[This document can be acquired from a sub-directory coombspapers via anonymous FTP or COOMBSQUEST gopher at the Australian National University, Canberra on the node COOMBS.ANU.EDU.AU or from the ANU Soc.Sci.WWW Server at http://coombs.anu.edu.au/CoombsHome.html] The document's ftp filename and the full directory path are given in the coombspapers top level INDEX files] [This version: 9 June 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- UK NATIONAL REGISTER OF ARCHIVES - information leaflets ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL REGISTER OF ARCHIVES information sheet no 2 sources for colonial history ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This information sheet describes briefly the unpublished sources noted in the National Register of Archives (NRA), the principal specialist repositories that may be contacted and the most useful general works of reference. Among other subjects to be covered are women's history, social reform, maritime and business history. 1. NRA INDEXES All three indexes contain information of interest to colonial historians. The numerical NRA references are to lists received by the NRA from libraries, record offices and other sources which may be consulted in the Commission's search room, where the NRA is available. Personal index Notes the papers of individuals who can be traced in standard works of reference like the Dictionary of National Biography, Who's Who, Boase, Modern English Biography, and specialist works of reference such as Henige,Colonial Governors from the Fifteenth Century to the Present (1970) and JC Sainty, Office Holders in Modern Britain: Colonial Office Officials (IHR 1976). Individual and descriptive searches are available and a thesaurus of descriptions used can be accessed on line. The index is designed to notice only groups of ten or more items of correspondence; to trace smaller quantities will normally require personal search of likely NRA reports . A database of papers of individuals not easily traced in works of reference is in preparation. Business index This index is a useful source for colonial and overseas business history, which may be trawled by name or type of business (a list of business codes and a business index vocabulary are available on line), town, county, document dates or any combination of these. For example, Code 18, subcode 10 (merchants - overseas) includes The Company of Merchants Trading to Africa, Liverpool (NRA 16665) and James Finlay and Co Ltd, tea planters, cotton manufacturers and East India merchants (NRA 23054). Subject index This index is arranged archivally rather than thematically, comprising references to the institutions which generate records rather than the places and events to which the records relate. It may be trawled by any word in an institution's title, type of institution, town, county, document dates or any combination of these. A list of codes can be consulted on line. For example, code 26, (organisations and societies) sub-code 9 (pressure groups) includes the Anti Slavery Society (NRA 1095), Liberation, formerly the Movement For Colonial Freedom (NRA 27885) and the Colonial Intelligence League (NRA 20625); whilst code 26, sub code 12 (religious organisations) notes missionary records including Church Missionary Society African mission records (NRA 12768). Code 32 (trade and employers associations) notes the Commonwealth Producers Organisation (NRA 25316). 2. SPECIALIST REPOSITORIES The following repositories hold collections relating to colonial history. Each repository has its own numerical location code. This can be used on the register screen to identify lists received from the repository by the NRA and on the repositories file to check opening times and other essential information. British Library, Manuscript Collections, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG (location code 58) As the major national repository holds papers of eminent persons who served in the colonial administration. Some fifty three are listed in the Commission's guide to the Private Papers of British Colonial Governors 1782-1900, (HMSO 1986). See The British Library, Catalogue of Additions to Manuscripts. British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NG (59) Holds official records of the East India Company, Board of Control and India Office, including records of British administration in the Persian Gulf, East Africa and South Asia at different periods. Also holds collection of European manuscripts (Mss Eur.) including personal papers of individuals who served in the area. Notable among these are the Viceregal papers of Chelmsford (NRA 20538), Curzon (NRA 20536), Dufferin (NRA 20537), Lansdowne (NRA 8657), Mountbatten, Northbrook and Wavell. See Select List of the Private Collections in the European MSS (1985). Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge, Laundress Lane, Cambridge CB2 1SD (13) Holds records relating to the British presence in South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, Nepal and Afghanistan with a strong emphasis on the papers of civil servants and others who worked in government administration, covering the period 1760-1947. NRA 15477 contains an index of persons and other lists of holdings. See also Cambridge South Asian Archive (1973), compiled and edited by Mary Thatcher (III CAM), and Principal Collections of Papers in the Cambridge South Asian Archive (1987, 2nd edition) by L Carter and D Bateson. Durham University Library, Sudan Archive, Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Palace Green Section, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3RN (33) Holds papers of former officials, soldiers, missionaries, business men and individuals who served or lived in the Sudan 1899-1956. NRA 34356 contains a summary catalogue and reference to more detailed lists which have been sent to the NRA. Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library, University of London, 27-28 Russell Square, London WC1 5DS (101) Holds collection of primary sources relating to countries in the Commonwealth with a particular emphasis on Southern Africa and the West Indies. Personal papers include CLR James (NRA 21998), Simon Taylor and Richard Hart, relating to the Caribbean; also Richard Jebb (NRA 18529), Sir William Ivor Jennings (NRA 30413), Mary Benson (NRA 28846) and John Patrick Cope (NRA 25249) relating to South Africa. Organisational holdings include the African National Congress (NRA 23125), South African Congress of Democrats (NRA 23192) and the West India Committee. There is no guide to the collection as a whole. See NRA 18538 and NRA 28847 which contain further lists of manuscript holdings. See also B Willian, The Southern Africa Materials Project, University of London, 1973-76. Musee Royale de L'Afrique Centrale, Steenweg op Leuvan 13 , Tervuren, Belgium 1980 (928) Holds, in addition to records relating to the Congo, papers of Sir Francis Walter De Winton and Sir Henry Morton Stanley. National Archives of Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (643) Holds papers of British colonial officials who served in Canada including Major-General Sir Isaac Brock (NRA 25948), Lt-General Sir Archibald Campbell (NRA 25949), General Sir William MacBean George Colebrooke (NRA 25950), Admiral Sir Thomas Duckworth (NRA 25952), John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham (NRA 10620) and the Legge family, Earls of Dartmouth (NRA 25410). See Union List of Manuscripts in Canadian Repositories, revised (1975) edition (Ottawa, Public Archives, Canada). National Archives of Zimbabwe, Private Bag 7729, Causeway, Harare (735) Holds a collection of non-official historical manuscripts comprised of private papers of former colonial officicials including Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey, Sir Leander Starr Jameson, Sir Harry Hamilton Johnson, Sir William Henry Milton, General Sir George Thomas Napier and Colonel Francis William Rhodes; also, business records including the Anglo-African Trading Co and records of missions and other organisations. See the Guide to the Historical Manuscripts in the National Archives of Rhodesia (1970) by TW Baxter and EE Burke. National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Canberra, Australia, ACT 260 (635) Holds private papers of officials including the Governor-Generals John Lawrence Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven (NRA 22806), Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman (NRA 22804), Ronald Crauford Munro-Ferguson, Viscount Novar (NRA 22805) and Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (NRA 22803). National Library of Scotland, Department of Manuscripts, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW (233) As a major national repository holds records of eminent individuals who served in the colonial administration including Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane, Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (NRA 18510), Hugh Elliot (NRA 10476), Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto (NRA 10476) and General Sir Thomas Hislop. See Catalogue of Manuscripts. Public Record Office, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond TW9 4DU (66) As well as official records of the Colonial and Dominions Offices, holds personal and semi-official papers of British ministers and officials relating to the colonies; including the papers of General Sir Redvers Buller (NRA 28820), Viscount Cardwell (NRA 20657), 4th Earl of Carnarvon (NRA 20656), Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (NRA 7283) and Viscount Milner (NRA 23395). See The Current Guide to the Public Record Office, class mark PRO 30; also PRO Records Information Sheet 86, The Records of the Colonial and Dominions Offices from 1782. Rhodes House Library, Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RG (162) Holds manuscript collections principally relating to Africa, including papers of colonial officials and other persons including Cecil John Rhodes (NRA 23762, 24248 and 25607), General Sir Richard Bourke (NRA 26112) and Lord Lugard (NRA 8555) and papers of former British colonial officials and development administrators collected under the Oxford Colonial Records Project and the Oxford Development Records Project (NRA 26794). Rhodes House Library also holds organisational records including the Fabian Colonial Bureau (NRA 16153), the London Group on African Affairs (NRA 17813) and the Africa Bureau (NRA 24727). See Manuscript Collections of Africana in Rhodes House Library, Oxford (1968), and Manuscript Collections (excluding Africana)....1970, compiled by LB Frewer, with supplements (1971, 1978). Royal Commonwealth Society Library, 18 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BJ (115) (negotiations over the location of the Library in the new extension at Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge are in progress. A skeleton service is in operation for the time being at the Northumberland Avenue site). Holds records of colonial officials and others including Lt-General Sir George Arthur (NRA 6388), Sir John Glover (NRA 6389) and Frederick Grant Banks (NRA 19215) as well as a large collection of travel journals, diaries and papers; also organisational records including the Imperial Federation League, the Royal Colonial Institute and the Commonwealth Producers Organisation. See the Manuscript Catalogue of the Royal Commonwealth Society (1975) by DH Simpson, further supplements to 1983. Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR (402) Holds records of overseas expeditions and private papers, diaries and travel journals of British explorers in territories which subsequently became colonies. See The RGS Archives. A Handlist, compiled by Christine Kelly. (Reprinted from the Geographical Journal vols 141-3 and a supplement 1988 vol 154). St Antony's College Middle East Centre, University of Oxford, OX2 6JF (165) Holds collection of private papers of over two hundred individuals who either served or had interests in the Middle East, with particular emphasis on Palestine during the period of the British Mandate and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States since the First World War, including the papers of Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, Cecil John Edmonds, Harry St John Philby and Major-General Sir Edward Louis Spears . NRA 20811 provides a consolidated list. School of Oriental and African Studies Library, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG (102) Holds collection of Oriental and African MSS and related European MSS including private papers of overseas administrators, businessman, scholars, teachers, missionaries and travellers. Amongst its personal collections are Sir Henry Marion