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Pre-reformation papers and papers of the English Secular Clergy, 1501-1688 and papers of the Vicars Apostolic of the London District, 1688-1847.

The papers chiefly comprise correspondence with the Roman agent; papers relating to Synods; copies of Pastorals; correspondence with Vicars Apostolic and clergy from the Western, Midland and Northern Districts and Scotland; correspondence with Irish Bishops; correspondence with institutions of the English Catholic diaspora; correspondence with Bishops and clergy abroad notably with the Catholic Church in the British colonies; legal papers including wills, bequests, leases and trusts and papers of institutions of the English Catholic diaspora including Douai College, 1652-1789; St Omers College, 1762-1772; the English College Rome, 1701-1783; the English College Lisbon, 1708-1791; the English Seminary Paris (also known as St Gregory's, Paris), 1762-1777 and student register for the English College Lisbon, 1628-1715.

The papers of the Vicars Apostolic of the London District include papers from the episcopacy of Bishop John Leyburn, 1688-1702, Bishop Bonaventure Giffard, 1703-1734; Bishop Benjamin Petre, 1734-1758; Bishop Richard Challoner, 1758-1781; Bishop James Robert Talbot, 1781-1789; Bishop John Douglass, 1791-1798; Bishop William Poynter, 1812-1827; Bishop James Yorke Bramston, 1828-1836 and Bishop Thomas Griffiths, 1836-1847.

Highlights of the collection include: a consultation about the dowry of Catherine of Aragon, c 1509; copy of a letter from Mary Queen of Scots, c 1586; letter from St Henry Walpole to Father Persons, 13 Nov 1593; chart of the Royal succession down to James VI of Scotland as published in Father Persons' book on the succession, 1593; letters of Cardinal William Allen; letter from Father Henry Garnet relating to the Gunpowder Plot, c 1605 and a petition from the Citizens of London to Charles I complaining about Popery, 1640.

Supplementary historical papers, 1293-1889, comprising:

1 Copy of the charter and statutes of the Vicars Choral of Wells, c 1591.

2 Volume containing Acta of Archbishops of Canterbury, Robert Winchelsea, 1293-1313; Walter Reynolds, 1313-1327 and Simon Islip, 1349-1366 and heresy presentations in the diocese of Norwich, c 1430.

3 Volume of letters of Bishop Robert Gradwell, whilst Rector of the English College, Rome, 1817-1828, chiefly to Bishop William Poynter.

4-5 Volumes containing copies of letters of Bishop Thomas Griffiths, 1837-1847.

6 Papers of Capt Barker on the Catholic Revival, 1676-1683 and papers of Henry Browne, Secretary of State to James II in exile at St. Germain, chiefly between France and England, c 1689-1691.

7 Papers relating to the Stuarts, notably James II, 1692-1695, 1711-1713 and 1717-1719.

8-13 Copies of papers and transcripts gathered by the antiquarian John Kirk when researching a continuation of Charles Dodd's Church History of England (1737-42).

14 Official printed material relating to the Beatification of St John Fisher, St Thomas More and others, 1866.

15 Writings of Bishop Richard Challoner and John Kirk's copy of Challoner's Spiritual Letters.

16 Letters from the French Clergy, following the French Revolution, chiefly to Bishop John Douglass, 1792-1798.

17 Papers of Bishop Douglass chiefly concerning nuns, 1788-1805.

18 Papers relating to the Chapter of St Peter, Rome, [by Canon Richard Howard], 1714-1720.

19 Petition of thanks to Pope Pius IX from the Laity of Westminster and Southwark, following the restoration of the Hierarchy, 1850.

20 Draft letters of Bishop William Poynter, 1812-1827.

24-27 Volumes of correspondence of the Roman Agents 1578-1636.

28 Volume of contemporary catalogues of the English martyrs, 17th century.

29 Letters and papers of William Howard and a few earlier family papers, c 1633-1680.

30 Letters of Bishop Robert Gradwell at Rome, 1817-1827.

31 Manuscript volume of Thomas Worthington's catalogue of martyrs, 1614, and copies of other papers concerning martyrs.

32 Volume containing transcriptions of documents in the Magliabecchiana Library, c 1549-1625.

33-46 Epistolae Variarum, 1701-1784, letters from Rome to the Vicars Apostolic.

47 Volume of Roman Agency papers, 1625 with some miscellaneous papers, 1605-1715.

48 Volume of papers of the Roman Agency and papers of [Christopher] Bagshaw, 1590-1790.

49 Volume of draft letters of Bishop William Poynter, [1806]-1814.

50-55 Claims for the recovery of the Douai property and for compensation and correspondence with the English Commissioners, c 1814-1830.

56-57 Process for the English martyrs at Rome, 1888-1889.

