The papers consist of letters, manuscript poems and prose pieces, pictures, and printed material. Major groups of correspondence include: Letters written by Southey to Anna Eliza (Kempe) Stothard Bray (1790-1883) between 1831 and 1839 in which he discusses literature, politics, local history, and antiquities; letters to Humphrey Fleming Senhouse (1781-1841) dated from 1805 to 1838; seventeen "Autobiographical Epistles" written by Southey to John May between July 26, 1820 and January 8, 1826, and correspondence with the poet William Wordsworth. The collection also contains letters written by Southey's second wife Caroline Anne (Bowles) Southey (1786-1854) to Mrs. Bray and others. Many of these letters concern Southey's failing health. Letters written by Southey's son, Charles Cuthbert Southey (1819-1888), are also in the collection, as well as original handwritten fragments by Richard Duppa (1770-1831) and Southey.