British Museum Act 1753
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1753 c. 22 |
(26 Geo. 2) C A P. XXII.
'W H E R E A S SirHans Sloane of Chelsea in the County of Middlesex Baronet, having, through the Course of many Years, with great Labour and Expence gathered together whatever could be procured either in our own or foreign Countries, that was rare and curious, did, by a Codicil bearing Date the twentieth Day ofJuly in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, and annexed to his last Will and Testament, after having expressed his Will and Desire that his Collection, in all its Branches, might be, if it were possible, kept and preserved together Whole and Intire, in his Manor House in the Parish of Chelsea , give, devise and bequeath, to certain Trustees therein named, all that his Collection or Museum , at, in or about his said Manor House, consisting of all his Library of Books, Drawings, Manuscripts, Prints, Medals and Coins ancient and modern, Antiquities, Seals, Cameas and Intaglios, precious Stones, Agates, Jaspers, Vessels of Agate and Jasper, Chrystals, Mathematical Instruments, Drawings, and Pictures, and all other Things in the said Collection or Museum , more particularly described and numbered, with short Histories or Accounts of them, with proper References, in certain Catalogues by him made, containing thirty-eight Volumes in Folio, and eight Volumes in Quarto, (except such Pictures as are not marked with the Word Collection) to have and to hold to them and their Successors and Assigns for ever, for such Purposes, and with such Powers, and under such Restrictions, as in the said Codicil are expressed; willing and desiring thereby, that the said Trustees, or any seven or more of them, should make their humble Application to his Majesty, or to Parliament, at the next Session after his Decease, as should be thought most proper, in order to pay the full and clear Sum of twenty thousand Pounds, of lawful Money of Great Britain , unto his Executors, or the Survivors of them, within twelve Months after his Decease, in Consideration of the said Collection orMuseum ; and also to obtain such sufficient and effectual Powers and Authorities for vesting in the said Trustees all and every Part of his said Collection or Museum before-mentioned, in all its Branches; and also his said Capital Manor House, with such Gardens and Out-houses as should thereunto belong and be used by him, at the Time of his Decease, and also the Water of or belonging to his Manor of Chelsea coming from Kensington ; and also obtain a sufficient Fund or Provision for maintaining and taking case of his said Collection and Premisses, and for repairing and supporting his said Manor House, Waterwork and Premisses; but in case Payment of the said Sum of twenty thousand Pounds should not be had and obtained, and made unto his Executors, or the Survivors of them, within twelve Months next after his Decease, and no such Act of Parliament should be obtained, for settling, preserving, establishing, maintaining and continuing, his said Collection and Premisses, in such Manner as in his said Codicil is expressed, then and not otherwise his Will was and he did in such Case thereby direct, That his said Executors, or the Survivors of them, should, for the like Sum of twenty thousand Pounds, sell and dispose of all and every Part of the said Collection and Museum , as before described, together with the Catalogues thereto belonging, for the Use of the several foreign Academies therein described, and in the Manner therein mentioned; and that in case the said Offer should not be accepted by either of the said foreign Academies, his Executors, or the Survivors of them, should be at Liberty with all convenient Speed to sell and dispose of all and every Part of his said Museum or Collection in the most speedy and advantageous Manner; and that the Monies arising by such Sale or Disposition should be considered as Part of his Personal Estate; and further his Will was, and he did thereby direct, That in case his said Collection should be sold or disposed of to either of the said foreign Academies, or in case of their Refusal or Non-acceptance by his Executors, or the Survivors of them, that then his said Manor House and Garden, with the Appurtenances and the Water, should go and belong to such Person or Persons, and in such Manner, as he had given and devised the rest of his Manors, Lands and Tenements at Chelsea , or elsewhere, as by the said Codicil, Relation being thereto had, may more fully and at large appear: And whereas the said Sir Hans Sloane having, by several other Codicils of a subsequent Date annexed to his said Will, added to the Number of the said Trustees, did, on or about the eleventh Day of January one thousand seven hundred and fifty-three, depart this Life: And whereas the said Trustees, or seven or more of them, have, pursuant to the Will and Intention of the said Sir Hans Sloane , in this Session of Parliament, being the next Session after his Decease, made their Application for Payment of the said Sum of twenty thousand Pounds in Consideration of the said Collection or Museum: And whereas the said Trustees at a General Meeting assembled have consented to the Removal of the said Museum or Collection from the Manor House at Chelsea , to any proper Place within the Cities of London or Westminster , or the Suburbs thereof, if such Removal shall be judged most advantageous to the Publick, so as the said Collection be preserved intire without the least Diminution or Separation, and be kept for the Use and Benefit of the Publick, with free Access to view and peruse the same at all stated and convenient Seasons, agreeable to the Will and Intentions of the Testator, and under such Restrictions as the Parliament shall think fit: And whereas the said Museum or Collection of Sir Hans Sloane is of much greater intrinsick Value than the Sum of twenty thousand Pounds: And whereas all Arts and Sciences have a Connexion with each other, and Discoveries in Natural Philosophy and other Branches of speculative Knowledge, for the Advancement and Improvement whereof the said Museum or Collection was intended, do and may, in many Instances, give Help and Success to the most useful Experiments and Inventions:' Therefore, to the end that the said Museum or Collection may be preserved and maintained, not only for the Inspection and Entertainment of the Learned and the Curious, but for the general Use and Benefit of the Publick; May it please your most Excellent Majesty, That it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That out of all or any of the Monies to be raised by virtue of this Act, the full and clear Sumof twenty thousand Pounds of lawful Money ofGreat Britain shall be paid in Manner herein after-mentioned to the Executors of Sir Hans Sloane , or the Survivors or Survivor of them, in full Satisfaction for the said Museum or Collection herein before described, and for the Use of the said Manor House and Garden, with their Appurtenances, and of the said Water, until a more convenient Repository, more durable and more safe from Fire, and nearer to the chief Places of publick Resort, shall be provided for the Reception of the said Museum or Collection, in Manner herein after-mentioned.
II & 13 W. 3. c. 7.
'II. And whereas by an Act made in the twelfth and thirteenth Years of the Reign of KingWilliam the Third, intituled, An Act for the better settling and preserving the Library kept in the House at Westminster, called Cotton House, in the Name and Family of the Cottons, for the Benefit of the Publick , reciting, That Sir Robert Cotton , late of Connington in the County of Huntingdon , Baronet, did, at his own great Charge, and by the Assistance of the most learned Antiquaries of his Time, collect and purchase the most useful Manuscripts, written Books, Papers, Parchments, Records and other Memorials, in most Languages, of great Use and Service for the Knowledge and Preservation of our Constitution both in Church and State; and further reciting, That the said Library had been preserved with the utmost Care by Sir Thomas Cotton , Son of the said Sir Robert , and by Sir John Cotton then living, Grandson of the said Sir Robert ; and had been very much augmented by them, and lodged in a very proper Place in the said Sir John's ancient Mansion-house at Westminster , for publick Use and Advantage; it was enacted, That the said Mansion-house, with the Garden, and all other Appurtenances, and also the said Library, should be vested in Trustees in the said Act named, and their Successors, for ever, for the Purposes therein mentioned; and as, for and concerning the said Library, and the Room wherein the same was or should be contained, together with a convenient Passage for resorting thereunto, upon this Trust and Confidence, that the said Trustees and their Successors should from Time to Time, and at all Times thereafter, as Occasion should require, inspect, consult and take care of the said Library, and other Particulars above-mentioned, and also make and appoint such Orders and Rules as they should think proper for the reading and using the same, and for their better Preservation, and to the Intent and Purpose that the said Trustees, or the major Part of them, should nominate and appoint a good and sufficient Person, well read in Antiquities and Records, to have the immediate Care and Custody of the said Library: And whereas by an Act...
To continue reading
Request your trial