Papers of St Gregory's, Paris, (the Paris Seminary), 1701-1782 and an account of the English Mission by Bishop Edward Dicconson, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, [c 1741-1752].

Private correspondence and diaries, 1598-1847, comprising:

E1: An extended letter from John Sargeant (1623-1710) in his defence, bound in a volume, giving 'a catalogue of all the pieces I have writ for Catholic Faith; together with the Occasion, the Process and Upshot of the Controversies between myself and the Protestant writers', Paris, 1700.

E 2: Volume of letters, 1596-1606, chiefly in Spanish, notably from Don Gomez Suarez de Figueroa of Cordova, Duke of Feria to Thomas Fitzherbert and from Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria; Lord Bothwell; Thomas Fitzherbert and Sir Francis Inglefield.

E 7 and 8: Two volumes of Bishop Robert Gradwell's journal whilst rector of the English College, Rome. Volume 1, 1817-1825 and volume 2, 1825-1828.

E 11 Volume of the correspondence of Charles Edward Stuart, c 1764-1769 including with Henry Benedict Stuart and members of the French Court including the French Queen. The volume also contains the correspondence of Lady Webb.

E 12 Volume containing notes on legal practice, possibly made by Edmund Blount, Clifford's Inn, 1695.

Manuscript treatises and follows:

F 1: 'Annales Elizabethae Reginae', by Anthony Champney, 1558-1603. 1 vol. Latin.

F 3: Declaration of the Vicars Apostolic and their Coadjutors in Great Britain in defense of the Catholic faith, 1826. 1 vol. English.

F 4: Treatise from regular leaders (Jesuits or Benedictines) of England, against Richard Smith, Bishop of Chalcedon as part of the approbation controversy entitled 'A survey of the Answere to the Bishop of Chalcedon his letter to the lay Catholics of England sent to him by the heads of three regular orders in England', 1629. 1 vol. English.

F 5: De quimdecim gloriosis Anglia martyribus breuis historia,

ab Henrico Stilo Benedictino, ex Anglico sermone, in Lamu translate, ex me'I ciori ordine collocate.Pro verae virtutis preniys, falsisceleris poenas subimus.
Gislenpopoli. 1 vol. Latin.

F 6: Sixteenth century Commonplace book concerning the reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries. 1 vol. Latin.

F 7: Volume of additions to Charles Butler's Historical Memoirs of the English, Irish and Scottish Roman Catholics, given to the Vicar Apostolic of the London District by Butler, 1822. 1 vol. English.

F 8: Partial transcript of B28: Volume of contemporary catalogues of the English martyrs, 17th century.

F 9: Transcriptions of manuscripts in Series A comprising:

Transcription of 'Collectanea B' or 'Collectanea de martyribus', the collection of Father Christopher Greene, chiefly containing correspondence between Richard Verstegen and Father Person's, 1592-1594. This collection is no longer in the possession of the Westminster Diocesan Archives as it was exchanged with Stonyhurst College in 1921.

Transcription of Shelly's supplication to Queen Elizabeth I, 1585, in Series A, volume 4, p 33.

Transcriptions of papers relating to martyrs from Series A.

F 10: Transcriptions of papers relating to martyrs from Series A. 1 file.

F11-F17: Biographical notes on priests in penal times by Canon Edward Burton, arranged alphabetically. 7 boxes. English.

F18-19: Theological treatises by Jos[eph] Stapleton, eighteenth century. 2 vols. Latin.

F 20: Sermon notes on the Resurrection and other topics. 1 vol. English.

F 21: Two unbound manuscripts: 'The origin, distinction and mutual independence of the Civil and Ecclesiastical Power' by Bishop William Poynter, and 'The Contemplative Solitaire and Spiritual Guide' by Father George of St Joseph. 2 items. English.

Watercolour drawing of a quartz crystal with asbestos inclusions, by Charlotte Caroline Sowerby, [1854].

Caption reads: 'Mineralogical phenomenon

Rock crystal with an hexahedral pyramid in the centre formed of Asbestos. This Crystal is supposed to be unique, Mr Sowerby never having seen a similar one, so extraordinarily curious and beautiful. Charlotte C Sowerby.'

Typescript draft, with corrections, of paper 'The Piltdown Problem Reconsidered' by Dr Kenneth Page Oakley, [1972]. Paper describes the circumstances of the original Piltdown discovery by Charles Dawson and recounts Oakley's involvement in proving that the affair was a fraud.

Eight pencil drawings and watercolour paintings of geological features around Cromarty and Assynt, in the Highlands of Scotland, by Charles Henry Lardner WOODD, August 1847.

Various papers relating to the search for coal and oil in the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire area of the Midlands between 1900 and 1926, and the presence of oil in England more widely. They include maps, correspondence, reports, proofs of articles and publicity literature, legal documents, and newscuttings.

