The papers consist of eight volumes of private letters from a wide variety of correspondents, 1769 to 1822. Two particularly large series are those from Admiral Sir William Young (17511821) and Pole's brother, Reginald Pole Carew, while Prince William Henry also wrote a considerable number of letters to Pole. The loose papers are mainly administrative and include accounts, prize papers, orders and memoranda. They also contain papers concerning Pole's representation of Plymouth from 1806 to 1818; printed papers and general letters on naval mutiny, 1795 to 1797, with particular reference to the mutinies of 1797; reports and surveys on the Sea Fencibles, 1804 to 1806, and other general reports on such matters as medical experiments, 1791, and experiments with gunpowder, 1796.

Administrative / biographical background
Pole entered the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1770 and joined his first ship in 1772. He went out to the East Indies, becoming a lieutenant in 1777 and a captain on his return to England in 1780. In 1788 he became Groom of the Bedchamber to Prince William Henry. On the outbreak of war in 1793 he was appointed to the Colossus, Mediterranean Station, and was present at the capture of Toulon. Reaching flag-rank in 1795 he was appointed, in the Royal George, Captain of the Fleet to Lord Bridport (q.v.) and was involved in the mutinies of 1797. In 1800 he became Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland, and in 1801 succeeded Nelson as Commander-in-Chief in the Baltic. Between 1803 and 1806 he was chairman of the Commission of Naval Enquiry. After a short spell at the Admiralty in 1806, he saw no further service. He was Member of Parliament for Newark, 1802 to 1806, and for Plymouth, 1806 to 1818. In 1830 he was appointed Master of the Robes, on the accession of William IV.