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.

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, 1728.

79 items.

Primarily witty poetry, both high and low; some serious political and moral poems.

Anonymous, ca. 1760.

Unbound.

103 items.

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

Anonymous, ca. 1730.

Additions and annotations possibly by a second hand in 1730s.

39 items.

Centred on Swift and Pope, with a few items about them by others, and a few additional satires.

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.

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.

E.H., early nineteenth century.

23 poems.

Primarily sentimental subjects such as death, religion, and family, with a few more satirical entries.

Anonymous, ca. 1816.

Over 200 poems.

Serious, sentimental, and occasional poems, many addressed to individual women.

Anonymous, with illustration by Mary Rogers, 1808.

37 poems. 

Two of the three sections are poems by "Bree," "Nadine," and "Rio" composed for "Employment" during winter 1808. 

Pastoral poems; conduct, morality poems; poems about domestic life and nature.

Anonymous, with poems by Maria Banks Riddell and poems about Mary Tighe, 1814–1816.

46 poems, all original to the manuscript.

Primarily narrative poems on mythical creatures or historical subjects, and poems about nature; also includes many fables, love poems, and poetic renditions of the Psalms. 

Hester Bradley, 1807–1810, with two poems added in 1831. 

49 poems.

Occasional poems and poems about friends and family, all with a Quaker bent. 

Mary Harris Cornwallis, ca. 1790–1820.

Approximately 108 poems.

Many occasional poems by the compiler and her family; this manuscript is also packed with print insertions, many of which are (prose) news items about the deaths of royals.

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. 

P. Simpson, 1790–1793.

90 poems.

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

Frances Glanville Boscawen and Julia Evelyn, begun in 1746.

120 poems.

Popular and original poetry on various themes. Large section of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

Thomas Phillibrown, 1740–1757.

Divided into sections according to odd and even numbered pages.

152 poems.

Very London oriented (Public affairs, local interest, celebrities). 

Reflects a mid-century coterie centering around John Hawkins and Moses Browne.

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.

Daughter or granddaughter of Elizabeth Amherst Thomas, 1798.

46 poems.

Entirely original Elizabeth Amherst Thomas poems compiled retrospectively, often whimsical, witty, resisting stereotypes about women.

Reginald Heber, ca. 1788–1789.

Very plain book. 

18 poems.

Commemoration of people and events in the Brent River area. 

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.

Gabriel Lepipre, ca. 1750. 

246 poems. 

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

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.

William Taylor of South Weald, ca. 1730.

61 poems.

Miscellaneous poetry collection including many Latin and Jacobite-related poems, in addition to original poetry. Irregular folio numbering suggests a post-bound compilation.

Lady Elizabeth Loftus, ca. 1800. 

24 poems.

Lighthearted poems by members of the Loftus and Townshend families. 

Samuel Greatheed, 1772–1773.

24 poems.

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

Anonymous, ca. 1748–1750. 

Two consecutive hands within a short compilation period.

67 poems.

Many popular poets, themes of women and local interest.

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.

Mary Woodyeare Tibbits, ca. 1800.

A later owner, Mary Isabella Hood, used the volume to press flowers and leaves.

113 poems.

A book structured upon the narrative of her life, almost entirely original poems.

Catherine Tuthill Massy, ca. 1795.

46 poems.

A young Irish lady's book, themes of anti-slavery, interest in captives in India, sufferings of Ireland.

William Mitchell Sale, ca. 1756.

106 poems.

Early eighteenth-century satire, later comic poetry, love poetry, several lengthy Pope poems.

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.

Horatia Nelson (16 years old), 1817.

100 poems.

Quite a banal book but a good indication of what poetry was popular, including some poems on the Napoleonic wars, and Irish/Scottish materials.

John Brewster, ca. 1770–ca. 1810.

130 poems.

Frequent epitaphs, poems on death. 

Anonymous, 1786–1798.

120 poems.

A very feminocentric collection with many female-authored works.

Manuscript appears connected to the Cavendish-Ponsonby-Crewe network; the Tighe family; the Ladies of Llangollen

Anonymous, seemingly ca. 1755. 

