THE Royal Society has begun legal moves to halt the £1 million auction of a 17th-century manuscript charting the beginnings of modern science.

The papers were written by Robert Hooke, the Royal Society’s first curator of experiments, and include the original minutes of meetings in the 1670s and 1680s.

Members of the Royal Society, founded in 1660, believe that the minutes must originally have been removed unlawfully from its archives and, despite having been missing for more than 300 years, they want them returned.

Lawyers have been instructed to establish how strong the Royal Society’s case is in law and, if possible, to make an application to the High Court for the manuscript’s return.

Among the options being considered by the society’s legal team is an application to delay the sale — to be held by Bonhams in London on March 28 — so that the rightful ownership can be examined.

Bob Ward, for the Royal Society, said yesterday: “We have no record of these documents having been transferred legally to another owner.

“Hooke was the secretary appointed by the Royal Society and the manuscript would automatically have been ours to begin with. It’s not clear how it came to be in somebody else’s possession.”

The manuscript has been put up for auction by a couple from Hampshire who, believing it to be a copy rather than the original minutes, had stored it at the bottom of a cupboard.

The couple, whose identity is being kept secret by Bonhams, had inherited the documents.

Hooke, one of Sir Isaac Newton’s chief rivals in the 17th century, died in 1703 and his papers passed to a cousin, and five years later to Richard Waller, his biographer. In 1715 they passed to the Reverend William Derham, a fellow of the Royal Society, who edited and published some of Hooke’s research. From him they were passed down to the Hampshire couple. While the route by which the manuscript of more than 520 bound pages reached the present holders is not disputed by the Royal Society, it is contesting Hooke’s right to remove the documents.

Lawyers have been instructed to investigate by Stephen Cox, the executive secretary of the Royal Society. He said: “It takes time to work out how these documents left our possession and what has happened to them since. We are now running against the clock.”

In case it proves impossible to reclaim the manuscript, the Royal Society has begun a fundraising campaign to try to buy it. Several wealthy donors have offered contributions but the fund is still far short of the sum likely to be required.

The Royal Society’s biggest fear is that the manuscript will be sold to a foreign bidder. It would seek to petition the Government to refuse any export licence, giving it time to match a winning bid. Mr Cox said: “These documents are a unique and irreplaceable part of the Royal Society’s history, and indeed of the record of Britain’s pivotal role in the birth of modern science.”

Josephine Olley, for Bonhams, said: “Bonhams is satisfied that our client has good title to the manuscript, which has been in their ownership for many years. We have established a detailed provenance from the 17th century.”

Explore Books

• Book Extracts

• Book Reviews

• Books Group

• Audio Books

Times Recommends

• Jane Bussman's Top 10 journalism tips
• Why do Pynchon, Ballard and Wallace provoke such online loyalty?
• The Sunday Times 100 best holiday reads