Guide to the Journal of Peregrine Langton Massingberd (as filmed by AJCP), 1832-1833

Summary

Collection number:

M719

Creator:

Massingberd, Peregrine Langton

Extent:

1 item

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Journal, 29 June 1832 to 22 Sept. 1833. Contains an explanation of his family's decision to emigrate to Van Diemen's Land, detailed descriptions of the voyage out, his impressions of the colony and meetings with prominent people, including George Frankland, A.F. Kemp, John Glover, John Batman, Governor Arthur, Captain James England and W.J.T. Clarke. The journal concludes with a description of the voyage back to England and recollections of the family's experiences in the colony. Included in the journal are a few pen and ink drawings, among them being plans of the ships Duckenfield and Edward Lombe and a drawing of the home of a settler named Grove, late of the 63rd Regiment.

Massingberd seems to have begun keeping a journal in 1806. The 1832-1833 journal is the last of nine surviving journals.

Biographical / Historical:

{"persname":"Peregrine Langton Massingberd (1780-1856)","content":"\u003cspan class='persname'\u003ePeregrine Langton Massingberd (1780-1856)\u003c/span\u003e was the second son of Bennet Langton (c. 1736-1801), a writer, scholar and friend of Samuel Johnson. He grew up at Langton Hall, an Elizabethan house near Spilsby, Lincolnshire. In 1802 he married an heiress, Elizabeth Massingberd, the only child of Henry Massingberd (d. 1784) of Gunby Hall, which was also near Spilsby. In accordance with Henry Massingberd's will, Langton adopted the name of Massingberd.Massingberd and his wife at first lived at Gunby Hall, which had been built in 1700 by Sir Henry Massingberd. In order to reduce expenses, they moved to Bath in 1807, letting Gunby Hall to George Phillipps. From 1814 onwards they lived for long periods in Europe. Massingberd returned to England in 1827, but Elizabeth refused to leave Paris and they remained separated from then on. In 1829 he moved to Mannheim in Germany. In 1831 he met his eldest son, Algernon Massingberd (1803-1844) and agreed that Algernon should take charge of the Ganby estate, on condition that he should assist his mother, pay off all his father's debts, give him an allowance of £150 a year, and provide a marriage portion for his sister.In 1831 Massingberd's eldest daughter Mary (d.1851) married William Hastings Neville, the son of General Charles Neville. In the following year they decided to emigrate to Van Diemen's Land, where Neville had hopes of obtaining a military position. They were accompanied by their baby son and also Mary's father and her sister Margaret. They arrived in the colony in December 1832 but, although Massingberd was well-received by leading figures such as Anthony Kemp and John Batman, their stay was a short one. Neville was accused of presenting a forged letter of credit and he and his wife decided to leave the colony immediately. Without financial resources of his own, Massingberd reluctantly accompanied them. They departed in May 1833 and arrived back in England in September.Following his return to England, Massingberd gave up all claims to the Gunby estate in return for the payment of all his debts. He lived in Guernsey for many years and later in Exeter in Devon. On the death of Algernon in 1844, the ownership of Gunby passed to Peregrine's grandson, known as 'Naughty Algernon', and after his death in 1855 it passed to Peregrine's other son Charles Massingberd. In later years Mary Neville, who was abandoned by her husband, was a close friend of Alfred Tennyson and his sister Mary. There are portraits of Massingberd, Mary Neville and Hastings Neville at Gunby Hall, which is now owned by the National Trust."}

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2190892] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Private collection. Originals now held at Lincolnshire Archives as part of the Massingberd Family Archives, which includes all of Massingberd's surviving journals. For more information about the Lincolnshire archives see Lincolnshire Archives (https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/lincolnshire-archives/archives-collections/). For more information about the collection see Massingberd Family of Gunby (https://www.lincstothepast.com/Massingberd-of-Gunby/699884.record?pt=S)

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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