Anna Sharpe, ca. 1751–1790.

38 items, some possibly in the hand of later owner Anna Maria Sharpe.

Primarily lighthearted poems.

Anne Heigham, 1781–ca. 1785. 

38 items.

Includes multiple female authors, son's tribute to mother at the end of the book, and epilogues presumably spoken at local productions.

Polite poetry.

Thomas Binns, 1789–1799.

"Collection of Poems" numbered Vols. II and III, and "Miscellaneous Manuscripts" numbered Vols. 3 and 4.

117 + 74 + 112 + 116 = 419 items, numerous very long poems.

Quaker writings; political themes (anti-war, anti-slavery, pro-revolutionary); sentimental poetry and poetry about nature.

Anonymous, ca. 1780.

15 items.

Approximately half Latin poetry + four Shenstone poems and one tribute to Shenstone.

Shenstonian pastoral; university poetry.

Anonymous, though several items related to Pettiwards, ca. 1767–1783.

107 items (30 prose).

Pet poems; very miscellaneous prose items including a description of masquerade ball in Lincolnshire attended by Peart-Bate coterie members.

Mary Hilhouse, 1768–1769.

All in a single hand except the first item, which is the first three books of Pope's Essay on Man.

65 items.

Generally serious, moral poems; some essays or essay extracts taken from The Spectator.

Anonymous; perhaps Thomas Siw---, ca. 1750–1781.

Two sections: a poetry compilation and a commonplace miscellany (ca. 1813–1835)—this entry pertains only to the first section.

96 items.

Interest in women’s self-assertion, poems by Cambridge men, and Latin and Greek. Sources often identified as manuscripts or magazines.

Anonymous, ca. 1770s.

19 items.

Unbound booklet with some copy errors suggesting this may have been a first copying of materials for a later collection.

Thematic focus on contentment, lack of ambition, choice of retirement and friendship over wealth and power.

Anonymous graduate of King's School, Canterbury and student at Cambridge University, ca. 1760s.

7 items.

Most items related to King's School and Cambridge, seemingly all original.

Anonymous, ca. 1775–1794.

45 items.

General tone is sentimental and polite, includes pseudonymous attributions and apparently fictional epistolary exchanges.

Anonymous, 1771–1787.

Title page has pasted-in printed device of dove, book, and "IHS".

75 items.

Most items taken from Watts' Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707).

Anonymous, ca. 1760.

Unbound.

103 items.

Broad range of subjects organized thematically (e.g. divine poems, hymns, drinking themes, court characters, etc.) 

Stephen Barrett, 1770-1794.

Gift from Cuthbert Wilson with a presentation poem.

45 items.

Original poems in Latin and English, mostly by Barrett, including school exercises; translations by Barrett of early modern and eighteenth-century English poems into Latin.

Anne Blandford, 1791 and later.

114 poems, mostly occasional.

Mostly verses by Hannah More and her circle. 

Charles Earle, ca. 1750–1770. 

96 items.

Original epitaphs, occasional poetry, prayers, and letters.

Anonymous, late eighteenth-century.

29 poems on the First Line Index.

Collection of poems by various authors, riddles, parodies, etc.

Anne Dickinson, 1787.

Only considered as a miscellaneous verse manuscript up to p. 146 (/338) because the later section is in different hands, and is dated after 1820. 

95 poems.

Many poems about couples where one of the two dies; very much a women’s manuscript, with themes of love, conduct, friendship, pets etc.

John Freeman Milward Dovaston, 1773 and later.

Separate title page at the end for Odes by Thomas Gray.

75 poems, many original. 

A mix of English and Latin poems and mottos with a particular interest in classical figures and religious belief.

Stephen Simpson, 1773. 

Courtship gift to Sarah Leaper, Simpson's future wife.

29 poems.

Themes of love and friendship. 

S. Rawlings, 1788–1789.

This manuscript contains poems in two hands, the first (Rawlings) from 1788–1789, the second in the 1830s. This entry concerns only the 1788–89 section given this project's date restrictions. 

49 poems.

Primarily religious and didactic verse.

Anonymous, ca. 1780–1790. 

Around 100 pages. 

Mainly occasional, comic, and sentimental poems by late eighteenth-century authors. Also includes a number of items related to Samuel Johnson and his circle.

Anonymous, 1783–1792. 

Lyrical, narrative and occasional verse.

Anonymous member of the Porter family, late eighteenth-century.

4 volumes, 2039 poems. 

Contemporary poetry, many items commonly included in manuscript verse miscellanies. 

Anonymous, maybe Diana Burroughs, ca. 1774–1787.

85 poems.

A mix of original and well-known poetry with a high proportion of original occasional verse.

Norfolk circle of EM and Diana Burroughs.

Anonymous schoolmistress (possibly named Eliza), 1788.

61 items.

Frequent references to the material having been written for schoolchildren or for occasions such as weddings and departures of friends.

Benjamin Finn, ca. 1790. 

26 poems.

Occasional poetry, many copied from newspapers and dated. Mainly satirical, lighthearted verse, often political; several epigrams and poems about death and/or illness.