Durand (NRA 14595), Sir Frederick Maze (NRA 10515) and Sir William Mackinnon (NRA 10515). The School also holds related business records including the British India Steam Navigation Co Ltd (NRA 10515 Mackinnon), Guthrie and Co Ltd, India Merchants, London and John Swire and Sons, Oriental Merchants and Shipowners (NRA 19823). The School is one of the main repositories for overseas mission records including the London Mission Society, the Methodist Missionary Society, the China Inland Mission, the United Society for Christian Literature and others (NRA 12965); other organisational records include Liberation, formerly the Movement for Colonial Freedom (NRA 27885) and the China Association. See Guide to the Archives and Manuscript Collections (1987). Scottish Record Office, HM General Register House, Edinburgh EH1 3YY (234) As a major national repository holds papers of persons who served in the colonial administration including Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (NRA 10188), George William Hope (NRA 10172), Lt General Sir James Leith (NRA 10212), Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron Loch and General George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie (NRA 17164). State Library of New South Wales, Mitchell Library, Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia NSW 2000 (637) Holds papers of officials in the colonial administration including Vice-Admiral William Bligh (NRA 25523), General Sir Richard Bourke (NRA 25899), Sir Evan Nepean (NRA 28290) and Sir Alfred Stephen (NRA 25898); also papers of other individuals including Sir Joseph Banks (NRA 19108), Randolph Hughes (NRA 25522) and George Ernest Morrison (NRA 25521). University of York, Centre for Southern African Studies. (194) The Southern African Archives are located at the Borthwick Insitute of Historical Research, St Anthony's Hall, York YO1 2PW (193) Holds collection of primary source materials on Southern Africa with a strong emphasis on Rhodesia and parts of South Africa in the post Second World War period including papers of Joost De Blank (NRA 24316), Sir Patrick Duncan, the Rev WD Grenfell, Dame Naomi Margeret Mitchison, Sir TIF Wilson and Sir Roy Welensky. Organisational records include papers of the Lancaster House Constitutional Conference on Rhodesia/Zimbabwe (NRA 24318). See A Guide to the Southern Africa Archives in the University of York (1979) by Lodge, Akeroyd and Lunt. 3. OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES For details on the archives of former colonies not listed in section 2 consult the location register and main NRA Register screen. Guides to selected overseas archives are also available in the search room For information about public records, which will not normally be found on the NRA indexes, you should contact the Public Record Office, Kew TW9 4DU or consult the PRO's published guide. See also PRO Information Sheet 86, The Records of the Colonial and Dominions Offices from 1782. 4. SURVEYS AND WORKS OF REFERENCE [Items marked * are available in the search room or from the Search Room officer.] *Private Papers of British Colonial Governors 1782-1900 (Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts: HMSO 1986). Alphabetically arranged with a repositories index. *Private Papers of British Diplomats 1782-1900 (Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts,: HMSO 1984) Guide to Collections of Manuscripts relating to Australia (3 vols, Canberra, 1965). RW Baldock, A Survey of Southern African Manuscripts in the United Kingdom (1976). V Bloomfield, Resources for Australian and New Zealand Studies. A Guide to Library Holdings in the United Kingdom (Australian Studies Centre and British Library, 1986) V Bloomfield, Resources for Canadian Studies in Britain, with some reference to related collections in Europe (2nd Edition, British Association for Canadian Studies, 1983). *C Cook, Sources in British Political History 1900-1951: Vol I, A Guide to the Archives of Selected Organisations and Societies (1975); Vol II, A Guide to the Private Papers of Selected Public Servants (1975); Vol VI, First Consolidated Supplement (1985). CA Jones, Britain and the Dominions. A guide to the business and related records in the UK concerning Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa (1978). P Jones, Britain and Palestine,1914-1948: Archival Sources for the History of the British Mandate (1979). P Mander-Jones, Manuscripts in the British Isles relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific (Canberra, 1972). N Matthews, Materials for West African History in the Archives of the United Kingdom (London University, Athlone Press, 1973). *N Matthews and MD Wainwright, A Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles relating to Africa (1971) * " A Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles relating to the Far East (Oxford, 1977) * " A Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles relating to the Middle East and North Africa (Oxford, 1980). JD Pearson, Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles relating to South and SouthEast Asia ( 2 vols, 1989, 1990). R Seton and E Naish, A Preliminary Guide to the Archives of British Missionary Societies (Workshop on Missionary Archives at SOAS, 8-9/7/1992). Anne Thurston, Guide to Archives and Manuscripts relating to Kenya and East Africa in the UK (2 vols 1991). *P Walne, A Guide to Manuscript Sources for the History of Latin America and the Caribbean in the British Isles (1973). Please note: the NRA is very much dependent on the archivists and researchers who voluntarily contribute to it lists and other forms of information. If you know of any library or archive, group of papers, survey or finding aid of which we appear to be unaware, please do let us know in writing so that this information can be made available to others. Enquiries about any matter relating to manuscript sources can be directed to the Historical Manuscripts Commission, Quality House, Quality court, Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1HP. The public search room is open 9-30 to 5-00, Monday to Friday, and no appointment is necessary. Limited enquiries can be dealt with by post or e-mail (sargent@uk.ac.ulcc.clus1). January 1994 (1st revison) c The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts 1994 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- end of file