ARCHER OF TANWORTH

Deeds and papers of the Archer family of Tanworth, created Barons Archer of Umberslade in 1747, together with papers of related or associated families, viz. Cheke, Russell, Tipping, Puckering and Windsor, and also including material relating to Sir Simon Archer (1581-1662), antiquary and friend of Sir William Dugdale.

This collection relates mainly to the Archer family estates in Warwickshire, principally around Tanworth and Solihull where they were settled from the twelfth century. It also contains, however, material relating to most central and eastern counties.

Also included are:

Papers (1672-1725) relating to the Cheeke, Russell and Tipping families to whom the Archers were related by the marriage of Catherine Tipping to Thomas (later Baron) Archer in 1726

Estate accounts etc. (1549-c.1650) relating to the Puckering family of Warwick, acquired through Sir Simon Archer's executorship of the estate of Sir Thomas Puckering, d. 1641

Some papers relating to the Windsor family (1752-1804) added to the collection through the marriage of Sarah, one of Thomas Lord Archer's daughters and co-heiresses to the fifth earl of Plymouth in 1788.

The collection is divided into three main sections as follows:

DR 37/1: c.3,700 deeds, c.1150-1767, over half relating to Tanworth, a further 1000 to other Warwickshire parishes and the remainder to out-county parishes

DR 37/2: 54 boxes containing estate papers (8 boxes: 1446-1743), legal papers (2 boxes: 1347-1664), official papers (2 boxes: 1216-1777), personal papers (10 boxes: 1373-1779), papers relating to the affairs of other families (9 boxes: 17th-18th centuries), court rolls (16 boxes: 1290-1769) etc.

DR 37/3: 63 volumes principally comprising estate records (1-27) mainly of the Archer estates but including some for the Puckering, Cheeke, Russell, Tipping and Windsor families; Simon Archer's executorship of the Sir Thomas Puckering's estate (28-33); Simon Archer's historical and antiquarian researches (34-5)