A bundle of historic letters found in a rubbish skip were written principally by Edward Abney (later Sir Edward Abney MP) between 1660 and1663 to his father, James Abney at Willesley Hall near Ashby de la Zouch reveal an intriguing post-English Civil War family love story. They are being published to coincide with the Fine Press Book Fair 2005 at Oxford Brookes University
The letters provide a fascinating glimpse into a moment of tension within the Abney family in the aftermath of the English Civil Wars of 1642-1651.
Edward Abney was a teenager at the height of the war, and in 1661 was aspiring to make his fortune and uphold the family name. The son of well-to-do Derbyshire gentryman, Abney was actively soliciting a fellowship at Christ’s College, Cambridge whilst also considering the idea of a career in the civil law or even the Church.
The Restoration left the family in an uncertain position. Edward’s father James had participated in the royalist defence of Ashby castle in 1645. Yet, despite the collapse of the royalist cause and the fall of Charles I in 1649, he seems to have maintained his authority locally by being one of the first Derbyshire commissioners for the sequestration of royalist estates. He was also Sheriff of Derby in 1656. James Abney might have benefited from favourable patronage networks or an unwillingness to disrupt local power structures by punishing prominent royalists or removing them from positions of authority. During the flux of the 1640s and 1650s, James Abney it seems had played both ways but, by 1660, it was still unclear how the family would resolve their ambiguous social and political situation.
Edward Abney was at Christ’s College at a time of political ferment. The Master of the College was Ralph Cudworth, the eminent Platonist theologian. He had garnered favour with Oliver Cromwell sufficient for the invitation to give a sermon to the House of Commons in March 1647. The Restoration raised fresh doubts within the Cambridge academic hierarchy, who had not been unambiguously loyal to the Crown over the previous two decades. At Christ’s College, Ralph Cudworth – who greeted Charles II’s return with a set of congratulatory verses addressed to the King – faced considerable opposition to his reappointment as Master. Appointments to Fellowships were similarly highly political affairs and Edward Abney therefore had to tread carefully.
And Abney was in love. Whilst under the wing of Cudworth, Edward had met and become quite taken with Ralph Cudworth’s stepdaughter Damaris, and marriage was now being mooted. One difficulty for the Abney family was that the grandfather of Damaris had been one Thomas Andrewes.
A London linen-draper and devout Puritan, Andrewes had risen to become a prosperous merchant and moneylender. He became Alderman in February 1642 and was one of the principal financiers to Parliament during the first Civil War. Andrewes was one of judges appointed to try the King at Westminster and he attended most of the trial sessions in January 1649 and was present at Charles I's execution. A few days later, he unseated the royalist incumbent to become the first Lord Mayor of London under the republic.
Now, in 1661, Charles II’s government was moving to punish the regicides and their families – Andrewes died in 1659 and his multi-million pound estate in line for forfeiture by Parliament. The same estate (by 2005 standards) was likely to form part of Damaris Andrewes’s substantial marriage dowry (i.e. £150,000).
Edward Abney in his letters comes across as earnest and expansive. He is bold and often direct on “this business, which has caused the greatest trouble and perplexity of mind to me”. Earnestness turns to despair as his father seems to dither over the question of consent for the marriage to Damaris. Parental authority remained paramount in this period, both out of custom and for inheritance purposes. Edward uses all means he can to persuade his father, in whose hands his future effectively lay. He emphasises the social and intellectual qualities of his proposed bride, “a very comely and descreet person neither hath she any of the too common defects of lameness or crookedness” and “who has been piously educated”. The relationship with the eminent and influential Ralph Cudworth was important.
James Abney's prevarication over the course of five months in 1661 turns Edward’s subtle exhortations into despairing, almost poetical, pleadings: “I shall be wholly frustrated in, some cave or dessert (sic.) or solitary wilderness would be the fittest place for me to retire unto”.
The letters shed light on restoration attitudes to family life, marriage
and death, and on the postal service, etiquette and influence at a time of
such tension and uncertainty in English history.
The text is illustrated with twelve beautiful linocuts by Clare Melinsky reflecting
the topics and places in the letters. All are printed from the linoleum blocks.
Clare Melinsky was born in 1953, and grew up in Norwich; she studied at the
Central School of Art in London, and moved towards illustration by way of
theatre design and fabric printing. She has worked for Radio Times and the
Telegraph and Sunday Times, and during 2004-5 has designed the covers for
Penguin Books’ complete edition of Shakespeare’s Plays. She lives
and works in the Dumfriesshire countryside in Scotland.
The introduction and postscript are written by Edward Randall who read Modern History at Oxford University, specialising in the history of early Modern England, Europe and the Americas.
The letters have been described by Professor John Morrill of Cambridge University as "fascinating in themselves and confirmation that the past still has many secrets to offer up: this is indeed a wonderful historical synecdoche".
The publication will be of interest not only to collectors of limited edition private press books but also to those interested in the life and times of post-Restoration England in Cambridge University, London, the Midlands, the legal profession and government, and the many descendants of the Abney or Abney-Hastings family in the UK and USA.
The edition consists of 250 copies set in 14pt Caslon and printed on Magnani paper. About 67 pages bound by Fine Bindery Limited in black cloth and quarter maroon goatskin with slipcase at £75 including p&p (US$150). In addition there will be 50 special copies entirely bound in maroon goatskin with slipcase incorporating facsimiles of some letters at £135 including p&p (US$270). Both editions are signed by Clare Melinsky.
Contact: the publisher, Simon Randall, Craigower, Woodland
Rise, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0HZ
VAT Registered Number 862 2030 57
