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The collection comprises two pamphlets and associated material: An Experiment in Education made at the Male Asylum of Madras (1st Edition) by Andrew Bell, signed by the author to the Lord Bishop of London (1797); An Experiment in Education made at the Male Asylum of Madras (2nd Edition) by Andrew Bell, signed by the author to the Lord Bishop of London (1805); also including a handwritten draft of the pamphlet, A Short Account of my New System of Education for the Poor by Bell, with annotations and corrections (59pp) (21 December 1807); two pages of an unidentified draft, possibly by Bell (n.d.)

Papers of educationalist, writer and humanist (Clifford) James Hemming (1909-2007), including: curriculum vitae and obituary notices, 2007-2008; personal material, including texts of interviews, cartoons and poems/jottings, 1987-2008; miscellaneous articles, papers and published letters, 1951-1999; correspondence, 1962-2000; press cuttings and ephemera, 1945-1960; papers regarding involvement with the World Education Fellowship, 1969-2008; programme for the James Hemming Essay Prize, 2009; copy of Hemming's PhD, Some Problems of Adolescent Girls, 1957; photographs, 1977-2007.

Papers of co-operative activist and educationalist Robert Leckie Marshall, including: drafts of articles written by Marshall, 1946-1968; press cuttings on various topics, including politics, education, religion and the Labour Party, n.d.; speech notes, 1946-1987; miscellaneous papers and correspondence regarding co-operation and the Co-operative College, c 1950-1988.

Papers of educational reformer William Rogers (1819-1896), including: miscellaneous certificates, correspondence and papers regarding Rogers' life and career, religious appointments and the administration of St Botolph's without Bishopsgate, 1837-1994; volume of press cuttings of obituaries of Rogers from various newspapers and periodicals, 1896.

Files containing photocopies of articles, manuscripts, notes and a thesis concerning the career and life of infant educationalist Samuel Wilderspin (1792-1866).

Papers of Samuel Wilderspin, 1823-[1980], chiefly comprising letters received by Wilderspin, although there are a few in series 6 (Manuscripts) written by him. The rest of the collection comprises material collected by Wilderspin, including notices of his lectures, a few sample lessons and promotional literature on literary, scientific and educational societies, and Wilderspin's and Thomas Young's printed works laying out their theories of education. There are also two theses on Wilderspin. Series 7 (Local Infant Schools), is material collected by Wilderspin's biographers Dr Francis A. Young and Dr Phillip McCann, about schools founded by Wilderspin, in the course of writing their book on him.

Particular points of arrangement:

1. Although the material is arranged in classes there are many items that appear to be in the wrong class or which could belong to more than one. Cross-references, especially for the Gaskell letters and material relating to lectures, have been made but it would be advisable to read all the class descriptions when looking for items. References to individuals other than the Gaskells have not been cross-referenced as the class and list descriptions are a guide only to the nature of the papers.
   2. Generally the collection within classes is arranged chronologically. Where material in a class was packaged in date sequences which overlapped it was resorted chronologically on arrival at the archive. The exception is 6/Manuscripts which contains three sets of material each with different provenance.
   3. Endorsements - Many pieces are endorsed. Some are by Wilderspin, in ink. He tended to write the sender's name on the back of the letter. Others are in pencil and are by Dr. Francis Young who added possible dates, explanations and possible readings of illegible words. He also wrote some explanations in biro on separate sheets of paper. These have been left with the originals and are numbered in the same sequence.
   4. Some letters refer to "enclosed" items. The whereabouts of these are no longer known.
   5. For counting purposes note that the previous counting of pieces and items has been confused. The number of items quoted in the class descriptions and recorded on the envelopes containing the papers may not therefore reflect the exact size of the class. For a definition of items and pieces see Cook, M The Manual of Archival Description 2nd edition (1989).
   6. For some years there is copious material while for others there is very little.
   7. Where possible the main subjects in a class, in terms of quantity, have been identified in the class description. Some classes, however, were too diverse to do this.
   8. Many of the dates have been added to the documents in pencil by Dr. Francis Young, brother to John Young, who deposited the papers.