John Sharp, Sheriff and Commissary Clerk, Dumfries, purchased Hoddam Castle and the barony of Hoddam from Charles Carnegie, 4th Earl of Southesk, in 1690. He was succeeded by his son, George Sharp, Advocate, adm.1712 [d.1740]. Matthew Sharp of Hoddam [c.1695-1769] fought on the Jacobite side at the Battle of Preston, 1715. His nephew, Charles Kirkpatrick, assumed the name Sharp when he succeeded in 1769.

The correspondence is largely with the family’s Law Agents, tenants and neighbours including Sir John Dalyell, 2nd Baronet of Glenae, his wife Henrietta Dalyell and their son, Robert Dalyell, 5th Earl of Carnwath [c.1687-1737]. Of particular interest are William Lukup, Master Mason’s letter of 1702 concerning the building of Maxwellton, a letter of Bryce Blair, Surveyor of Customs, Annan, 1757, with a list of trees for planting on the estate, and the Rentals for Knockhill Estate, 1802 and 1804.