Projects

The Croome Collection – The Archives of the Earls of Coventry

Welcome to the Croome Collection home page. From here you can find out information about the Earls of Coventry and their estate.

Coventry Family Coat of Arms

An introduction to the Croome Collection

The unique archive of the Earls of Coventry came into public owners

hip in 2005 as part of the Acceptance in Lieu of Inheritance Tax Scheme, whereby the nation accepts valuable assets to set against tax liabilities. In 2006, after making a case for housing this exceptional collection, Worcestershire Record Office was delighted to be identified as its new permanent home. Worcestershire Record Office felt that it was a suitable home for the collection as a large portion of the Croome estate properties lay within the county of Worcestershire. The collection provides an invaluable insight into the history of the county and is a very important resource for researchers. The collection held at the Record Office covers the estate archives up to the year 1921. Records created after this date remain with the Croome Estate office.

The Croome archive is an internationally significant collection and one that, once catalogued and promoted, will bring prestige to the County of Worcestershire. This impressive archive has been created over hundreds of years by the Coventry family and has been preserved in their estate office at Croome D’Abitot. The archive includes substantial runs of papers relating to the estates of the family, including plans, rentals, deeds and correspondence. It also includes unique records relating to the building, decoration and furnishing of Croome Court, and the creation and development of the parkland surrounding it. This was Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s first complete landscape work, and so is of great significance interest.

 

Contact Details

If you have any enquiries about the Croome collection or the project that is underway to catalogue the collection, please send us an Archive Enquiry.

 

The History of the Coventry Family

The Croome collection held at Worcestershire Record Office includes papers from the time of the 1st Baron Coventry of Allesborough, right up to the 9th Earl of Coventry. To make it easier to understand which Earl was seated at Croome throughout which years, here is a chronological table of the Barons and Earls of Coventry, the heads of the Croome estate to which this collection relates.

Thomas Coventry, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, 1st Baron of Allesborough (1578-1640)

Simply click on the names in the table below to find out more about each Baron and Earl of Coventry.

Name Date of Birth Date of Death Title and Date Inherited Title and Date Inherited
Sir Thomas Coventry 1547 12 December 1606
Lord Keeper Thomas Coventry 1578 14 January 1640 1st Baron of Allesborough
10 April 1628
Thomas Coventry 2nd 1606 27th October 1661 2nd Baron of Allesborough 1640
George Coventry 1628 15 December 1680 3rd Baron of Allesborough 1661
John Coventry 2 September 1654 25 July 1685 4th Baron of Allesborough 1680
Thomas Coventry 5th 1629 15 July 1699 5th Baron of Allesborough 1685 Viscount Deerhurst and 1st Earl of Coventry
26 April 1697
Thomas Coventry 6th 1662 20 August 1710 6th Baron of Allesborough 1699 Viscount Deerhurst and 2nd Earl of Coventry 1699
Thomas Coventry 7th c.1702 28 January 1712 7th Baron of Allesborough 1710 Viscount Deerhurst and 3rd Earl of Coventry 1710
Gilbert Coventry 1668 27 October 1719 8th Baron of Alllesborough 1712 4th Earl of Coventry 1712
William Coventry 1678 18 March 1751 5th Earl of Coventry October 1719
George William Coventry 6th 26 April 1722 3 September 1809 6th Earl of Coventry 1751
George William Coventry 7th 28 April 1758 26 March 1831 Viscount Deerhurst and 7th Earl of Coventry 1809
George William Coventry 8th 16 October 1784 15 May 1843 Viscount Deerhurst and 8th Earl of Coventry 1831
George William Coventry 9th 9 May 1838 13 March 1930 Viscount Deerhurst and 9th Earl of Coventry May 1843
Post-1930