Bishopsgate Library is an independent, charity-funded

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

located within the

Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London, located near Liverpool Street station and Spitalfields market. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, c ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

Description

The library's particular strengths include printed and archive material on

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

and the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

, developed by

Charles Goss Charles William Frederick Goss (1864–1946) was an English librarian, polemicist and cataloguing innovator. He worked in English public libraries at the turn of, and the early, twentieth century, and was prominent among opponents of open access ...

, librarian from 1897 to 1941. The London Collection includes books, directories, maps and visual material relating especially to the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. The George Howell Collection is an important library of books and pamphlets covering many of the political and economic issues of the late 19th century, including early

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

reports. Howell's own correspondence and papers form part of this collection. The library also holds the archives of the

London Co-operative Society The London Co-operative Society (LCS) was a consumer co-operative society in the United Kingdom. History The Society was formed in September 1920 by the amalgamation of the Stratford Co-operative Society and the Edmonton Co-operative Society, ...

Archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

of other individuals include

George Jacob Holyoake George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 – 22 January 1906) was an English secularist, co-operator and newspaper editor. He coined the terms secularism in 1851 and "jingoism" in 1878. He edited a secularist paper, the ''Reasoner'', from 1846 to J ...

(1817–1906), secularist and early Co-operative Movement activist;

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Brad ...

(1833–1891), politician and founder of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

; and the cultural historian and local resident

Raphael Samuel Raphael Elkan Samuel (26 December 19349 December 1996) was a British Marxist historian, described by Stuart Hall as "one of the most outstanding, original intellectuals of his generation". He was professor of history at the University of East L ...

(1934–1996). The archive at the Bishopsgate Library holds over 20,000 images in three collections: The LAMAS Glass Slide Collection, the London Co-operative Society and the London Collection Digital Photographs. They have recently shared some of their images from London & Middlesex Archaeological Society (LAMAS) in 1977 on

Historypin Historypin is a digital, user-generated archive of historical photos, videos, audio recordings and personal recollections. Users are able to use the location and date of their content to "pin" it to Google Maps. Where Google Street View is availab ...

. This collection contains images of many of London's landmarks including churches, statues, open spaces and buildings, as well as images showing social and cultural scenes from the early 20th century. The library hosts the

Great Diary Project Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, founded by Dr

Irving Finkel Irving Leonard Finkel (born 1951) is a British philologist and Assyriologist. He is the Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum, where he specialises in c ...

, which by September 2021 had collected more than 15,000 unpublished diaries.

London history

Bishopsgate Library holds collections relating to the social and cultural history of London. These include the archive collections of individuals, such as historian

, police officer

Frederick Wensley Frederick Porter Wensley (28 March 1865 – 4 December 1949) served as a British police officer from 1888 until 1929, reaching the rank of chief constable of the Scotland Yard Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Serving in Whitechapel fo ...

or Lord Mayor Sir Ralph Perring, and organisations, such as the London History Workshop or the Eton Manor Boys' Club. The library also holds a collection of around 50,000 books, pamphlets, illustrations, photographs and maps covering the social and cultural history of London, with particular reference to

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

and

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

. The London Collection also holds an extensive collection of press cuttings concerning the area around the Institute dating from 1740 and one of the country's finest collections of London guidebooks and trade directories. Information on the institute's own history is detailed within the Bishopsgate Institute archive, along with the archives of prominent individuals connected to the organisation, including social reformer William Rogers (1819-1896), librarian Charles Goss and architect

Charles Harrison Townsend Charles Harrison Townsend (13 May 1851 — 26 December 1928) was an English architect. He was born in Birkenhead, educated at Birkenhead School and articled to the Liverpool architect Walter Scott in 1870. He moved to London with his family in 1880 ...

Labour and socialist history

Bishopsgate Library's collections on labour and socialist history include the archives of politicians and activists such as

Jack Gaster Jacob Gaster (6 October 1907–12 March 2007), known as Jack Gaster, was a British communist solicitor and politician. Biography Born in Maida Vale, Jack was the son of Moses Gaster, the leader of the Sephardic Jewish Congregation in London, ...

Noreen Branson Noreen Branson (16 May 1910 – 25 October 2003) was a British communist activist, historian, founder of ''Revolt'' newspaper, and a life-long member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). In 1931 she married fellow communist and Inter ...

, Aubrey Bowman and

Bernie Grant Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant (17 February 1944 – 8 April 2000) was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Tottenham, London, from 1987 to his death in 2000. Biography Bernie Grant was born in Georgetow ...

, as well as organisations such as the Evening Standard Outside Chapel and the National Miners' Support Network. The Labour and Socialist History collections also include the library and archive of politician and trade unionist George Howell (1833–1910).

Freethought and humanism

Bishopsgate Library holds the most unusual collection of archives and printed materials relating to the history of freethought and humanism in the UK. This includes the archives and libraries of two of the Victorian era's most prominent thinkers on freethought and secularism,

and

. The library also documents the history, activities and campaigns of the movement from the late 19th century to the present day through the extensive archives of the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...

Rationalist Association The Rationalist Association, originally the Rationalist Press Association, is an organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1885 by a group of freethinkers who were unhappy with the increasingly political and decreasingly intellectual tenor ...

and the

Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association LGBT Humanists UK, founded in 1979, is a special interest section of Humanists UK which campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and human rights in the United Kingdom. It also organises social events for LGBT humanist ...

Co-operation

Bishopsgate Library has extensive collections documenting the history and activities of the co-operative movement in London, Essex and the South East, including the archives of individual activists such as Robert Leckie Marshall (1913-2008) and

Caroline Ganley Caroline Selina Ganley, CBE, JP (née Blumfield; 16 September 1879 – 3 August 1966) was an English Labour and Co-operative Party politician. Early life Ganley was born on 16 September 1879 in East Stonehouse, Devon, the daughter of a Jam ...

, and organisations such as the

and the

Women's Co-operative Guild The Co-operative Women's Guild was an auxiliary organisation of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom which promoted women in co-operative structures and provided social and other services to its members. History The guild was founded ...

. The Co-operative Movement Collection includes a wide range of books, pamphlets, reports and journals concerning the history of the movement, alongside material produced by a wide variety of organisations, such as the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...

International Co-operative Alliance The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895 to unite, represent an ...

and

Protest and campaigning

Collections relating to the history of protest and campaigning includes the archives of individual activists such as Mavis Middleton and Peter Hunot, and organisations such as the

Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars. The Coalition has c ...

Freedom Press Freedom Press is an anarchist publishing house and bookseller in Whitechapel, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1886, it is the largest anarchist publishing house in the country and the oldest of its kind in the English speaking world. It is bas ...

and

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. The Library's archives and printed material also cover a wide variety of topics including

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, the

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

, colonial freedom movements,

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and

conscientious objection A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

. Since 2011 the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA), part of the

Hall–Carpenter Archives The Hall–Carpenter Archives (HCA), founded in 1982, are the largest source for the study of gay activism in Britain, following the publication of the Wolfenden Report in 1957. The archives are named after the authors Marguerite Radclyffe H ...

has been based here.LAGNA website
/ref>

References

External links

Official siteArchives Hub descriptions of the Library's collections
{{Authority control Libraries in the City of London