The collection contains notebooks of sketches and drawings, 1838-1841; levelling books, 1840-1880; and Henry Rastrick's diary for 1884.

Papers, 1786-1875, of John and Sarah Thomas, including John Thomas's journals and memoranda books, 1821-1875, including his religious reflections, life in England and Tonga, and missionary work; sermon notes, undated; manuscripts on Tonga and the South Seas, including mythology, religion, history, and ranks of chiefs, undated; photographs, prints and drawings, most unlabelled, of people and places in Tonga, undated [1820s-1850s?]; two accounts of the life of Sarah Thomas by John Thomas [1867 or after]; miscellaneous correspondence, 1825-1873, of John and Sarah Thomas, including letters from John Thomas to Wesleyan Mission House; journals of Sarah Thomas (née Hartshorn), 1826-1855, including her experiences in Tonga; account book for building a new Methodist chapel in Glasgow, 1786-1792; steward's account book, 1813-1820, of the Methodist Society, Glasgow, including Leaders' meetings minutes, 1813-1820.

Records, [1820s]-1984, of the Chadwick Trust. Administrative papers comprise legal papers setting up the Trust, 1890-1896; minute books, 1895-1983; annual reports, 1962-1978; lists of securities, 1914-1917; corrected booklet The Chadwick Trust, 1926-1937; script of a proposed film treatment of Sir Edwin Chadwick, 1958; signing-in book for meetings, 1972-1980. Financial papers comprise account books, 1958-1979; tax claims, 1972-1976; financial files, 1972-1980; correspondence on tax reclaimed, 1980. Papers on lectures given under the auspices of the Trust comprise announcements of lectures, 1913-1935; printed copies of lectures held under the Trust's auspices, 1930-1967, the subjects including public health and buildings, sewerage, nutrition, disease, air quality, training and public health, medical provision, and public health work overseas; other printed lectures and writings, 1896-1932, the subjects including aspects of sanitation, disease, and Sir Edwin Chadwick. Correspondence comprises general correspondence, 1913-1924, 1971-1982; correspondence of the Clerk of the Trust, 1969-1979; correspondence of G M Binnie, 1944-1980; Charity Commission correspondence, 1962-1978; correspondence relating to medals and a memorial prize, 1966-1978; Trustees, 1969-1977; receptions, meetings and lectures, 1970-1978; blue plaque, 1972-1976; costing of activities, 1974; annual reports, 1974-1979; transfer of the Trust to University College London, 1974-1984. Miscellaneous items pertaining to Edwin Chadwick, [1820s]-1889, include his diary [1820s] and patents of his inventions, 1871-1872. Other acquired papers comprise printed ephemera including circulars against inoculation [1914-1918] and undated printed extracts from a hymn on sanitation. Photographs include undated prints of Edwin Chadwick and other eminent scientists; undated slides for a lecture, including various 19th-century public figures, 19th- and 20th-century mortality rates, and various London hospitals; and photographs, 1980, of a plaque to Chadwick at his birthplace in Longsight, Greater Manchester.