Original family collection · Historical correspondence

An envelope addressed to William Hawes at the Chapel Royal

A surviving envelope, without its original letter, bears a handwritten address to William Hawes Esq. and refers to the Chapel Royal. It provides a tangible connection to William Hawes's musical appointments, but its precise date and the circumstances in which it was sent are not yet known.

Envelope photograph

Family-held historical envelope addressed in manuscript to William Hawes Esq at the Chapel Royal

Working transcription

William Hawes Esq.
Chapel Royal

[Additional handwritten word or notation at lower left: uncertain; not transcribed as fact.]

What it establishes

The envelope is direct physical evidence that correspondence was addressed to someone named William Hawes in connection with the Chapel Royal. The composer William Hawes (1785–1846) was appointed a Gentleman in Ordinary of the Chapel Royal in 1805 and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal in 1817, making the identification plausible. Nonetheless, the envelope itself has no clearly legible postmark or date and does not specify the sender, an office, or a street address.

Identification caution: The family has preserved this envelope as an item relating to the composer. Its attribution to him rests on provenance and the Chapel Royal association. Because the enclosed letter has not survived, it is not possible to infer its subject or sender. The lower-left handwriting remains unidentified.

Archive record

Associated person: William Hawes (1785–1846).
Item: Handwritten envelope only, no letter.
Date: Undated, likely within his Chapel Royal career (not established from the item itself).
Source: Hawes family collection; photographed and supplied 7 November 2026.