They mostly cover the period from 1911 to 1919, and relate to the discovery of oil in August 1911 at Kelham, Nottinghamshire, with one file covering a later peiod (1920s) and focusing on coal borings in Lincolnshire.

Two scrapbooks of documents, newspaper cuttings and photos collected by Sir Jethro Justinian Harris Teall and his wife Harriet, 1876-1926.

Many items relate to Teall's life, with events including his honorary degrees, lectures he gave, dinners he attended, and invitations to occasions such as the funeral of Edward VII and the coronation of George V. There is also a great deal of material relating to his younger son Frederick Teall, particularly his time in the Cambridge University Athletic Club and his subsequent career in the Egyptian civil service and participation in tennis tournaments in Cairo. There are a few items relating to Teall's wife, Harriet, and his elder son, George Teall, who was in the army.

The first volume mostly dates from Teall's time as director of the Geological Survey, while the second relates to the latter part of Teall's directorship of the Geological Survey and his subsequent retirement activities.

Papers of Major Arthur GREIG, 1910-1958, comprising:

Nine field maps of the Western Front, 1910-1918, relating to Captain Arthur Greig's military service in the London Scottish Regiment during the First World War (1914-1919); autobiographical notes by Greig probably made in 1958, covering his employment at the Society until the period until 1951.

Black and white, glass lantern slides by various photographers and geologists mostly of geological subjects but including a small number of ethnographic and botanical images relating to Ceylon [Sri Lanka], [1890-1905]. The majority of the images, c 200, are taken by Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy but the collection also includes small numbers of slides by others including: Skeen and Co, Ceylon; Arthur Sankey Reid; Geologists' Association; G P Abraham; H A Hinton; John George Goodchild; Newton and Co; Robert John Welch; William Whitehead Watts; Sommer and Son, Naples; and the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Nine black and white photographs showing the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Pelée, Martinique, in 1902. Six of the photographs are of the town of Saint-Pierre. Also, manuscript sections of the volcano showing the various stages of the eruption, November 1902-October 1904, by Major W M Hodder, Royal Engineers, 27 October 1904.

Large, conte and pencil drawing of a Cruziana semiplicata fossil by John Lucas Tupper, Rugby School, Rugby, [1875].

Personal papers, notebooks and diaries relating to Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, particularly his early life. Personal papers include marriage certificate to second wife (Lady Frances Fermor), and birth certificate of son (Patrick Leigh Fermor), CV, photos, and his initial contract with the Geological Survey of India, with diaries covering 1902-1904 and 1908, and notebooks on natural history.

The series also includes extensive correspondence between Lady Frances Fermor, the Geological Society, and other individuals on the subject of Lady Fermor's will and the establishment of the Fermor Fund and Fermor Lecture, as well as the will itself and conditions of the Fund.

Material ranges in date from 1889 to 1998.

Papers of William Hutton, [1827-1831], comprising:

Two ink drawings of Coal Measure plants, by William Hutton, from the Northumberland and Durham coal-field, [1827]; draft of paper 'On the Stratiform Basalt associated with the Carboniferous formation of the North of England' by William Hutton, accompanied by 12 ink sketches of sections, [1831].

Papers of Miss Etheldred BENETT, comprising:

Large ink drawing of a fossil alcyonium, [1814-1817]; Bound volume, 'Sketches of fossil Alcyonia from the Green Sand Formation at Warminster Common and in the immediate vicinity of Wiltshire', 1816; Watercolour painting of a meteorite that fell in County Limerick in September 1813, [1825].

Papers of William Buckland, [1810-1845], comprising:

Manuscripts and illustrations relating to William Buckland's published work, notably the lithographs of the skeletal remains of extinct animals found in cave deposits intended for the proposed second part of 'Reliquiae diluvianae', 1825-1829; Letters from Roderick Impey Murchison to William Buckland, 1827-1841; Seven maps with geological colouring and notes by William Buckland, [1810-1840].

Papers of Adam Sedgwick, 1816 and 1843-1854, comprising:

Two notebooks from Sedgwick's tour through the continent of Europe, June-September 1816; manuscripts of Sedgwick's papers, mostly on the geology of Wales, which were read and later published by the Society, 1843-1854.

Drawings and watercolour paintings of fossil fish by Joseph Dinkel, J C Weber, Cécilie Agassiz, Jacques Bourkhardt, G A H Köppel and Sixtus Heinrich Jarwart and others, commissioned by Jean Louis Rudolphe Agassiz for his publications 'Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles' (1833-1844) and the follow up 'Monographie des Poissons Fossiles du Vieux Grès Rouge' (1844-1845). Also includes drawings commissioned by Lord William Willoughby Cole (1807-1886), later the Earl of Enniskillen, and Sir Philip de Malpas Egerton (1806-1881) of their own fossil cabinets.

