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The archive of Robert Seymour Bridges (1844 – 1930) including correspondence and literary manuscripts of Bridges’ two close friends, Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 – 1889) and Digby Dolben (1848 – 1867), has been acquired by the nation from the executors of Bridges’ grandson, Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridges, through the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme and allocated to the Bodleian.

Robert Seymour Bridges was Poet Laureate from 1913 to his death in 1930 and during this period was one of the most successful and admired poets writing in English. His archive includes the ‘octavo volume’, approximately 300 pages of his poetic drafts in the period 1882 to 1925, the major surviving source for Bridges’ creative process; papers relating to his wartime anthology The Spirit of Man and the manuscripts and corrected proofs for Testament of Beauty, Bridges’ most significant and widely-read work which sets out his understanding of man’s nature. It was published in 1929 by Oxford University Press, in time for Bridges’ 85th birthday, and by 1946 it had sold over 70,000 copies.

The archive also contains about 180 letters bound with the manuscripts by authors including T.E. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, A.E. Housman, Rudyard Kipling, E.M. Forster, W. B Yeats and J.M. Barrie; and the letters and poems of Bridges’ cousin, Digby Dolben, also a poet, who drowned at the age of 19.

The centrepiece is the collection of papers of Gerard Manley Hopkins, which includes his ‘A’ Manuscript of 74 poems (44 in autograph, the rest in Bridges’ hand) with an extract from St Winefred’s Well, poems in Latin and Greek, prayers and related matter; his letters to Bridges and to his Highgate tutor, Canon R. W. Dixon; letters from Bridges to Hopkins as well as three manuscripts in Hopkins’ hand (a music manuscript and transcriptions of two poems by Dolben).

The archive of Robert Bridges not only contains all the major surviving manuscripts of a British poet laureate, but it also has highly valuable correspondence from friends and fellow-poets, which show Bridges to have been the centre of a cultural circle of writers, musicians and artists whom he inspired by his intelligence and lively ideas.

It is well-catalogued thanks to Bridges’ son, Edward and the Bodleian Library, where much of the collection has been cared for since 1969.

Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, said: “The Bridges Papers contain literary manuscripts, correspondence and other papers of vital importance for our understanding and appreciation of some of the greatest writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. We are hugely grateful to Lord Bridges’ executors and to the AIL scheme for entrusting this outstanding material to the Bodleian.”

Michael Ellis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said: “As one of a distinguished group of British poets, we are fortunate to acquire this rich archive of Robert Seymour Bridges for the benefit of the nation. Containing dozens of manuscripts from two poets that he championed and letters from some of the great literary icons of the Victorian era, we can now share and learn from these documents for the benefit of people today and future generations.”

Edward Harley, Chairman, Acceptance in Lieu Panel, said: “The preservation of our literary heritage is a matter which is of primary importance. To have accepted the archive and papers of three such important and distinctive voices in the UK’s literary history is an important achievement for the AIL Scheme. I want to thank Lord Bridges’ executors for making the offer of the archive to the nation and for ensuring that these important manuscripts will be preserved for future generations to enjoy at the Bodleian.”

Details of the material:

• The archive of Robert Bridges, including papers of Digby Dolben

Includes the ‘octavo volume’, approx. 300 pages of poetic drafts (Dep. Bridges 18), the major surviving source for Bridges’ creative process, and the manuscripts and corrected proofs for Testament of Beauty, Bridges’ most significant and widely-read work (Dep. Bridges 9-13). Approx. 180 letters bound with the manuscripts, by authors including T.E. Lawrence, A.E. Housman (2), Rudyard Kipling, E.M. Forster (2), J.M. Barrie (2) and others. The remaining poetical drafts (Dep. Bridges 1-8, 15-17, 19, 20, 58-60), annotated editions, page proofs and related matter; the manuscripts for RB’s dramatic works; those for his prose works; for his church music; his miscellaneous literary papers (including poetic drafts, the memoir of life at Bart’s hospital and the minute book for the Society for Pure English); and the correspondence and papers relating to the poet laureateship and to the Order of Merit (Dep. Bridges 21-52, 65-72).  The letters and poems of Digby Dolben and 14 letters from W.B. Yeats (Dep. Bridges 105), which include important literary, personal and political content. The letters from John Masefield (92 letters and three mss); a long series from Robert Bridges to Lionel Muirhead (338 letters and 10 mss); the letters by A.E. Housman (ten); the letters by Coventry Patmore (24); the letters by Laurence Binyon (13, and 5 manuscript poems); the letters to and from R.W. Dixon; and the remaining correspondence of Robert Bridges, including letters by T.E. Lawrence, Edward Elgar, Thomas Hardy, E.M. Forster and many others, including several hundred letters by Bridges himself.

• Papers of Gerard Manley Hopkins

(a) The ‘A’ Manuscript

comprising approximately 74 poems (44 in autograph), with an extract from St Winefred’s Well, poems in Latin and Greek, prayers and related matter (Dep. Bridges 61) is one of the most important surviving sources for the works and creative method of this important poet.

(b) Correspondence

the letters to Robert Bridges, comprising approx. 171 autograph letters signed including two partial drafts of poems (Dep Bridges 91-92) and the letters to R.W. Dixon, approx. 39 letters and four manuscripts for poems (Dep. Bridges 93)

(c) Other papers

The remaining correspondence relating to Hopkins (Dep. Bridges 62-63), including the important letters by Bridges to Hopkins and from the latter’s mother and sister, as well as three manuscripts in Hopkins’ hand (a music manuscript and transcriptions of two poems by Digby Dolben). Robert Bridges’ annotated presentation copy (to John Sampson) of Hopkins’ Poems, 1918 (Dep. Bridges 62-64)

• Additional manuscripts

17th-century receipt books by Elizabeth Dolben and Ann Dolben; the Sir Gilbert Dolben sammelband of five manuscripts and the Sir William Dolben commonplace book, 1652-5.

The acceptance of this archive settled £850,340 of tax.

The Acceptance in Lieu scheme is administered by the Arts Council. The Acceptance in Lieu Panel, chaired by Edward Harley, advises on whether property accepted in lieu is of suitable importance and offered at a value which is fair to both nation and taxpayer. AIL allows those who have a bill to Inheritance Tax to pay the tax by transferring important cultural, scientific or historic objects to the nation.  Material accepted under the scheme is allocated to public collections and is available for all. In the last decade this important government initiative has brought over £330m worth of treasures into public ownership for the enjoyment of all – see more at: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/cultural-property/tax-incentives/acceptance-lieu/

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford is the largest university library system in the United Kingdom. It includes the principal University library – the Bodleian Library – which has been a legal deposit library for 400 years; as well as 27 libraries across Oxford including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, over 80,000 e-journals and outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera. Members of the public can explore the collections via the Bodleian’s online image portal at digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk or by visiting the exhibition galleries in the Bodleian’s Weston Library. For more information, visit www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

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