Second volume seems to be organized thematically, with blank leaves left to be filled in later on the same theme (a good example of an organizational system in progress). 

82 items.

Initially focused on high-profile writers of the turn of the century, though the second volume contains mid-century work. 

Anonymous, 1724–1728.

109 poems.

Almost entirely early eighteenth-century poetry. Many contemporary satirical pieces, and items from Mist's Weekly Journal.

Anne Blandford, ca. 1795–1805.

113 poems.

Emphasis on apparently original writings/occasional writings by Hannah More, and More's sisters and friends in youth that might not be found elsewhere.

Hannah More circle.

Elizabeth Gilchrist, ca. 1800–1815.

One main hand plus one organising hand, maybe that of a daughter.

89 items, 74 poems.

Mixed book with themes of women, death, friendship, love, etc.

A.T.W, 1793–ca. 1800.

A lot of retrospective editing including comments and cross-outs. 

153 poems.

Many poems by or about important figures of literature and the stage; also epitaphs, inscriptions and letters; many poems by women.

Anonymous (probably from Scotland), 1737–ca. 1740.

415 poems

Many religious/devotional poems.

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.

Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, ca. 1685–1701 or 1702.

109 poems.

Poems and plays.

Louisa Grey, ca. 1780s.

Some items specified as not for circulation. 

150 poems.

Many poems about women, love; some epitaphs.

Anne Milles, ca. 1715.

21 poems.

Opens with a drinking song; not too serious a book in general. 

Rev. Thomas Austen, 1760.

Three volumes, only the first two of which are manuscript verse miscellanies, and therefore included in this entry.

768 poems. 

A real variety of contents. The first volume revolves around poems about various natural elements and experiences of country life. The second volume contains fragments of essay and pieces of poetry, 'Calculated for an Occasional Supply to the Monthly Magazine Writers'.

Robert Beere, ca. 1740s.

Very good example to look at organizing systems because he uses thematic, length, alphabetical, etc. to varying degrees throughout the book.

 338 items.

Many items are short aphorisms or epigrams; much in nature of advice literature; various pieces on the nature of man (the human state).

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.

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.

Smyth family of Heath, ca. 1710–1806.

This entry concerns only pp. 1-239 which consists of two hands, the second replacing the first but adopting the first hand's format. The second hand is also responsible for the index. All in all, however, the book is a sequence of at least six single-hand compilations.

173 items.

Political satire (Tory perspective), Oxford affairs, Wakefield-area affairs.

Mary Capell, ca. 1740–1751.

Verso pages are filled with explanatory notes identifying people and places from the poems.

87 items.

Political satire, love poems; poems about poetry (writing, collection, gifts of poetry), the arts, and prologues and epilogues.

The final section of poems seems to be associated with the Yorke-Grey coterie. 

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. 1713–1740.

91 items.

Mostly anti-Whig, anti-Hanoverian political satire; Jacobite-related material. 

Benjamin Coles, 1740–1741.

This manuscript is entirely devoted to poetry, whereas Lt 24, by the same compiler, is a more mixed book. This book was intended as a gift to his brother.

40 items. 

Largely religious and/or Latin poetry.

Joshua Peart, 1726.

256 poems.

A large eclectic book with a special concentration of pastoral poems and songs, political satire and other poems about politicians, and humorous poems; also contains multiple poems about alcohol and tobacco.

Revd. William Heath Marsh, ca. 1810.

~100 + ~85 = ~185 poems.

Volume 1 consists primarily of copied poetry, especially pastoral and morality poems or poems with classical themes; volume 2 contains much more original poetry, poems related to public affairs, and references to a Norfolk social network centred around Marsh and Thomas and Mary Blofeld.

Anonymous, 1715–1717.

318 poems.

Diverse collection of poems, with a significant number of poems satirising women and marriage; also interested in the classics, public affairs, literature, Oxford, theatre, and religious satire.

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.

Anonymous, ca. 1750-1760. Last item dated 1757.

8 poems, seemingly all original to the compiler's circle; several are unfinished.

Humourous parodies on politics, local social events, journeys.