Manuscript map 'Geological outlines of the country in the vicinity of the Swan River, Western Australia, compiled at the request of his Excellency John Hutt, Esq' and an accompanying geological memoir with list of fossils by Joshua William Gregory and Francis Thomas Gregory, 1846.

Part one of manuscript of paper, 'On the geology of portions of the Turko-Persian frontier and of the districts adjoining' by William Kennett Loftus, [1854-1855], from research conducted during Loftus' tenure as part of the joint Turco-Persian frontier commission between 1849-1852. Also large volume containing the manuscript watercolour and ink drawings of landscapes and geological sections, which illustrated the paper, by Loftus and Henry Adrian Churchill who was the secretary of the British contingent of the joint commission, [1849-1855].

'Scotland coloured according to the rock formations', by Louis Albert Necker, [1808]. Geological colouring on base map 'North Britain or Scotland divided into its Counties, corrected from the best surveys and astronomical observations by Thomas Kitchin', published by William Faden, 1 December 1778. Dissected on cloth.

Papers of Searles Valentine Wood Jnr, [1862-1881], comprising:

Illustrated manuscript, 'A memoir in explanation of the structure of the glacial and post glacial beds.... in the Thames valley between London and the sea...', 1867; Ordnance Survey maps of East Anglia and the Thames Valley, annotated with geological lines, notes and colouring by Searles Valentine WOOD jnr, which were used as field maps during his research into glacial deposits in the south east of England, [1862-1881]; File of letters concerning the complaint by Searles Valentine Wood jnr about the alterations made to Joseph Prestwich's published paper on the Crag of Norfolk, Mar-Apr 1875.

Papers of Frederic William Harmer, comprising maps of East Anglia, annotated with geological lines, notes and colouring, used as field maps during research into glacial deposits in the south east of England, in collaboration with Searles Valentine Wood jnr, [1862-1872]. Base maps are Ordnance Survey, one inch (Old Series) sheets nos 50-51, 65-69 (quarter sheets).

'Geological map of the Neighbourhood of Cambridge', by Lucas Barrett, 1859. Geological colouring with printed key on base map Ordnance Survey, one inch (Old Series) quarter sheet no.51 (SW Cambridge), by Lt Col Thomas Frederick Colby, published 1 June 1836.

Manuscript of paper 'Notes on the Peat and Underlying Beds observed in the construction of the Albert Dock Hull', by John Clarke Hawkshaw, 1871. Paper is illustrated at the back with diagrams of sections of borings taken before and during the progress of works.

Manuscript notebook, containing a draft of a paper on the distribution of flint in the Chalk of Yorkshire, by John Robert Mortimer, [1875]. [Note: paper makes reference to a map and tracings, however these are not included.]

Scientific and general correspondence addressed to Thomas George Bonney, written between 1858 and 1919. There are 68 letters from 38 correspondents, some of them notable scientific figures such as: Sir Charles Lyell; William Thomson, Lord Kelvin; Joseph Lister; Adam Sedgwick and William Sollas.

Papers of John MACCULLOCH, [1808-1858], principally comprising:

Proofs and publications of John MacCulloch - Author's reprints of nine papers published in the 'Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 1811-1817; Printed proofs of John MACCULLOCH's paper, "On malaria", parts 1 and 2, from the 'Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and the Arts', 1827; Proofs for John MACCULLOCH's book 'Proofs and illustrations of the attributes of God, from the facts and laws of the physical universe; being the foundation of natural and revealed religion', 1832-[1837];

Prints and drawings by John MacCulloch, including - the Channel Islands, 1811; granite tors of Cornwal and Devon, 1814; Glen Roy, 1817; Western Isles of Scotland, 1819; Conwy and Dunkeld, [1808]-1822, although file contains some later material not by MacCulloch; Pentland Hills and Dumfriesshire, [nd, c.1810s]; 'Illustrations of the Highlands of Scotland', [c.1820s]; album of sketches and prints, [1810-1832];

Maps and sections by John MacCulloch - Sections, elevation and plan of the strata of Heligoland, 1809; Watercolours of fracturing of veins in limestone with sections, 1811; Geological map of Scotland, 1836 [poor condition].

