| Description | These letters were written by employees of John Howard Galton at Hadzor, primarily to provide him with progress reports on the building work and alterations that were being carried out at the estate to the designs of Matthew Habershon while he was away from England between 1827 and 1833. The majority of the letters date from 1831 to 1833 and take the form of regular fortnightly reports from Kenneth Lowe, covering not only the building work, but also containing detailed information about the running of the estate, including gardening and agricultural work, gamekeeping, maintenance work and road repairs and rents paid by tenants. Most letters also include accounts of payments made from the estate in the form of wages and settlement of bills. Some letters include sketch plans of rooms in the house and drawings for the landscaping of the garden and grounds. Hannah White writes to Isabella Galton in each letter from 1831 to 1833 about domestic matters, giving news about the running of the house and about village affairs, particularly where they concern the local school, and the health of various inhabitants. The letters as a whole provide a detailed picture of life on the estate and in Hadzor village during this period. |