Manuscripts and Special Collections is part of Libraries, Research and Learning Resources at the University of Nottingham. It is based at King's Meadow Campus in Nottingham in England. The university has been collecting manuscripts since the early 1930s and now holds approximately 3 million documents, extensive holdings of Special (Printed Book) Collections, and the East Midlands Collection of local material, all of which are available for researchers to use in the supervised Wolfson Reading Rooms.
Records held
Manuscript and archive holdings include the papers of leading Nottinghamshire families and their estates, the records of local businesses and organisations, the personal papers of political, diplomatic, literary, scientific and academic figures, as well as some of the historical records of the university and its predecessor, University College Nottingham.
The most important collections of family and estate papers, with material ranging in date from the 12th to the 20th centuries, include: Papers of the Pelham-Clinton family, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, of Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire Papers of the Cavendish family, Dukes of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Cavendish-Bentinck family, Dukes of Portland, of Bolsover Castle and Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire, including the Portland Literary Papers from the library at Welbeck Abbey Papers of the Willoughby family, Barons Middleton, of Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire and Middleton Hall, Warwickshire Papers of the Pierrepont family, Earls Manvers, of Holme Pierrepont Hall and Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire Papers of the Monckton-Arundell family, Viscounts Galway, of Serlby Hall, Nottinghamshire Papers of the Drury-Lowe family of Locko Park, Derbyshire Papers of the Denison family of Ossington, Nottinghamshire, including John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington (1800-1873), Speaker of the House of Commons Papers of Sir Andrew Buchanan, 1st Baronet (1807-1882), Diplomat Papers of the Mellish family of Blyth Hall and Hodsock Priory, Nottinghamshire Papers of the Clifton family of Clifton, Nottingham Papers of the Eyre family of Grove, Nottinghamshire Papers of the Holden family of Nuthall Temple, Nottinghamshire Papers of the Parkyns family of Bunny, Nottinghamshire Papers and Correspondence of Charles Brinsley Marlay of Westmeath, Ireland and his family, including the Bury family, Earls of Charleville Correspondence of the Wrench family of Baslow, Derbyshire Correspondence of Mary Howitt (1799–1888), writer
Literary collections include: The Wollaton Library Collection, containing 10 medieval manuscripts. Items from the Wollaton Library Collection feature in the web resource Wives, Widows and Wimples Papers of and relating to D.H. Lawrence (1885–1930), writer. The collections include original correspondence, artworks and literary papers of D.H. Lawrence, as well as items relating to him, such as research papers, biographical papers, photographs, audio recordings and correspondence of his friends and associates. There is also a Lawrence Special Collection of published works, including first editions, periodical literature and critical literature. Papers of Henry Kirke White (1785-1806), poet The Cambridge Drama collection of printed works of drama or about the stage. It includes items which had previously belonged to the Cambridge Garrick Club. The Cambridge Shakespeare Collection, of editions of Shakespeare's works, and illustrated volumes with engravings and drawings of characters, actors, and scenes from the plays. The Woodward Collection, of printed works concerning the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy The Coventry Patmore collection, of printed volumes by and about the poet Coventry Patmore (1823-1896) The Briggs Collection of pre-1851 educational literature The Eiríkur Benedikz Icelandic Collection of printed material relating to Norse, Icelandic and Viking Studies