'Geological researches round London', comprising five volumes of manuscript copies, by a number of hands, of notes made by James Mitchell principally on the geology and botany of London and the Thames Valley during his residence in the City, [1832-1840]. Also includes some cuttings of Mitchell's published articles. An index to the papers appears at the front of each volume and the titles or subjects listed are:

VOLUME 1

Loampit Hill; Cavern on the side of Blackheath; Pit in the old Charlton Parish; Shooters Hill; Pit at New Charlton near Woolwich; Sundridge Park near Bromley; Erith; Crayford; Bexley Heath; Dartford; Road from London to Gravesend; Greenhithe Park; Northfleet (including fossils and plants); Shorne; Holly Hill; Gadshill; Pits at Chatham; Gravesend to Wrotham; Town Malling; Quarry near Maidstone; Kits Cotty; Isle of Sheppey; Cliff at Reculver; Margate Sands; Chatham to Canterbury; Key Street; Sittingbourne; Canterbury to Margate; Isle of Thanet; Sandwich; Richborough Castle; Channel Flints; Dover to Folkstone; Hayes Common; Pratts Bottom; Knockholt Beeches; Knockholt to Tunbridge; Tunbridge to Maidstone; London Clay in Kent; Sand found in the Thames; Brickmaking; Useful applications of Chalk; Limeburning; Great Lime; Lias Lime; Cement Stone; Heights in Kent; Manufacturing of Whitening.

VOLUME 2

Heights of various places in Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex above the low water according to the Trigonometrical Survey; London Clay; Remains of quadrupeds; Of gravel; Animal remains in flint found in the Clay; Kensington; Hampstead; Highgate; Tottenham Marshes; From London to Edgeware; Stanmore Common; Harrow on the Hill; London to Uxbridge; Amersham; Watford; Hatfield Herfordshire; Well at Beaumont Green; Ware; Hertford; Ware to Cambridge; London to Romford and Brentford; Brook Street; Warley Common; London to Chigwell and Ongar; Ongar; London to Cambridge by Epping; Saffron Walden; Alluvial soil on the banks of the Thames; Purfleet; Artesian Well in the Marsh near Purfleet; Button's Breach; Gray's Thurrock commonly called Grays; London to Woodbridge; Chiselhurst; Gravesend; Dartford Marshes; Orpington; Wandsworth; Knightshill; Kingston upon Thames; Croydon; Head of the Wandle; Carshalton; Beddington Surrey; Mitcham Common; Wells at Mitcham; Ashtead Surrey; Ewell Surrey; Carshalton Downs; Croydon to Merstham; London to Merstham; Merstham; Well below the Church at Merstham; Gatton Park; London to Reigate by Sutton; Reigate; London to Godstone; Godstone; The Bourne; Tilburstow; Bletchingly; Fuller's Earth Pits; London to Dorking; Dorking to Limepits; Dorking to Leith Hill; Leatherhead to Guildford; Guildford; Chelsworth House; Langdon Hills Essex.

VOLUME 3

New River Company's well at the end of Tottenham Court Road; Upper Clapton; List of minerals and fossils in the pits at Muswell Hill by Frederick Purdey; Brentford; Hounslow Heath; Hanwell; Wells at Hanwell; Harefield; Enfield; Northan; Cheshunt Street; Watford; Wades Mill; Puckeridge; Much Haddam; Royston; Tring; Strata of Essex; Waltham Abbey; Sewardstone; Epping Forest; Stratford; Dagenham; Ilford; Romford; Upminster; Peckham Rye; Counter Hill; Norwood; Epsom; Sutton; Cheam; Road from Croydon to Limpsfield; Merstham; Bletchingly; Nutfield and Fuller's Earth Pits; Barnes; Chertsey; Plumstead; Sydenham; Dartford Heath; Chiselhurst; Westerham; Farningham; Maidstone; Wrotham; Upnor; Cliff, Cooling and All Hallows; Cuxton; Halling; Isle of Sheppey; Sittingbourne; Windsor; North side of Bagshot Heath; Bagshot Heath; On the Blackheath formation; Druid Sandstone; On the changes produced on chalk flints.

VOLUME 4

Section of the London and Croydon Railway; Of the London Basin; Of the London Clay; Age of the London Clay; Fossil wood in London Clay; Septaria or Cement Stone; Wells in London; Bognor Shells; Woolwich Shells; Mineralogical substances in Middlesex and Essex (Cement Stone, Pyrites, Selenite, Wood, Sulphate of Magnesium); Quartz; Gravel. Series of papers on the construction and description of water wells, including: Foul air - wells; Wells at Sanderstead, Norbury, Epsom Downs, Kent; Air pump used in well digging and well boring; Expense of well digging and well boring; Direction of underground currents; Foul air in Wells in Essex and Middlesex; Beds of sand in the blue clay beneath it; Wells rot each other; Wells at Sheerness and in Sheppey; As to whether digging or boring be preferable; Muswell Hill; Barnet; Hemel Hempstead; Tring; Buntingford; Royston; Hare Street; Danbury; Rochford and Rayleigh; Wallisea Island; Wigborough; Coast near Malden; Braintree; Croydon and the neighbouring Country; Brixton; Forest Hill; Well at Balham Hill; Well at Mortlake; St George's Hill; Kingston to Guildford; Weybridge; Well at Cobham; Godstone; Well at Merstham; Waltham on the Hill; Headley; Reigate; Red Hill Reigate; Dorking; Wells at Normanry and Ash; Wells in the Weald of Sussex; Reading; Newbury; Bexley Heath; Chelsfield and Well Hill; Wells at Margate; Great Baddon; Wells in various places.

