Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, note of case hearing on 7 January 2015: The Archive (Case 11, 2014-15)

Application

1. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) met on 7 January 2015 to consider an application to export The Thomas Walpole Archive. The value shown on the export licence application was £125,000 which represented an agreed sale price subject to the granting of an export licence. The expert adviser had objected to the export of the archive under the third Waverley criterion, on the grounds that it was of outstanding significance for the study of the history of the eighteenth century.

2. The eight regular RCEWA members present were joined by three independent assessors, acting as temporary members of the Reviewing Committee.

3. The applicant confirmed that the value did not include VAT and that VAT would be payable on part of the archive (the unbound letters) in the event of a UK sale. The applicant also confirmed that the owner understood the circumstances under which an export licence might be refused and that, if the decision on the licence was deferred, the owner would allow the archive to be displayed for fundraising.

Expert’s submission

4. The expert adviser had provided a written submission stating that the archive comprised c. 700 letters with some related papers created by Thomas Walpole (1727-1803), MP and banker, and his descendants. The papers complemented another archive of Thomas Walpole of a similar size now housed in Cambridge University Library. Thomas was a member of the famous Walpole family: his father was Horatio [Horace], 1st of Wolterton, diplomat and politician, brother of Sir , Prime Minister under George I and George II. The archive provided a detailed picture of the workings of finance, business and diplomacy from the unusual point of view of a man who, although not well-known himself, evidently had connections with the biggest names in politics, business and diplomacy of the latter half of the 18th century.

5. Thomas had married into the Vanneck family, rich merchants, which gave him a place in the London business world. By 1760 he was one of the leading men in the City, and as such, leading politicians relied on him as a source for the views of the City on political matters. His connections were reflected for example in the correspondence with William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham - containing important historical material relating to reactions to the American War of independence and Walpole’s role in trying to negotiate peace between Britain and France in 1782. Taken overall, the correspondence was exceptional for its insights into the complexity of the period from the American to the French Revolutions, and for the numbers of letters from major figures: Pitt, Newcastle, Camden, Fox, Necker, etc. In the letters these leaders discussed matters of great significance for eighteenth-century British history, especially regarding Anglo-American relations at this critical juncture. The papers also provided a very personal angle on the workings of the military- fiscal state, a key aspect of 18th-century British history, linking family, business and high politics.

6. The Walpole family connection was of prime importance, and the correspondence revealed how Thomas Walpole was able to build on the family’s eminence: the West Indian estates, the banking connection with the Alexanders of Edinburgh, the East India Company and the Bank of England, and the resulting diplomatic opportunities deriving from this connection. The family's business connections also illuminated the financial and commercial world, and the development of banking at this important stage in its history in the United Kingdom. One aspect of the papers which made them particularly interesting was that Walpole met with financial disaster during this period, while the candour of the letters provided unusual insight into the workings of both state and society.

Applicant’s submission

7. The applicant had stated in a written submission that Thomas Walpole could not himself be considered a person of pre-eminent national importance. He was not represented in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Although his business interests reached out into France, Spain and America, they were relatively short-lived; he was bankrupted in 1774 and never regained his position. The archive itself clearly did not justify consideration under the second Waverley criterion, and it seemed hard to justify that it met the first Waverley criterion. The papers covered a considerable range of activity and endeavour and in no particular instance could they be said to be national treasures of outstanding importance in relation to any particular place or event, nor to any branch of art, learning or history under the third criterion.

Discussion by the Committee

8. The expert adviser and applicant retired and the Committee discussed the case. They noted that regrettably the present archive, together with the papers at the Cambridge University Library, probably only represented a fraction of Thomas Walpole’s original papers, the remaining papers most likely having been lost or destroyed. The Committee felt that the present archive, which seemed hardly to have been explored by scholars, could offer a fascinating insight into the politics and commerce of the late eighteenth century, including Thomas’s business enterprises and connections across the Atlantic. However ultimately they did not consider that the archive could be said to be of outstanding importance under the third Waverley criterion.

Waverley Criteria

9. The Committee voted on whether the archive met the Waverley criteria. No members voted that it met the first Waverley criterion. No members voted that it met the second Waverley criterion. Four members voted that it met the third Waverley criterion. The archive was therefore not found to meet any of the Waverley criteria.

Communication of findings

10. The expert adviser and the applicant returned. The Chairman notified them of the Committee’s decision on its recommendation to the Secretary of State.

11. The Chairman requested that the new owner might make copies available to a UK institution.