Barrington-Shute, William Wildman, 2nd Viscount Barrington, 1717-1793.

The collection offer new insights into the 'unofficial' views and deliberations held by Board of Longitude members, and reveal, for example, that the Board was considering disbanding in the mid 1760s. They include personal notes made by Barrington at Board meetings, and a rare unbound pamphlet, 'A Narrative of the Proceedings' (1765), which makes Harrison's case for the Longitude reward, following the trials of his fourth timekeeper, H4. A selection of the documents is on display at the Royal Observatory, alongside the four famous timepieces made by John Harrison between 1730 and 1759. Further information about Harrison and his timekeepers can be found on the National Maritime Museum's website, and digitised copies of items within the collection are available in the <a href="http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-BGN-00000/1">Board of Longitude Digital Archive</a>.

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ID:	BGN
Type:	Manuscript
Display location:	Not on display
Date made:	1741-1765
Credit:	National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Purchased with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund, 2003.
Measurements:	14 items
Parts:	Barrington-Shute, William Wildman, 2nd Viscount Barrington, 1717-1793. Copy of Sir Isaac Newton's opinion on methods for determining longitude at sea dated 1714, with a later note dated 1741/2 on the agreement of the best method by those named. (Manuscript) (BGN/1) Memorandum to explain the accounts of the money raised by the sale of Old Naval Stores between December 1740 and December 1749. (Manuscript) (BGN/2) List of monies paid to John Harrison, dated 1762. (Manuscript) (BGN/3) Navy Office accounts of monies issued for the development of longitude instruments, dated 28 January 1765. (Manuscript) (BGN/4) Letter from Mr Hornsby to the Reverend Dr Barrington, dated 28 January 1765, on the advantages of determining the longitudes and latitudes of the British Isles. (Manuscript) (BGN/5) Letter from James, Earl of Morton (Lord Aberdour) to Lord Viscount Barrington, dated Tuesday, 5 March 1765, asking him to postpone a Board of Longitude committee meeting. (Manuscript) (BGN/6) Letter from James, Earl of Morton (Lord Aberdour) to Lord Viscount Barrington, dated Wednesday, 6 March 1765, regarding his availability to attend a Board of Longitude committee meeting. (Manuscript) (BGN/7) Speech by Lord Barrington in which he discusses the construction and trials of Harrison's timekeepers. (Manuscript) (BGN/8) Proposal by the Board of Longitude to pay John Harrison a sum of money for the development of his timekeepers. (Manuscript) (BGN/9) Note stating that Members of the Board of Longitude would not be entitled to receive a reward for any discoveries made on the methods of of finding the longitude at sea. (Manuscript) (BGN/10) Letter from Nevil Maskelyne and Mr Shepherd to Lord Barrington, on Lord Howe's objection to the partition of the Board of Longitude. (Manuscript) (BGN/11) Letter from the Speaker of the House of Commons to Lord Barrington, requesting alterations to the resolutions proposed to the Committee. (Manuscript) (BGN/12) Notes on different methods of finding longitude at sea and on Longitude Acts. (Manuscript) (BGN/13) Pamphlet by John Harrison called 'A Narative of the Proceedings etc. Concerning the Longitude'. (Manuscript) (BGN/14)

Barrington-Shute, William Wildman, 2nd Viscount Barrington, 1717-1793.

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