The manuscripts were inherited by Mr Richard Hobbs from his maternal grandmother, Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, daughter of the 16th Earl of Derby and wife of Gen. Hon. Sir John Francis Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd son of the 2nd Earl of Cranbrook. The largest and most important group of papers is the correspondence of the 16th Earl of Derby as Governor-General of Canada, and especially the letters from the Canadian Premier, Sir John Macdonald. There are also earlier letters from the 16th Earl as Hon. Frederick Stanley to his brother from Eton, on tours abroad and whilst serving in the Army. The 16th Earl's wife, Lady Constance Villiers, wrote a quantity of letters to her parents and there are 40 letters to a Mme Grahame in Paris. Lady Constance is also represented by 70 personal letters to her sister-in-law, Lady Emma Talbot, 18 of them written from Canada. There are some letters from the 16th Earl's elder brother, Edward Henry, the 15th Earl of Derby, including 14 letters to the wife of Bishop Spencer, Bishop of Jamaica 1843-1872. Sir Arthur Stanley, 3rd son of the 14th Earl of Derby, is represented by a few letters relating to his official career and some letters of condolence to his sister on his death, particularly referring to his activities in medical charitable work (Red Cross etc.) Lady Isobel's papers include 30 letters to her mother from South Africa whither she went with her husband during the Boer War; 15 letters of condolence received on her husband's death in 1949; and the same number of letters from Queen Mary, to whom she was a Woman of the Bedchamber. Other royal letters include 17 letteres from Princess Victoria, Empress of Germany, a group of 15 letters of George V to Lady Derby, 4 letters from the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, and 5 from Princess Alexandra. The military career of Lady Isobel's husband is represented only by fragmentary miscellanea.