'An Essay towards the Description of the North Division of Wiltshire, by me John Aubrey of Easton-Pierse', Written from 1659 to about 1694, but chiefly in 1671 by J. Aubrey
'An Essay towards the Description of the North Division of Wiltshire, by me John Aubrey of Easton-Pierse', called on the outside of the original parchment cover 'Hypomnemata Antiquaria A.' The arrangement is irregular, but the places of each Hundred are together: and there are many drawings, especially of arms, often coloured:
- The Index, dated 1660-94, is at fol. 190
- On fol. 215 is the fatal entry that William Aubrey borrowed the second volume of his brother's work ('Hypomnemata B': South Wiltshire ?) from the Ashmolean on Aug. 14, 1703: it has entirely dropped out of sight, although traced to Alderton in 1783, and to Thomas Thorpe the bookseller (from the Heber sale) in 1836
- A letter of William Aubrey, Jan. 7, 1694/5, is at fol. 155
- A specimen of 'old Mr. Th: Hobbes' writing is on fol. 216
Dates
- Creation: Written from 1659 to about 1694, but chiefly in 1671 by J. Aubrey
Extent
234 Leaves
Language of Materials
- English
Shelfmark
MS. Aubrey 3
Other Finding Aids
Falconer Madan, et al., A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the Quarto series (7 vols. in 8 [vol. II in 2 parts], Oxford, 1895-1953; reprinted, with corrections in vols. I and VII, Munich, 1980), vol. II, no. 25278
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Presented to the Ashmolean by the author.
Bibliography
- Most of the contents have been twice printed, by Sir Thomas Phillipps in 1821-38, and by J. E. Jackson in 1862.
Physical Facet
On paper
Dimensions
13 1/4 × 8 3/4 in.
Repository Details
Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk