The papers consist of business correspondence, draft reports, accounts and other papers relating to Thomas Telford's professional activities for the last decade of his life, as well as correspondence and some drafts relating to the 'Life of Thomas Telford civil engineer' itself. The business papers relate mainly to Scottish undertakings and to harbours, canals and fen drainage, with some personal and professional accounts. The collection is roughly half of the material which survived in John Rickman's hands; the other half is now with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.