 |
Send an email |
 |
020 7898 1518 |
The National Society has built up a rich archive of information on the history of the Church in education from 1811 onwards. The archive is held at the Church of England Record Centre in Bermondsey, south-east London.
The archive contains over 15,000 files of correspondence concerning individual schools. Many of these Church schools are still very active today. We also hold files on closed schools, and on county schools that were originally founded as Church schools. The files mostly contain correspondence and papers about applications for grants. Supporting papers for these applications (school annual reports, plans, illustrated letterheads showing the school buildings, and information on the foundation of the school) can sometimes be of great interest to researchers on school histories. Local historians may also gather useful material from these files. The application forms often contain a surprising amount of detail about the building and construction of a school, and information on the local population.
Trust deeds are a common feature of the files. A condition of any grant was sight of the school's trust deed, so files contain information on these documents, or even a full copy. Trust deeds contain valuable information about a school's foundation dates, and the names of the trustees.
Some Church schools in the Dioceses of London and Southwark have deposited their records at the Centre. A list can be viewed at the Centre.
For the family historian, the archive contains an index of school teachers, compiled from sources within the archives and library. This covers the period 1812-1855 and gives brief educational details of individuals trained by the Society. If a schoolmaster happened also to be a clergyman, he is likely to be listed in Crockford's Clerical Directory, available at the Record Centre.
The history of the Society as a corporate body can be researched in the minute books of its major committees, and in the complete set of its annual reports, both covering the period from 1811 to the present day.
In addition to the Society's own papers, the archive also includes the records of the Church of England Sunday School Institute (which amalgamated with the Society in the 1930s) and the St Katherine Cree Sunday School Library.
The Record Centre holds an extensive collection of the Society's books and publications, fully indexed.
The Church of England Record Centre
© The National Society (Church of England) for Promoting Religious Education 2003-4 | National Society Sitemap |