Gurwood started work straight away and by the autumn was in regular correspondence with the Duke who was clearly much enthused by the project. The Duke was determined that history should not be rewritten, and told Gurwood to compile the work only from public documents and not to make any corrections. Assembling the papers was not an easy matter. Some came easily to hand in bound letter books but much was in loose documents to be found throughout the Duke's houses. The Duke entered willingly into the searches, in August 1834 spending 'three days in a diligent search for the papers you require.' Gurwood wrote round to known recipients of the Duke's letters asking if they had copies, and also found references within documents which prompted further searches. 'The work grows with its growth' he wrote to the Duke. In these circumstances it was extremely difficult for Gurwood to maintain control over the contents of the volumes, in particular setting the papers in date order. Much relevant matter was found too late, as in July 1834 when the Duke sent Gurwood packets of letters that should have gone into Volume I which was already in print.