Series
Secretaries of State: State Papers Military
Catalogue reference: SP 41
What's it about?
SP 41
Mostly letters and papers, dated 1702-1782, directed to the Secretaries of State in their military capacity, chiefly by the Secretary at War, and the Board of Ordnance (records primarily in SP 34), both activated by the Secretaries. Included are...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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SP 41
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Title (The name of the record)
- Secretaries of State: State Papers Military
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Date (When the record was created)
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1640-1786
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Description (What the record is about)
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Mostly letters and papers, dated 1702-1782, directed to the Secretaries of State in their military capacity, chiefly by the Secretary at War, and the Board of Ordnance (records primarily in SP 34), both activated by the Secretaries. Included are the copious military memoranda, statistical and financial, assembled by the secretaries and left by them in the State Paper Office. As most of the secretaries' out-letters to the Secretary at War survive only from 1755 this series provides useful evidence of the control exercised by the secretaries over the Secretary at War, as well as of their direct mandates to the military.
Some documents are dated as late as 1786, although it is clear that 1782 was intended as the terminal date for the series, which was formerly known as State Papers Domestic Military.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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Secretaries' out-letters to military commanders in Europe are in SP 87
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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48 bundles and volumes
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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After the retirement of William Blathwayt in 1704, Secretaries at War were usually junior politicians who took their orders from the Secretaries of State in military matters, if the latter did not issue them direct to the military.
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- The series is calendared in part in: Calendar of State Papers Domestic Anne 2 vols ed R P Mahaffy (London 1916-1924) Calendar of Home Office Papers in the Reign of George III 4 vols eds J Redington and R A Roberts (London 1878-1899) There is an index to most of the series in 'An Alphabetical Guide to certain War Office and other Military Records' in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes LIII (London 1931). Please speak to staff at the Map and Large Document Room enquiry desk for the precise location.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C13583/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: SP
Records assembled by the State Paper Office, including papers of the Secretaries...
You are currently looking at the series: SP 41
Secretaries of State: State Papers Military