James Forbes, 1766–1800. 

This entry concerns only the first volume, as the second is entirely prose. 

151 poems.

Poems on various subjects, including many on death and women, but also conduct, retirement, nature, and slavery. 

George Montagu, ca. 1769–1790. 

77 poems.

Verses attributed to George and Frederick Montagu, and copies of poems by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and others.

* As of yet, this manuscript has not been examined due to 2021-2022 pandemic access restrictions. This description is a temporary placeholder based on catalogue entries and Union First Line Index records.

P. Simpson, 1790–1793.

90 poems.

Mostly eighteenth-century poetry, namely conduct poems, pastoral poems, poems about the poor, epitaphs, and epigrams.

Anonymous, 1781–1794.

66 pages.

A collection of relatively common contemporary English poems, with an interest in natural landscapes, the ephemerality of life, Romantic themes of exile, hermits, etc. A few items related to music.

Mr. Davis, ca. 1750–1765.

146 items.

Pastorals, love poems, and poems on aging with one about inability to perform sexually.

Kidlington circle with key to coterie pseudonyms on final page.

Anonymous, ca. 1755–1765; owned by Mrs. Sophia Wallis early nineteenth-century.

Very plain and incomplete.

8 poems.

Eleanor Peart, 1768.

Organized chronologically and thematically.

182 poems. 

A high proportion of original poetry; strong emphasis on the pastoral including the use of pastoral pseudonyms.

Peart-Bate coterie.

Anonymous, ca. 1783. 

102 poems.

Moralizing book with some lighter poems; many items sourced from "L—'s Miscellany," and many items from the 1760s. 

Gabriel Lepipre, ca. 1750. 

246 poems. 

Good example of miscellany as autobiography; also includes lots of epitaphs.

Anonymous female member of John Graham Clarke household, ca. 1752–1766.

66 items.

Interest in women's conduct and morality.

Reginald Heber, ca. 1768–1774.

12 poems.

All original poetry by his mother, Mary Allanson Heber; likely kept as a souvenir rather than read on a regular basis.

Eliza Chapman, 1788-89.

87 poems.

Contributions by Scriblerus, Eliza Chapman's suitor. 

Ashley Cowper, ca. 1757–1780.

Indications of retrospective copying into this collection, and perhaps even later annotation.

19 poems.

All occasional original poetry, often involving women or public affairs.

Tickell family, 1787–ca. 1828.

35 poems.

Poems about love, friendship, and artistic pursuits, as well as commemorative poems about deaths in the family.

At least partially compiled by Frances, Viscountess Montague, begun ca. 1745.

93 poems.

Mildly moral and cynical about public affairs, social behaviours.

Elizabeth Sarah Wilmot, 1744–1784.

52 poems.

Original compositions of Elizabeth Sarah Wilmot and her mother, Sarah Wilmot. Many poems about female friends and family.

Samuel Greatheed, 1772–1773.

24 poems.

A good example of a miscellany by one author/compiler; includes some imitations and translations.

J. Andrew, ca. 1778–1789.

691 items, 576 poems.

All epigrams.

Anonymous (with many references to the Cotton family of Eardley), ca. 1788.

Only the first section of the manuscript (by the first hand) is examined in this entry.

17 poems.

Themes of friendship. 

Anonymous, 1735–1812.

Written tête-bêche.

137 poems.

Primarily devotional poetry and Methodist hymns.

Thomas Trigg, 1785.

Attributes print sources of most poems.

54 poems.

Quite a few extracts of blank verse from Shakespeare plays, Latin poetry. The compiler seems to rely on a lot of anthologies of extracts .

Mrs. Stapleton for Miss Mary Arnold, ca. 1780s–1790s. 

212 poems.

A gift for formal or informal educational use. A lot of riddles and poems about flowers; emphasis on items written by young ladies. Most items about or intended for women.

John Sanderson, 1787–ca. 1816, with one entry from 1832.

Four volumes, but this entry concerns only the first three (the poetry miscellanies).

121 poems.

Translations of Latin poetry, humorous poetry, apparently all original.

Jane Griffies Roscoe, 1774–1790.

200 poems.

Interest in female poets and women-centered poetry.

John Baptist Rasi, 1781.

15 poems.

All Alexander Pope poems, some written out in their entirety.

H. Watkins, ca. 1730s–1775.

245 items.

Broad range of subject matter, but generally serious poetry.

Azarias Williams, 1785–1790. 

The compiler blurs his own voice with that of his sources by signing his name to much of what he copies.

78 poems.

Choices seem significant autobiographically—themes of emigration, social behaviour, British patriotism, New York, death, children, sentimental courtship, male unfaithfulness/libertinism, religious/devotional expressions, and topographical poetry.

Associated with Penelope Judith Maitland, daughter of Col. Maitland

30 poems.

Attention to aesthetic features; themes of friendship, sentimental love, poverty, despair and hope.

John Brewster, ca. 1770–ca. 1810.

130 poems.

Frequent epitaphs, poems on death. 

Henry Jodrell, ca. 1780.