VOLUME 5

Superficial strata of the county of Middlesex; Wells in Middlesex; Well at St Mary Woolnoth; Church Fenchurch Street; The Thames Tunnel; Mud and sand carried out by the Thames; Hampstead Heath; Watery action on the surface in Essex; On wells formed by digging and boring in Essex; Stratford in Essex; Chigwell and Chigwell Row; Kelvedon; Copford; Great Wakering; Wakering Marsh; Foulness Island; Walton on the Naze; On the watery action on the surface of the county of Surrey; On the sections at New Cross; on the strata of the of the Jolly Sailor Station of the Croydon Railway; Shirley sand pits; Addington Hills; Croham Hurst; Croydon; Woking Common; Leatherhead; Nettley Heath; Heights above the level of the Thames of places in and about London; On the foul air in the chalk and in the strata above the chalk in the country near London.

Papers of Nathaniel John Winch, [1808]-1820, comprising:

Drawing of a plan of the dykes in Montagu Main Colliery, [1808]; Sketches of sections showing dykes in Whitley Quarry and Walbottle Dean, [c 1814]; Letter to Thomas Webster describing a fossil plant found near Whitby, 1820.

Black and white albumen photographs of the Pleistocene geology of Malta, 1893-[1894], which accompanied a paper by John Henry Cooke.

This section contains papers relating to nursing and public health courses offered at Bedford College. The papers concern the administration of the courses including correspondence and minutes of committee meetings as well as a number of press clippings, pamphlets related to the course and sample certificates.

This series contains records relating to the transportation of mails by road (mail coaches in particular) but also includes material on the early use of railways. Some reference to steam packets is also contained in this series.

This series of records comprises the private office papers of Rowland Hill including, Rowland Hill's Post Office Journals, extracts from the volumes of Secretary's minutes to the Postmaster General and some original documentation relating to those minutes, volumes of Rowland Hill's minutes to the Postmaster General, correspondence and general material relating particularly to postal reform and including a copy of all volumes of 'History of Penny Postage' by Sir Rowland Hill, KCB (published by William Clowes & Sons).

This series consists of bound volumes of Tilley's private letters and correspondence to the Postmaster General, the Treasury and various Post Office officials and members of the public during the time in which he was first Assistant Secretary and then later Secretary. In 1854 the Post Office underwent a general revision and the Treasury appointed a Commission of Enquiry upon which Sir Charles Trevelyan, Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr Hoffey sat. Tilley was greatly interested in the work of the Commission and, as a result, much of his private correspondence is from, and to, members of the Commission. A further area in which Tilley had influence of interest was the revision and improvement of the Rural Post System and, as a consequence, the extension of the rural delivery. Again this is reflected in the nature of the correspondence within the volumes.

Furthermore, the correspondence covers a variety of subjects including inland and overseas mail arrangements, Sunday labour disputes, wage disputes, opening of the Post Office Savings Bank, and telegraph business. There is also correspondence relating to his knighthood.

This class comprises Post Office headquarters files which, as a time saving wartime measure, were recorded under a Decimal Filing system, instead of the previously used 'Minuted' system. Like the minuted series, the files cover a diverse range of subjects and registry staff continued to add files to the series after it had nominally been closed in 1949: consequently, records date up to 1967. Subjects covered in the papers include inland and overseas telecommunications during and after wartime, the issue of stamps, and Post Office administrative records, such as those covering the introduction of the Decimal Filing system.

The Decimal Filing system was a simple system based on numbers being allocated to particular subjects or headings, with decimal extensions of these numbers being allocated to subheadings: e.g. 10 = Postal Packets, 100 = Letters (Ordinary). No record volumes were created for the Decimal Filing series; papers were filed in batches according to the common serial number allocated for a particular subject.

The POST class is comprised, for the most part, of Entry Books of correspondence which contain authorities for acceptance and payment of monies by probate of wills, letters of administration, powers of attorney, bankruptcy, appointment of assignees, incidental payments, packet boat expenses and warrants for payments of annuities.

This series has nine sub-series. These cover Telegrams (general), Greetings Telegrams, Forces Telegrams, the Telemessage Service, Overseas Radio and Telecommunications Branch, the Rules and Procedures, material used for exhibitions, Press cuttings and History.

