| Description | Volumes of manuscripts collected by Vincent Eyre, lawyer and brother of Thomas Eyre (Ushaw College's first president), chiefly legal papers shedding light on the operation of the penal laws in Britain during the eighteenth century. The manuscripts cover various court cases, mostly legal opinions, briefs, and letters, on the interpretation of the penal laws against Catholics relating to the inheritance or sale of their estates, as well as prosecutions brought against certain Catholics for failing to attend Protestant services and Catholic priests for saying mass. There are also manuscript and printed copies of the various bills and acts of penal legislation, as well as a number of documents highlighting the involvement of prominent individuals in the Jacobite Rising of 1715, such as the earl of Derwentwater and Lord William Widdrington. |