Ambigraph book with Shakespeare plays at one end, poetry at the other. Given the limited number of entries, the poetry end was perhaps abandoned.

12 poems.

Mr. Stocker of Portsmouth, ca. 1753–1780.

Lots of orginial material.

260 poems.

Much local content; clearly a supporter of the Opposition in the 1730s and 40s.

Verses collected by John Dixon ca. 1780–1817, then copied posthumously by his daughter, Judith Dixon Beecroft.

Six volumes.

Popular eighteenth-century poetry.

Anonymous, ca. 1773-1806.

Crowded, no margins, looks more like a commonplace book than a usual poetry miscellany.

361 poems.

Enormous amount of material compiled over many years roughly chronologically.

Anonymous, ca. 1765.

29 items.

Coz. Widow Davis gives compiler a Shenstone manuscript ca. 1752.

Lighthearted poems (many about public affairs) with some social satire. 

Louisa Grey, ca. 1780s.

Some items specified as not for circulation. 

150 poems.

Many poems about women, love; some epitaphs.

Joshua Francis Fisher, ca. 1779.

3 poems.

Poems satirizing the organizers of the American Revolution.

Samuel Church, 1786.

2 volumes, 33 poems.

Rather crude homemade bindings showing stab-stitching and stitching along spine.

Mainly poems about death and/or religion. Vol. 2 expands to include more social topics. 

Samuel Church, 1786.

66 poems.

Religious poetry, many items about sin; seemingly all original compositions.

Intended as a gift for a recipient he calls "Reveren'd Religioso."

Rev. Thomas Austen, 1770–1783.

212 poems.

Religious poems and hymns.

Anonymous, 1780.

55 poems.

Mainly devotional or conduct related poems, some describing Bristol and Quaker life. 

Charlotte Burney Francis Broome, 1771–ca. 1806.

82 poems.

Mostly original poetry by members of the Burney family with themes of family, courtship/marriage, and death.

Anonymous, ca. 1775–1810.

130 items.

Pieces from Garrick's memoir and other prose with a record of Wyvill-G—ll coterie's poetic exchanges in the middle.

Eliza Marriott, ca. 1763–1803.

29 items.

Generally serious poems with an interest in local Yorkshire elites.

Anonymous compilation of poems by Peter Pinnell, ca. 1749–1790.

59 items.

Example of a one-author collection followed by a short section of poems by different authors.

Anonymous, ca. 1745–1780.

An example of a collection that includes print paste-ins, perhaps added at a a later date onto the blank pages.

90 items, 48 poems.

Post-1745 Jacobite-related material.

George Scott, 1728–1779.

Consecutive hands (George Scott is the second hand) seemingly linked by a Miss Verney who becomes Mrs. Bowes, then a Miss Bowes in part two.

99 items.

The first section contains quite a few poems by women; the second half sees a shift to copying newspaper items, many of which are attributed. 

Anonymous, ca. 1740s.

73 poems.

Seemingly a woman’s book with themes of nature, courtship, public affairs.

Anonymous, ca. 1743–1767.

280 items.

Subject matter mainly religious, contemplations of death; some are not squarely religious, praising virtue, friendship, science, etc.; some Jacobite-related material.

Anonymous, ca. 1750–1770.

This entry pertains only to ff. 1–64v (the first two compilers of three). 

68 items.

Many poems about love, courtship, marriage, women.

Anonymous, ca. 1770–1790.

Very good example of attributions of magazine sources.

117 items.

The first half is a very eclectic mix with many epitaphs, Latin doggerel, riddles, prose pieces, etc. interspersed with the poems. The second compiler seems primarily interested in jokes, parodies, quirky items. An apparent interest in Oxford-related items.

Eliza Pettigrew, 1778 - ca. 1796.

108 items.

Themes of friendship; Quakerism; anti-slavery; many friendship poems addressed to Eliza by A. Strangman.

Sarah Gregory, ca. 1771-1774.

74 items. 

Themes of works include death and afterlife, the ephemerality of life, and friendship. 

Anonymous author, ca. 1758-1776. 

122 items, 77 poems.

Gentle satires of love, manners, morals, and thoughtlessness about life's brevity; also humorous and sentimental poems.

Anonymous, ca. 1769–1790.

152 poems.

Bound-with The New Bath Guide (1766).

Celebrity-centred manuscript verse miscellany, with a particular focus on Samuel Johnson, Hester Thrale Piozzi, David Garrick, Peter Pindar, and Horace Walpole.

Richard Porson, ca. 1780.

Includes a second section of bound-in separates with its own Table of Contents.

75 poems in the first section + 52 in the second.

Jacobite- and Cambridge-related material.

John Liptrott, ca. 1786. 

215 items, 151 poems, many of which are introduced with lengthy prose anecdotes or critical prefaces. 

Contents include satires of social issues and political corruption, historical anecdotes supporting Church of England, nature poetry, recollections of favourite dogs.

Elizabeth Church, 1766–ca. 1791.

68 poems.

Copied by multiple hands but primarily by Elizabeth Church.

Popular manuscript verse miscellany poems and epitaphs.