This series comprises publications, reports, minutes and correspondence on the establishment, operation and development of the Public Relations Department (PRD) and its predecessors and successors. It also contains records on the communication and marketing activity of the Post Office, as well as advertising, training, and educational material produced by the PRD and other Post Office departments.

The earliest material in this series consists of artwork commissioned by the Public Relations Department and its predecessors to be printed and distributed as posters and greetings telegram forms.

It includes designs for posters that were subsequently published under the publication references IRP and PRD and a number of adopted greetings telegram designs, it also contains many designs for both posters and greetings telegrams that were rejected.

The Public Relations Department approached many artists to produce designs for posters and greetings telegram forms and the series includes work from noted artists such as: Tom Eckersley, Frank Newbould, Edward McKnight Kauffer, John Nash, Jan Lewitt and George Him, Pat Keely, Barnett Freedman, Claudia Freedman, Rex Whistler, Margaret Calkin James, Edward Bawden and John Farleigh.

Later material includes artwork produced for a variety of purposes, such as publicity leaflets, press advertisements and designs for logos, vehicle livery, postal equipment and letter boxes.

Material consists of paintings and pencil and ink drawings, it also incorporates various techniques such as lithography and computer aided design. The series also contains a number of photographs and transparencies as well as annotated printed proofs for designs.

There are also a number of items relating to logo and logotype design and branding of the Post Office and its services, including artwork for the redesign of the GPO logo by MacDonald Gill in 1934.

Also included are a number of original illustrations produced by artist, Ben Maile in 1990 for inclusion in a Post Office commissioned book: 'First Post: From Penny Black to Present Day'.

This Class relates mainly to the railways but includes some material concerning conveyance of mail by mail coaches and steam ships.

When Stephen Tallents became GPO (General Post Office) Public Relations Manager in 1933, he decided to adopt the use of posters to carry information from the Post Office to the public. The bulk of POST 110 consists of over 6000 posters produced by the Post Office from the creation of its Public Relations Department in 1934 up to the present day.

Posters were initially produced for distribution to schools as an educational aid, or for display on mail vans, but soon the decision was taken to produce posters specifically designed to be displayed inside public offices; subject matter included public information and sales of philatelic items.

Posters for internal purposes were also produced by the Joint Production Council from the 1950s, these variously encouraged staff to be industrious, vigilant and to be thrifty.

Many well-known artists and designers have been commissioned by the Post Office (particularly in the 1930s-1950s) to produce posters. These artists include Peter Huveneers, Hans Schleger (Zero), Abram Games, Austin Cooper, Eric Fraser, Jan Lewitt, George Him, Tom Eckersley, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Harold Sandys Williamson, Frederic Henri Kay Henrion, Hans Arnold Rothholz, Ronald Searle and Barnett Freedman.

POST 110 also includes POPOS (Post Office Point of Sale) display instructions produced for branches, giving information on the display material they should obtain and display for particular periods. It also includes other publicity material such as leaflets and calendars.

There is an ongoing project to catalogue POST 110, with the main focus currently on the posters; there are 1,837 posters catalogued and available for viewing via our online catalogue, the majority of these records also include images of the posters.

The newspaper cuttings follow the development of the postal and telecommunications services from the postal declaration of 1685, and early accounts of the collection of mail from coffee houses in the eighteenth century, through to contemporary reports.

The most complete run of catalogued material covers the period 1843-1903, during which time the cuttings were bound into large volumes, each volume spanning one to two years. These cuttings are largely concerned with the early development of the telegraph and telephone and include details of private telegraph companies (particularly the Electric Telegraph Company, founded in 1846) and their takeover by the state; the relationship between the postal and telegraph services and the railways; international expansion of the system; and, later, the growth of the telephone service, and negotiations which eventually led to the transfer of ownership from the private telephone companies to the state in 1912. Some items are included because the report was received by telegraph and do not have any obvious postal connection. The majority of cuttings were collated centrally, with some early selections marked 'For the information of the Postmaster General', but the collection also includes albums collected by individuals or at a local level.

The twentieth century is not represented as comprehensively, with very little material from the First or Second World Wars, or the interwar period. Wartime reporting restrictions and the rising cost of newsprint, combined with the role of the Post Office on the home front probably contributed to the absence of material during this period. In the second half of the twentieth century, cuttings are more likely to be found arranged by local area or by subject, e.g. the 1971 postal strike. Since 1999, photocopies of selected cuttings, entitled 'What the media are saying', have been received from the Royal Mail Press Office on a weekly basis, and these are arranged chronologically, but have not been catalogued.

During BPMA stocktaking 2005 a quantity of material was transferred from the search room portfolio collection to the archive. These cuttings cover both the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, and have been catalogued by decade or, in a very few cases, by subject. The nineteenth century material includes many engravings and illustrations.

