| Description | The correspondence concerning French Walls would appear to be relatively complete. The series of outgoing letters is complete from when James Watt Jr. bought the site to after his death in 1849. The incoming correspondence covers a similar period, although there are gaps in the series. The Head Clerk at the Foundry also administered aspects of James Watt Jr.'s private account, so various letters referring to such matters as delivery of items to Doldowlod, will be found in the French Walls correspondence.
Outgoing correspondence.
French Walls Letter Books.
Two letter books containing press copies of letters written by the clerks at Soho Foundry on French Walls business. Signatories include James MacRae, R. Hooton, John Dawn and John Thomas. The letters mainly concern stores and supplies, the buildings on the site, receipt of rents and the accounts for the estate. Both books are indexed, and both have been re-bound by the Library. The series would appear to be complete.
Incoming Correspondence.
Letters to the Head Clerk.
A series of bundles of letters addressed to or dealt with by the Head Clerk at Soho Foundry, who was responsible for much of the administration of French Walls. During this period the Head Clerks were John Dawn, who was dismissed for embezzlement in 1832, and his successor John Thomas. The letters are generally docketted with the name of the correspondent and the date. the first bundle also contains various bills dating between 1820 and 1822.
Letters and Papers.
There are three small bundles of letters and papers relating to James Watt Jr.'s outlay on the site and the leasing of the works to various tenants in the 1830s and 1840s. Two of these bundles contain letters and papers gathered together by James Watt Jr., while the third, dealing with the lease of the site by G. F. Muntz in 1842, contains letters by Gilbert Hamilton, one of James Watt Jr.'s partners in Boulton Watt & Co. There is also a small bundle of miscellaneous papers by the Head Clerk John Dawn. |
| AdminHistory | The records listed here are the surviving outgoing and incoming letters and papers relating to French Walls, the iron and steel works in Smethwick owned by James Watt Jr. The records of French Walls were kept by the clerks in the counting house at Soho Foundry, and they also dealt with any correspondence concerning the works. Most of the clerks' duties relating to French Walls were routine, day-to-day administration, such as the collecting of rents, organising of materials and supplies, repairs to the works and so on. Much of the correspondence was dealt with by the Head Clerk, though other clerks at the Foundry did write letters on French Walls business. John Dawn and John Thomas held the post of Head Clerk during this period. The Head Clerk at the Foundry also administered aspects of James Watt Jr.'s private account. |