1805: 45 George 3 c.127: An Act to vest the Townleian Collection of antient Sculpture in the Trustees of the British Museum for the Use of the Public.

[Recites the Act of 26 Geo II.]

Whereas by an Act of Parliament, made and passed in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty, King George the Second, intituled, An Act for the Purchase of the Museum, or Collection of Sir Hans Sloane, and of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts, and for providing One General Repository for the better Reception and more convenient Use of the said Collections, and of the Cottonian Library, and of the Additions thereto; the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Great Britain, the Lord Treasurer of Great Britain, or the First Commissioner of the Treasury, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Privy Seal, the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, or the First Commissioner of the Admiralty, the Lord Steward of his Majesty’s Household, the Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty’s Household, the Bishop of London, each of the Principal Secretaries of State, being a Peer or Lord of Parliament, the Speaker of the House of Commons, each of the Principal Secretaries of State, not being a Peer or Lord of Parliament, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench, the Master of the Rolls, the Chief Justice of his Majesty’s Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, his Majesty’s Attorney and Solicitor General, the President of the Royal Society, and the President of the College of Physicians, severally for the Time being, and certain other Persons named or described in the said Act, or to be appointed under the Powers therein contained, were appointed Trustees, and incorporated by the Name of The Trustees of the British Museum, for putting the said Act into Execution, with such Powers and under such Directions as are therein expressed; and particularly, it was thereby enacted, That within the Cities of London or Westminster, or the Suburbs thereof, one General Repository should be erected and provided for the Reception of the Collections and Libraries therein mentioned, and of such other Collections and Libraries as, with the like Approbation, should be admitted into the same, which several Collections, Additions, and Libraries so received into the said General Repository, should remain and be preserved therein for public Use to all Posterity:

[Purchase of the British Museum.]

And whereas, under the Provisions of an Act of the Twenty-eighth Year of his late Majesty King George the Second, intituled, An Act for vesting Montagu House in Trustees and their Heirs, freed and discharged from all the Estates, Uses, and Agreements to which it at present stands limited and appointed upon Trust, to convey the same to the Trustees of the British Museum for a General Repository, and upon such other Trusts as therein are mentioned; the capital Messuage or Mansion House heretofore called Montagu House, situate in Great Russell Street, in the Parish of Saint George Bloomsbury, in the County of Middlesex, and the Outhouses, Buildings, and Gardens belonging to the same, were duly conveyed and assured unto and to the Use of the Trustees of the said Museum, by Indentures of Lease and Release, bearing Date respectively the Fourth and Fifth Days of April, in the Year One thousand Seven hundred and Fifty-five, and made between the Right Honourable George Dunk, Earl of Halifax, and William Folkes, Esquire, (Trustees under the said last mentioned Act for carrying the Trusts thereof into Execution) of the one Part, and the Trustees of the said Museum of the other Part, and since that Time the said capital Messuage or Mansion House and its Appurtenances have been generally called or known by the Appellation of the British Museum:

[November 22d, 1802, Will of Charles Townley, Esquire.]

And whereas Charles Townley, late of Townley, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, Esquire, duly signed and published his last Will and Testament, bearing Date the Twenty-ninth of November, One thousand Eight hundred and Two, and did thereby devise the Manors and other Hereditaments situate in the said County of Lancaster therein particularly mentioned, and distinguished by the Name of The Townley Estates, to John Trafford, of Trafford House, in the said County, and Stephen Tempest, of Broughton Hall, in the County of York, Esquires, and their Heirs, to the Use of Sir John Lawson, Baronet, and Thomas Eccleston, Esquire, their Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, for the Term of Eight hundred Years, by the Ways and Means therein mentioned, to raise Money for the Payment of his Debts, Legacies, and Funeral Expences in Exoneration of his personal Estate, and for the Payment of certain Annuities; and after the Expiration of the said Term of Eight hundred Years, to the Use of Edward Townley Standish, Esquire, the Brother of him the said Testator during the Term of his natural Life, with a Limitation, &c. in Trust, to preserve the contingent Remainders therein after devised; and after his Decease, to the Use of the first and other Sons of the said Edward Townley Standish, severally and successively according to their respective Seniorities, in Tail; and in Default of such Issue, to the Use of John Townley, Esquire, the Uncle of the said Charles Townley the Testator, and his Assigns during his natural Life, without Impeachment of Waste; and after his Decease, to such Uses as the said John Townley and Peregrine Edward Townley, Esquire, his Son, should by any Deed to be executed by them as therein is mentioned direct or appoint; and in Default of such Appointment, to the Use of the said John Townley, his Heirs and Assigns for ever: And the said Charles Townley did, by his said Will, bequeath to the said Sir John Lawson and Thomas Eccleston his Collection of Antient Marbles, which should be in or about or belong to his House in Park Street, Westminster, at the Time of his Decease, to hold the same unto the said Sir John Lawson and Thomas Eccleston, their Executors and Administrators, in Trust for the British Museum; provided that the Trustees or Managers for the Time being of that Institution should, within the Term of Two Years from the Time of his Decease, set apart a Room or Rooms, which then was or were, or which might thereafter be erected at the said Museum, sufficiently spacious and elegant to exhibit those Antiquities most advantageously to the Publick; such Room or Rooms to be exclusively set apart for the Reception and future Exhibition of the said Antiquities; and in some conspicuous Part of the said Room or Rooms, such a suitable and appropriate Inscription to be made and fixed up, as the Trustees or Managers of the said Museum should deem proper. And that in case the said Trustees or Managers should decline to accept of that his Gift, or should not fully comply with the Conditions thereby imposed by him, then his Will was that the said Sir John Lawson and Thomas Eccleston, and the Survivor of them, and the Executors and Administrators of such Survivor, should stand possessed of his said Collection of ancient Marbles in trust for the Testator’s Brother, the said Edward Townley Standish, his Executors Administrators and Assigns, and the said Testator appointed the said Edward Townley Standish and John Townley the Executors of that his Will:

[22d December, 1804. Codicil to the Will of the said Charles Townley.]

And whereas the said Charles Townley signed and published a Codicil to his said Will, which Codicil bears Date the Twenty-second Day of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Four, and by his said Codicil revoked the Trusts declared by his Will of the said ancient Marbles for the Benefit of the British Museum and the said Edward Townley Standish, and directed that the said Sir John Lawson and Thomas Eccleston, their Executors Administrators and Assigns should stand possessed of the said Collection of antient Marbles upon the Trusts following, that is to say, in case his the Testator’s Brother Edward Townley Standish, or his the Testator’s Uncle John Townley, or his Heirs should, within Five Years from his the Testator’s decease, expend not less than the Sum of Four thousand Five hundred Pounds in placing the said Marbles in a proper and suitable Manner for Exhibition in his Mansion House at Townley, or in the erecting and completing, or purchasing a Suite of Rooms for their Reception and Exhibition, to be added for the Purpose to, or being Part of any House to be built, purchased, or belonging to them or any of them in London then in Trust for the Person or Persons who by Virtue of or under the Limitations contained in his said Will should for the Time being be entitled to the Possession, or to the Receipts of the Rents, Issues and Profits of his Townley Estates, in his said Will mentioned; Yet so that for the Purpose of Transmission the same should not vest absolutely in any Son of his said Brother Edward Townley Standish, until such Son should attain to the Age of Twenty-one Years, or part this Life under that Age, leaving issue inheritable under his said Will, or Born in due Time afterwards : And in case of the Death of his said Brother Edward Townley Standish without Issue Male, as expressed in his said Will, or in failure of such Issue then in Trust for his said Uncle John Townley and his Heirs: But in case his said Brother Edward Townley Standish, or his said Uncle John Townley or his Heirs should refuse or neglect to make such proper Provision for the Reception and Exhibition of the said Antient Marbles within the said Term of Five Years, then it was his Will and Mind that the said Sir John Lawson and Thomas Eccleston, their Executors Administrators and Assigns, should stand possessed thereof in Trust for the British Museum, subject to the same Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions as were contained in his said Will in Respect to the Trust therein declared for the British Museum, and in case the Trustees or Managers of the British Museum should not comply with such Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions then in Trust for his the said Testator’s Executors and Administrators:

And whereas the said Charles Townley departed this Life on the Third Day of January last, and the said Will and Codicil were duly proved by the said Edward Townley Standish and John Townley in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

And whereas at the Time of the Decease of the said Charles Townley, the said Townley Estate, or some Part thereof, was subject to a Mortgage Debt of Thirty-six thousand Five hundred Pounds charged thereupon by Indentures of Lease and Release, bearing Date respectively the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Days of November One thousand Eight hundred and Two, &c. Whereby in consideration of the Sum of Thirty-six thousand Five hundred Pounds by the said John Townley advanced to or upon the Account of the said Charles Townley, the said Townley Estate, or some Part thereof, was conveyed by or by the Direction of the said Charles Townley unto and to the Use of the said John Townley, his Heirs and Assigns by Way of Mortgage for securing to the said John Townley, his Executors Administrators and Assigns the Sum of Thirty-six thousand Five hundred Pounds, with lawful Interest for the same:

And whereas the Collection of Antient Marbles bequeathed by the said Will and Codicil of the said Charles Townley was made by him with great Knowledge, Judgment and Care, and at a very considerable Expence, and is generally considered to be one of the most valuable Collections of ancient Sculpture, and on many Accounts is such a Property as is highly desirable to be possessed by the Public:

And whereas a Proposal having been made by the Trustees of the British Museum to the said Edward Townley Standish, John Townley, and Peregrine Edward Townley for the Purchase of the said Collection of Ancient Marbles and Terra Cottas at or for the Price or Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds, and it having been represented to them that it was highly desirable the same should be possessed by the Public in a proper Repository generally open at proper Times and under suitable Restrictions to the Inspection of Artists, and the Curious in the fine Arts, they the said Edward Townley Standish, John Townley, and Peregrine Edward Townley consented to the said Proposal, and agreed to add to the said Collection the Bronze Statues of Apollo and Hercules, which also belonged to and formed Part of the Collection of the said Charles Townley, on Condition that the whole of the said Collection should be kept together and open to Inspection as herein-before is mentioned, and called by the Name of the Townleian Collection:

May it therefore please your 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 the Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain, or the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty’s Treasury, or any Three or more of them shall, and he or they is and are hereby authorised and empowered out of any of the Aids or Supplies granted in this Session of Parliament for the Service of Great Britain for the Year One thousand Eight hundred and Five, immediately after the passing of this Act to issue and advance the Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds to the Trustees of the British Museum, or any Person to be appointed by the said Trustees to receive the same, which Money shall be paid without any Fee or other Deduction whatever, and shall be applied in the Purchase of the said Collection: And that the Trustees of the British Museum shall, on or before the First Day of September One thousand Eight hundred and Six, require the Delivery of the said Collection; and if the same shall be then delivered to them, and they shall be satisfied that the several Statues and other Articles forming the said Collection are then conformable with the Catalogue thereof deposited in the British Museum, signed by the said Edward Townley Standish, Joseph Planta, Esquire, Principal Librarian of the British Museum, and Taylor Combe, Esquire, another of the Librarians, and duly certified by them on the Third Day of July One thousand Eight hundred and Five, shall on the Delivery of the same into their Custody, pay the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds to the said John Townley, his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, towards the Discharge of his said Mortgage Debt of Thirty-six thousand Five hundred Pounds.

And be it further Enacted, That on payment of the Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds the said Collection shall be vested in the Trustees for the Time being of the said British Museum, and their Successors in perpetuity for the Purposes of the said Act of the Twenty-sixth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Second, absolutely freed and discharged from all the Trusts, Powers, Provisoes, and Declarations, expressed or contained of or concerning the same by or in the said Will and Codicil of the said Charles Townley.

And be it hereby further Enacted, That the said Collection shall be preserved and kept together in the said British Museum whole and intire, and distinguished by the Name or Appellation of the Townleian Collection.

And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Edward Townley Standish shall be associated to the Trustees for the time being of the British Museum, in the Execution of the Trusts reposed in them by the said recited Act; And that upon the Decease of the said Edward Townley Standish it shall be lawful for his Sons severally, successively, and in remainder one after another, as they respectively shall be in seniority of Age and Priority of Birth, and the Heirs of their respective Bodies, being of full Age, and for his her or their Guardian or Guardians, during his, her, or their respective Minorities, and in default of Such Issue to and for the said John Townley, and his Heirs, being of full Age, and for their respective Guardian or Guardians during their respective Minorities, by any Writing under their respective Hands, to nominate some fit Person to supply the Place of the said Edward Townley Standish, or the last actual Trustee in the said Trust, when and so often as any Person so nominated shall happen to die.

And be it further Enacted, That the Trustee hereby appointed, or so to be appointed as herein-before is mentioned, shall have the like Powers in all Respects in the Execution of the Trusts reposed or to be reposed by the said recited Act, or any other Act, in the Trustees of the British Museum, as are or shall be by the said Acts, or any of them, given to the Trustees therein named or described.

And be it further Enacted, That until the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds shall be paid to the said John Townley, the same shall be laid out by the Trustees of the British Museum in the Purchase of Navy or Victualling Bills, or Exchequer Bills, and the Money received for the same as they respectively are paid off by Government, shall be laid out in the Purchase of other Navy, or Victualling, or Exchequer Bills, and all the said Navy, Victualling, or Exchequer Bills shall be deposited in the Bank in the Name of the Trustees of the British Museum, and shall there remain until the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds shall be payable to the said John Townley; And when the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds shall be payable to the said John Townley the said Navy, Victualling, or Exchequer Bills shall be sold, and the Money which shall arise from the Sale thereof shall be paid to the Trustees of the British Museum, and be by them paid over to the said John Townley, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, in the Discharge or Satisfaction of the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds; and whatever the said Navy, Victualling, or Exchequer Bills shall produce over and beyond the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds, shall at the same time be paid with the said Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds to the said John Townley, his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, in or towards discharge of the Interest which shall have accrued on the said Mortgage Debt of Thirty-six thousand Five hundred Pounds.

Source: Acts and Votes relating to the British Museum, 1805.