Elizabeth I letters saved for the nation

Published on 10/08/2012 01:56

A RARE collection of papers including letters signed by Elizabeth I and Oliver Cromwell has been saved for the nation.

The Westmorland of Apethorpe archive, on loan to Northamptonshire County Council’s record office since the 1950s, will be bought for the public after the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) announced a grant of £650,000 to help buy the documents.

The archive is an important collection based around the Westmorland family, whose main residence was at Apethorpe Hall, near Oundle, Northamptonshire, who were active at court, particularly in Elizabethan and Jacobean times. The collection spans more than 600 years.