Records of Froebel College, comprising:
College Government records, including minutes of the Committee of Members of the Froebel Educational Institute, 1900-1953; minutes of the Governing Body of the Incorporated Froebel Educational Institute, 1953-1969; minutes of the Council of Management, 1970-[1993]; minutes and papers of the College Governing Body, 1970-1993; minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Association of the Froebel Educational Institute, 1946-[1995]; minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, 1948-1954, 1978-1983; Annual Reports, 1895-1933; lists of subscribers, [1899]; College regulations, 1953; and papers of the Academic Board, 1973-1984.
Papers relating to relations of the College with outside bodies, comprising general correspondence and material concerning visitations and inspections, including the National Froebel Foundation, 1933-1951; the Board of Education (later the Ministry of Education), 1934-1944; London County Council, 1920-[1953], including papers concerning the LCC Nursery School, Grove House; Hertfordshire County Council, [1949-1950], mainly relating to the plans for College use of Offley; the Institute of Education, 1947-1960, including minutes of the Committee of Principals; the ATCDE, 1942-1946; the Nursery School Association (now BAECE), and other organisations concerned with early education, 1945-1946; and the Training Colleges Clearing House, 1951.
Financial records including annual accounts, 1908, 1910; General Ledgers, 1928-1941; Cash Books, 1921-1954; Petty Cash books, 1935-1949; balance sheets, [1928-1940]; monthly accounts, 1926-1960s; Student Fee Books of Froebel College, 1905-1906, 1910-1911; files relating to College fees, 1950s; accounts for various scholarships and external grants, [1929-1949]; cash book for the Students Aid Fund, 1898-1956; salary books, 1940s-1953; ledger for the Common Room Fund, 1936-1950; and accounts of the Esther Lawrence Association, 1948-1966.
Material relating to buildings, including correspondence and papers concerning building funds and appeals, [1891-1960]; correspondence and financial material with architects including John S Quilter, [1899-1914], and Norman and Dawbarn, 1954; legal papers and correspondence relating to Knebworth House, 1939; ground plans of the College, [1920s-1930s], including the new Science Block and the Lulham Extension; plans by Fernand Billerey plans for alterations and extensions during the 1920s; files relating to maintenance of the College buildings, 1920s-1960s; and Bursar's files, [1930s-1990s].
Publicity material, including prospectuses, [1889]-1958; papers relating to Open Days, 1964-1970; advertisements, 1925-1933; and press cuttings, [1890s-1990s].
Curriculum material, including syllabi and course descriptions, 1942-1975; papers relating to examinations, including correspondence with the National Froebel Foundation, 1940-1949, and the Institute of Education, 1957-1958; examination reports, 1940-1949; Froebel Educational Institute notes on the College curriculum, 1963-1975; and syllabuses, 1946-1963.
Staff and student material, comprising staff registers, 1894-1929, including registers of visiting teachers, 1894-1901; visitors books for students and staff at Knebworth and Grove House, 1943-1962; student registers, 1913-1962; student records, 1940-1990s, relating to the PGCE course, 1975-1991, the Nursery Education Course, 1974-1976, the Diploma in Education, 1964-1984, and the Diploma in Music, 1970-1982.
Material relating to student societies, including papers of the Guild of St Francis, the FEI Natural History Club, including accounts, 1901-1921 and minutes, 1907-1943; illustrated scrapbooks relating to College trips to Keston, [1924-1931].
Papers of the Michaelis Guild, notably minute books, 1896-1992; printed notices, 1905-1981; financial material, 1955-1977; and historical material relating to the Guild.
Papers relating to the Library including working papers and notes of actions for the Library Committee, 1939-1971; account books, 1922-1979; Annual Reports, 1908-1957; accession registers, [1920s-1980s]; various stock books, 1920s-1962; minutes of the Library Committee, 1930-1958; Library reports, 1925-1927; 'Meetings minute books', 1922-1930, 1969-1971; and accounts for Mary Bennett's Prize, 1943-1951.
Materials relating to College events, including visitors books for the Spring Festival, 1925, and various exhibitions, 1948 and 1982; papers relating to vacation courses and conferences, 1925, 1948-1952; and material relating to the 1982 Bicentenary arrangements and 1992 Centenary celebrations, including correspondence, cuttings and brochures.
Miscellaneous material relating to the history of the Froebel Educational Institute, 1892-1978, including reminiscences of students, staff and pupils; papers relating to the foundation of the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, 1974-1978, including instruments, draft deeds, and College by-laws; and material relating to the history of Grove House, [1920s-1930s], including correspondence and maps.
Materials relating to the Demonstration Schools of the Froebel Institute, including prospectuses, fee books, student registers, annual reports, financial material and funding appeals for Colet Gardens Demonstration School (later Ibstock Place), [1894-1936]; prospectuses, magazines, student/staff registers, fee books for Challoner Street Practising School, [1905-1914]; prospectuses, financial material and staff salary book for Grove House School, [1920s-1940s]; Annual Reports for Redford House, [1989-1992]; prospectuses, Annual Reports and trust deeds for Michaelis Free Kindergarten (later Notting Hill Nursery School and St Anne's Nursery School); and minute books, Annual Reports and prospectuses for Somers Town Nursery, 1910-1946.
Student work, [1894-1970s], including scrapbooks, handwork examples, drawing and lettering copybooks, notebooks covering the range of subjects taught in a Froebel College, including Nature Study and Handwork, and also Teaching Practice notes; there are also various wooden games such as Froebel's Gifts, jigsaw puzzles, ABC games, picture and word matching games and number games.
Photographs, [1890s-1990s], of Froebel College buildings and grounds, notably Grove House, Templeton, Knebworth, Offley, Colet Gardens, and other colleges; students and staff, including student activities, teaching, and College social events; a separate box contains photographs of students at the Froebel Educational Institution Demonstration School in 1928-1929, including Iris Murdoch.
Material relating to specific persons, notably Esther Lawrence (1862-1944), 1898-1931, including printed articles by her, mainly on kindergarten and preparatory school teaching; biographical material compiled by Jane Read; original correspondence including letters to Claude Montefiore and Arthur Symonds; personal notebooks and texts of speeches; and invitations to 'At homes', 1903-1907. Papers of Madame Michaelis (1834-1904), one of the founders of the Froebel Society, including lecture notes, 1884-1895, and a draft 'History of the founding of the new Education, 1831-52'. Research material mainly concerning the life and work of Friedrich Froebel, and consisting of photocopies, copies and transcripts of original archival documents, photographs, and extracts from printed works. Personal papers of Molly Root Brearley, [1940s-1980s], including volumes of notes for use in College assemblies, teaching material such as lecture notes and course papers, extensive printed materials on educational topics, including articles and pamphlets written by Brearley. Original writings of Dr Elsa Walters, including various short stories and an autobiography written in 1979.
Publications: Copies of The Link, the journal of past Froebel College students, 1910-2002; Froebel Society pamphlets, 1878-[1967].
