Habington collection of material relating to Worcestershire

Collections relating to Worcestershire compiled by Thomas Habington of Hindlip (1560-1647), Catholic recusant and antiquary; early 17th century, with later additions. Habington's collections were made during his enforced retirement in Worcestershire after his conviction for treason in connection with the Gunpowder Plot. For his life see the introduction (I (1895), 5-19) to J. Amphlett, A Survey of Worcestershire by Thomas Habington (Worcs. Hist. Soc., 2 vols., 1895, 1899). Habington's materials for a history of Worcestershire came into the hands of Dr William Hopkins, prebendary of Worcester (d. 1700) and his successor, Dr William Thomas (1670-1738). They were purchased on the latter's death by Dr Charles Lyttelton (later Bp of Carlisle and PSA). A substantial part of Habington's collections remained at Hagley Hall (Sotheby sale, 12 Dec. 1978); the present MSS were bequeathed by Lyttelton to SA in 1768 (Minute Book XI, 12 Jan. 1769, p. 5), and a small fragment is in BL Harley MS 2205 (see Amphlett, I (1895), 20-2; Sotheby's sale-cat., 12 Dec. 1978, lot 61). HAB/01-06 (previously SAL MS 143-148) (described by Amphlett, ibid, 23-5) consist of autograph drafts by Habington, with contemporary and later transcripts and additions. The MSS were lent to the Rev. Treadway Nash in 1774 who made extensive use of them in his Collections for the History of Worcestershire (2 vols., 1782); for the history of the papers see Nash, ibid, I (1782), i-ii; V. Green, The History. of the City. of Worcester (1796), ix-x; D. C. Cox, 'This Foolish Business' Dr Nash and the Worcestershire Collections, Worcs. Hist. Soc., Occasional Publications, no. 7 (1993); C. R.J. Currie, C. P. Lewis (eds.), English County Histories. A Guide (Alan Sutton, Stroud, Glos., 1994), 423-7.