| AdminHistory | Born in Surrenden Dering, Kent, 1625; educated at schools in Kent and London, and at Sidney Sussex and Emmanuel Colleges, Cambridge; entered the Middle Temple, 1641; continued his studies in Leiden; travelled through France and the Netherlands; returned to England and became Militia Commissioner in Kent and secured election as Knight for the Shire to the Convention Parliament; appointed one of the seven commissioners to execute the Act for the settlement of Ireland, 1662; became a member of the Irish House of Commons; became a member of the Irish Privy Council, 1667; following his return to England, appointed one of the three commissioners of the Privy Seal; returned to Parliament for East Retford, Nottinghamshire; 1670; appointed one of the commissioners of the customs, 1675; elected Governor of the Hamburg Company, 1675; his parliamentary role continued to grow in importance; appointed one of the five commissioners who replaced Danby at the Treasury, 1679-1684; died, 1684. Katherine Philips: born, 1631; educated at boarding school in Hackney; married James Philips, 1647; divided her time between London and her husband's house at Cardigan; her friends included Sir Edward Dering, known as Silvander; adopted the pseudonym of Orinda, and was known to her contemporaries as 'the matchless Orinda'; devoted herself to the composition of verses, first published as prefixes to the poems of Henry Vaughan and the collected edition of Cartwright, 1651; other verses, circulated in manuscript, secured her a considerable reputation; travelled to Ireland, 1662; her translation of Corneille's `Pompe' was produced in the Smock-Alley Theatre, Dublin, with great success and printed in Dublin and London, 1663; an unauthorised edition of her miscellaneous poems caused her annoyance, 1664; died of smallpox in Fleet Street, 1664; buried in the church of St Benet Sherehog; her verses were collected and published posthumously, 1667. |
| CustodialHistory | The manuscript belonged to Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), baronet, an antiquary and bibliophile whose collection included c60,000 manuscripts of various kinds, some relating to the administration of Swiss towns. Various manuscripts were sold after Sir Thomas's death, some to the German government, and were dispersed to several libraries. Formerly Phillipps MS 4001. It later formed part of the library of Charles Kay Ogden (1889-1957), linguistic psychologist, founder of the Orthological Institute and originator of the language system Basic English, whose interests in language systems are reflected in the subject matter of his collection, which comprised individual manuscripts and manuscript collections dating from the 14th to the 20th century. |
| Related Material | Cf Sotheby catalogue, 29 June 1965, p 94, for a description and facsimile of another Katherine Philips manuscript in the same hand. British Library, Manuscript Collections, holds Dering's household account book and parliamentary journal, 1648-1673 (Ref: Add MSS 22466-67); a household book, 1652-1685 (Ref: Add MS 70887); correspondence with Sir John Perceval, 1680-1684 (Ref: Add MSS 46957-60). Centre for Kentish Studies holds miscellaneous correspondence, a diary, parliamentary journal and household accounts, 1653-1684 (Ref: U275/A1-5, C1/12-16, O5); correspondence and papers, c1650-1684 (Ref: U350 passim; U133/C1/1-10; U1107 passim); 148 letters to Sir Robert Southwell, 1669-1683 (Ref: U1713); a diary, 1673-1675. The National Library of Ireland holds a notebook relating to the Act of Settlement in Ireland, 1662. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, holds a diary and commonplace book, 1656-1662. A memoranda book, 1644-1684, is privately held. Oxford University, Worcester College Library, holds literary manuscripts of Philips. Nottingham University Library, Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections, holds manuscript copies of verses (Ref: PwV337-38). The National Library of Wales, Department of Manuscripts and Records, holds literary manuscripts (Ref: MS 775B, MS 776B). Cardiff Central Library holds literary manuscripts (Ref: MS 2 1073). University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Library, holds literary manuscripts (Ref: Pre-1700 MS 151). For further details see the National Register of Archives. |