Attributed to Thomas Martin (1697–1771), lawyer, antiquary a...

Attributed to Thomas Martin (1697–1771), lawyer, antiquary and collector. An important illustrated travel journal through England and Wales, 1724. With antiquarian notes on Norfolk and Suffolk churches. 8vo, manuscript in brown ink, comprising two distinct sections with continuous pagination, possibly added subsequently; paginated to p.219, followed by an unnumbered continuation of the church index, occasional blanks within and eight blank pages at rear; extensively illustrated with an elaborate pen-and-ink funerary title-page and drawings of monuments, tomb effigies, heraldic arms, monumental brasses, architectural remains and inscriptions &c. &c.; Lacking one marbled board, with the other detached, spine covering wanting, sewing exposed, text block remaining together; internally in excellent condition, with a couple of minor small tears and occasional finger soiling. The attribution is supported by the illustrated title page, signed "Thomas Martin fecit, 1715"; the transcription colophon "Thomas Martin de Thetford Transcripsit" on p.155; and references to "my Dear Brother and Sisters" and "my Grandfather Martin" on pp.158–159. The travel journal and antiquarian notes appear to be in the same or a closely similar hand, the former less formal, possibly reflecting composition during the journey; nevertheless, the extent of Martin's authorship and the identification of the handwriting remain subject to further study. An extensive record of travel, collecting and antiquarian observation. The journal, 27 August–4 October 1724, follows a journey through Eton, Oxford, Burford, Gloucester, Chepstow, Caerleon, Cardiff, Llandaff, Monmouth, Hereford, Ludlow, Montgomery, Welshpool, Chirk, Shrewsbury, Lichfield, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick and Northampton, returning through Banbury and Oxford; recording people met, hospitality, country houses, gardens, pictures, colleges, libraries, churches, manufactures and local customs. Particular observations include the Oxford college libraries and Bodleian; ironworks at Lydney; Roman inscriptions, stamped bricks and the remains of the amphitheatre at Caerleon; Welsh dress and healing customs; the Godolphin family at Aber Tanat; the Myddeltons' house, collections and gardens at Chirk; Welsh manuscripts at Llanforda; Hugh Morris's poetry; Birmingham's smiths' workshops; and the buildings, monuments and civic antiquities of Coventry and Warwick. Drawings include architectural details, a conduit at Welshpool, the cave associated with Humphrey Kynaston at Nesscliffe, heraldry and antiquarian objects. The narrative also records fishing, waterfalls, roads, inns and markets, alongside corrections to published accounts and sceptical comments on local traditions. The second section comprises extensive antiquarian notes on Norfolk and Suffolk churches and religious foundations, incorporating extracts from Weever and observations of surviving monuments; English and Latin epitaphs, genealogical information, heraldry, medieval brasses, effigies, painted glass, bells, fonts, church furnishings and architectural remains. Places represented include Thetford, Great and Little Livermere, Stanton, Ampton, Fersfield, King's Lynn, Castle Acre, Euston, Redgrave, Great Melton, Westhorpe, East Harling, Mildenhall, Culford, Hengrave, West Stow, Brandon and Rackheath. Illustrations include the Maurice Barrow monument at Westhorpe, paired monumental effigies, heraldic shields, inscriptions and the ruins of Castle Acre. Detailed descriptions preserve the positions and appearance of monuments, family relationships and evidence of alteration or destruction; at Hengrave an "unskillfull painter" had obscured inscriptions, while their originals remained beneath, "whole and undefaced". At Santon Downham the writer describes inscriptions concealed under plaster, "whether through Ignorance, or for concealment I know not", which he "had caused to be taken away", exposing "these before hidden antiquities". References to a deed in "my Custody", "my Catalogue of the Collection" and another notebook connect these observations with a wider antiquarian collection. Concluding with an alphabetical church index headed "An Index of Churches to this the Second Volume". The above synopsis represents only a portion of the material contained in this substantial volume; numerous further inscriptions, drawings, genealogical details and observations remain undescribed. A significant antiquarian manuscript, combining extensive first-hand recording with historical transcripts and preserving evidence of monuments, buildings and collections subsequently altered, dispersed or lost. Possibly acquired by James West (1703–1772), antiquary, collector and President of the Royal Society, although the route by which the volume entered the family collection remains unconfirmed. Comparable manuscripts and antiquarian papers by Martin survive at the Norfolk Record Office, notably among the Frere manuscripts and Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society collections, with further material in Suffolk archival collections, the British Library and the Bodleian Library's Gough manuscripts, offering opportunities for further comparison. Thomas Martin, known as "Honest Tom Martin of Palgrave", was a lawyer, antiquary and collector, born at Thetford and settled at Palgrave, Suffolk, from 1723. Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1720, he assembled extensive collections of books, manuscripts and historical records, including material acquired following his marriage to Peter Le Neve's widow. His church notes preserve valuable evidence of East Anglian monuments, while his History of the Town of Thetford was published posthumously by Richard Gough in 1779.

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