| Description | This material relates largely to Oswald Mosley's purchase of property at Crowood, Wiltshire in 1944, and to the formation and administration of Pond Wood Estates, a company set up by Mosley to enable him to acquire the Crowood estate, as well as property at Crux Easton, Hampshire, and his requisitioned property at Denham, Buckinghamshire. The company was directed by Harold Hadden, property adviser to the Public Trustee, and he was responsible for all matters of estate management on the farms, as well as the company's investments. The vast majority of the papers concern Crowood, but there is a small amount of material relating to Crux Easton and Savehay Farm, Denham.
Papers consist of legal correspondence from Mosley's solicitors, Marsh & Ferriman, including papers relating to the formation and administration of Pond Wood Estates and to Mosley's financial position; correspondence relating to the company's investments from Mosley's accountants, Spofforth & Prince; accounts and associated papers relating to taxation; papers relating to the purchase of property at Crowood, including two copies of the sales catalogue containing descriptions and photographs of the land and property comprising the Crowood estate, together with coloured plans, and a typed document giving the names of Crowood tenants; documents produced by Pond Wood Estates relating to the estate management of the farm at Crowood; miscellaneous bills dated 1944 from builders, electricians and water and heating engineers for repairs and improvements to Mosley's house at Crux Easton.
Much of this correspondence and associated material was stored by Oswald Mosley in envelopes which appear to have formed a kind of filing system. The envelopes contain notes written in his hand which record details about the content of the enclosed correspondence, the organisation of which appears to be loosely thematic, rather than chronological. This arrangement has been preserved. |