Lost Treasures revisited – 'Why don’t you check the archives?'

14 October 2015

We continue our look back at the Lost Treasures of Stowe campaign. 

4th May 2012

Ah, a question so often asked!

The entire archive belonging to the Stowe estate and also the various collections of family papers that were accumulated have found their way to the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. They were sold along with everything else in 1921/22 and were eventually acquired by Henry E. Huntington, who emigrated to America and founded his eponymous library. Consequently, Stowe does not have the documents so many other properties rely on for research.

The hundreds of thousands of pieces in the Huntington that make up the Stowe Papers are largely uncatalogued, making research (once one has acquired funding and been granted permission, that is!) a massive undertaking.

We’re doing quite well, considering. The restoration of the State Rooms has been based largely on a series on transcripts that have been sent over by a researcher in California, and other sources are being located all the time to help the Lost Treasures project. With your continued help we can build up a new archive at Stowe House for generations to come.

So all is not lost without our archive!