Cuttings have been taken from a variety of sources - national and local newspapers; satirical magazines; government and Post Office publications; and scientific and trade journals; but the volumes also include original items such as share application forms, annual reports, tariffs, technological specifications, photographs, cartoons and illustrations. The cuttings cover many aspects of postal history and legislation which are officially documented in other post classes, but offer alternative perspectives and provide a good indication of both public opinion of the postal administration, and public response to postal innovations, including new issues of stamps, new buildings and the introduction of new uniforms. They also provide an opportunity to gain an overview of developments in the service during a particular period.

In addition to specific postal information, the class provides a record of the influence of the Post Office on British culture, demonstrating its role in the growth of mass communication and technological advances; education; the development of employment opportunities for women; and the trade union movement. Some volumes contain personal stories of the lives of postal workers, which may be of interest to family historians, and many volumes include interviews with employees and accounts of the daily running of the postal service which provide information about the duties attached to particular posts. Obituaries are a particularly good source of personal information relating to senior postal officials.

The catalogue entries include an overview of the material with a list of examples of particular interest, some volumes contain indexes of every item.

This series contains Post Office documentation relating to the lifespan of Girobank, from its setting up until after its sale. Documentation takes the form of annual reports, organisational reviews, correspondence with other branches of the Post Office and with external bidders, press releases and clippings, press briefings, minutes of committees representing the Girobank sale or other businesses within Royal Mail, correspondence with Government officials and departments, promotional material, specimen samples of stationery, staff training leaflets and analytical studies. This series also takes into account the impact of the sale of Girobank on Post Office Counters Ltd and charts subsequent Post Office events during the 1990s.

This series comprises reports, papers, presentations by postal IT staff, handbooks and user guides relating to the different aspects of data processing in the Post Office. Although automatic data processing (ADP) was first introduced to the Post Office on a large scale with the LEAPS system in 1958, POST 113 focuses on ADP in the Post Office from the 1960s onwards. It charts the process of the introduction and implementation of ADP and computer applications and systems to different areas of postal work in order to capture data, streamline postal operational processes and generally improve the daily running of the Post Office.

Examples of material include: a number of reports from the 1960s on new proposals to implement ADP and several files which provide background to: the planning and control of ADP in the Post Office (POST 113/5), the structure of the Computer Development and Office Services Department (POST 113/10) and details of the different computer hardware already in place by the 1960s (POST 113/11).

This series also contains information on the different computer applications and systems proposed and implemented within the Post Office, such as PIVOT (POST 113/23-POST 113/25) and reviews undertaken by the Post Office and external organisations to suggest improvements to existing systems (for example, POST 113/21). In addition, there are files covering the Mails Circulation Project (POST 113/33 and POST 113/34) and the Counter Automation Project (POST 113/38 and POST 113/40).

Finally, there is information on IT strategies within the Post Office and details of the work of the National Data Processing Service (see POST 113/37 for details on the considerations of data protection and computers).There are also examples of computer handbooks and user guides in POST 113/41, POST 113/42 and POST 113/43.

POST 114 comprises Acts of Parliament relating to Post Office business covering the years 1657-1986. Parliamentary warrants, treasury warrants, details of parliamentary debates, memoranda and related reports can also be found within this class. The class is thematically separated into 24 Sub-Series' (which in turn are organised chronologically) covering a wide range of legislature, from major Post Office Acts that established such historic privileges as the state monopoly of postal communications, to numerous acts of a less celebrated nature, such as Road Repair Acts or Electric Lighting Acts. A number of important Acts can be found in Sub-Series 1 'The Establishment of the Post Office and Postage Rates', including the Post Office Acts of 1657 and 1969. Reports, policy reviews, various bills and other papers of a similar nature are gathered in Sub-Series 2 'Growth and Expansion of the Modern Post Office'. These records cover the years 1951-1986. All of the major branches of business that have been under the control of the Post Office during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are represented in this class, including: telegraphs and telephones (Sub-Series 7); savings banks (Sub-Series 12); pensions (Sub-Series 15); and National Insurance (Sub-Series 16), amongst much else.

This series is comprised of serialised publications produced by, for, or relating to, Post Office staff associations, unions and societies. The publications contain information on all aspects of union and association internal activity and their negotiations with management on wages, recruitment, grading and conditions. They also report on Annual Conferences and convey general staff news, such as appointments and the development and re-structuring of The Post Office and its subsequent effect on workers.

Many of the publication titles have changed, they are listed as a continuous series and details of the change in title is given at the beginning of the series. Details of those that have undergone significant changes are given.

Please note that in some series many of the publications have been numbered incorrectly or inconsistently at publication stage. The volume and issue numbers given in the description are those that appear on the original.

Photo library created by a number of different departments within the Post Office, including the Public Relations/Communications department.