remaining nine, Evans provided extensive description of towns and the county seats of noblemen (and their homes, with particular details regarding local architecture, furniture, paintings, and gardens), although Wales received less attention in this regard. Many of the trips began and ended at Enville in Staffordshire or Dunham (Massey) in Cheshire, both seats of the Grey family. Destinations included Brighthelmston, Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Canterbury, Glynnllifon, Cambridge, and Dunham, among many others. An undated, but clearly later, image of Evans was inserted into the front of the volume as a frontispiece. At some point, the volume suffered exposure to water, followed perhaps by mold, which caused slight damage to the text, especially in the front of the piece, along with some fading of the ink at other points. However, overall the writing remains quite legible.
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