MS 326 & the Amhersts
MS 326: Richard Amherst, Letter to his son (England, 1619)
Parent’s Letter No. 1
Among the letters that have left and arrived at St John’s College since 1555 must have been a fair number from parents to their children. One of these is now MS 326.
The letter was written by Richard Amherst at London’s Gray’s Inn on 27 July 1619 to his eldest son, also called Richard. It rather charmingly suggests that parents’ concerns for their children away at university may not have changed much over the centuries.
Practical Matters & Parental Advice
The younger Richard Amherst joined St John’s College on 4 December 1618, which means he would have been at College only a little over six months when he received this letter. First among the items his father wishes to address are practical matters. Apparently the letter was sent with various items: sheets, a ‘pillowcote’ (an archaic word for ‘pillowcase’), and, what arguably delights every student most, money. Then, the elder Richard provides some parental advice, starting by saying how glad he was to hear ‘so well of your endeavours’ and that he hoped he Richard would ‘continue in well doing’, adding that if his son let ‘Gods book be your rule […] then you cannot erre’.
MS 326: Richard Amherst, Letter to his son (London, Gray’s Inn, 27 July 1619)
The letter ends with a reference to a number of family members, such as his (the younger Richard’s) mother, who accepted his letter in great kindness and rejoiced to see him write to her so well. The elder Richard signs off ‘your loving Father’ after saying that he prays for God to bless him.
As usual for the time, the letter was folded in a way so that it created its own envelope. The folds are still clearly visible on the verso side of the leaf. The address reads: ‘To my loving Sonne / Richard Amherst / at St John Baptist / College in Oxo.’
The letter was purchased by Gavin Bone (d. 1942), fellow of St John’s College, and left by him in the Library in his supplement to the 19th-century manuscript catalogue by Coxe.
The Amhersts
What is known about the writer and recipient of this lovely letter, which is over 400 years old and yet so familiar?
The elder Richard Amherst (1565-1632) joined St John’s College in 1582, aged 17, to read Law. He matriculated as a plebii filius, i.e. the son of someone of ‘less than arguably gentle birth’ (Hegarty 2011, pp. lxxiv, 182). He was admitted to Gray’s Inn in 1585, was the Stewart of four successive Sackville Earls of Dorset, and was MP for Lewes (Sussex) in 1614 and 1620-21. He made Serjeant-at-Law in 1623 and by 1630 became Queen’s Serjeant, serving as a legal advisor to Queen Henrietta, the wife of King Charles I.
With a successful and lucrative career as a lawyer, Amherst senior was able to purchase land from the Sackvilles and by the early 1620s ‘he had the highest subsidy rating in Lewes by a significant margin’ (Thrush and Ferris 2010). The most notable of his land purchases was Bayhall Manor at Pembury (Kent), ‘a moated medieval manor house of the Culpeper family’ possibly bought around 1617 (Kingsley 2014). The elder Richard never lived there, however, and the manor may have been intended for his eldest son, the recipient of our letter (Kingsley 2014).
The younger Richard Amherst (1600-1664) also studied law at St John’s College, having joined the College like his father aged 17. In contrast to his father, however, he matriculated as armigeri filius in 1618, i.e. the son of an esquire father (Hegarty 2011, pp. lxiii, 182). This reflects the social strides his father had made. Nevertheless, he presented the College with ‘a silver spoon as gratuity for admitting him as a commoner’ (Hegarty 2011, p. 182).
The younger Richard’s career appears to have been less illustrious than that of his father, but he must have done well for himself, as he was able to turn Bayhall Manor into a fashionable 17th-century country house when he retired in the 1650s (Kingsley 2014).
Jan Siberechts (c.1675), A View of Bayhall, Pembury (Kent) [Oil on canvas]. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1994.18.4.
