Boyle Archive
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Part of the first page of a lease-book of Boyle’s lands as designated to be inherited by his eldest son, Richard, Viscount Dungarvan. (NLI)
The Boyle family archive, known as the Lismore Papers, is one of the most important archival collections for the study of seventeenth-century Ireland. It is split into two collections, one of which is located in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, and the other at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The archive comprises thousands of documents, including personal and official correspondence, land deeds and leases, financial papers, legal papers and household accounts. Crucially it contains a sizeable number of estate documents, including deed-books that show how Boyle acquired his estate over time, lease-books that provide details as to whom individual parts of the estate were leased and on what terms, and rentals that give an insight into how the estate was managed and exploited.
