The position of Keeper of the Archives at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in England dates from 1634, when it was established by new statutes for the university brought in by

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

(

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

and Chancellor of the University). The first holder of the post was

Brian Twyne Brian Twyne (c. 25 July 1581 – 4 July 1644) was an antiquary and an academic at the University of Oxford. After being educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and becoming a Fellow of the college in 1606, he published his one main work, a ...

, who prepared an index of the archives in 1631 as part of the preparatory work for the statutes: he was appointed Keeper of the Archives as a reward for his work. The archives were moved from the

University Church of St Mary the Virgin The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Oxford church situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of u ...

into the Tower of the Five Orders in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

under Twyne and his successor, and some of the storage cupboards built at that time are still in use. The archives include

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

s, title deeds, university registers and records, and other official documentation from the university (but not from the colleges of the university, which keep their own archives). Most of the material dates from the 19th and 20th centuries, with few photographs and no sound or video recordings. In total, 22 people have held the position. Of

Philip Bliss Philip Paul Bliss (9 July 1838 – 29 December 1876) was an American composer, conductor, writer of hymns and a bass-baritone Gospel singer. He wrote many well-known hymns, including "Hold the Fort" (1870), "Almost Persuaded" (1871); "Hallelujah, ...

, who was Keeper of the Archives for 31 years in the 19th century, it was said that "his penchant for accumulation seems to have impeded administrative efficiency".

Reginald Lane Poole Reginald Lane Poole, FBA (1857–1939) was a British historian. He was Keeper of the Archives and a lecturer in diplomatics at the University of Oxford, where he gave the Ford Lectures in 1912 on the subject of "The Exchequer in the Twelfth Cent ...

, who was in office from 1909 to 1927, took a much narrower view on what should be kept, and criticised his predecessors for their "fatal inability ... to destroy things when they are done with". The third to hold the position,

John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...

(who was also

Savilian Professor of Geometry The position of Savilian Professor of Geometry was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded (at the same time as the Savilian Professorship of Astronomy) by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was ...

), prepared an index of the collection that was still used into the 20th century. He was succeeded by Simon Bailey, who was the first full-time Keeper of the Archives. Bailey was previously the Archivist under his predecessor, David Vaisey, but a decision was taken to combine the two posts in 2000. The Archives became part of the Bodleian Library in August 2010. The current Keeper is Faye McLeod.

History and role

The position of Keeper of the Archives at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

dates from 1634. The university's records pre-date this, and it claims to have one of the longest continuous record-keeping traditions in Britain. Records were initially kept in the Priory of St Frideswide (the site of the present-day Christ Church), moving to the

in the 14th century, where they were housed with money and other valuables. The archives were left in considerable disarray by a burglary in 1544, and remained in chaos until

attended to them in the 17th century. As part of his work as a member of the committee preparing new statutes for the university (at the request of the Chancellor of the University,

), Twyne prepared an index of the archives by 1631, and was appointed the first Keeper of the Archives under the revised statutes in 1634 as a reward for his work. Under Twyne and

Gerard Langbaine Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his ''An Account of the English Dramatic Poets'' (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrig ...

, his successor as Keeper, the archives were moved into one of the rooms in the Tower of the Five Orders in the

; three of the wooden cupboards that were built at that time to store them are still in use. The 1634 statutes stated that "the careless keeping of the archives of our University, and the gross ignorance of our privileges" had led to "many mischiefs and losses", particularly in the "almost daily contests with the citizens of Oxford" described by it as "ancient rivals" who "catch at every occasion of impugning our privileges". The statutes provided that "hereafter and for ever, some person shall be sought for", to collect and guard the archives, "that he may produce them without delay whenever occasion requires it". This person was to assist the senior officers of the university and be "an unembarrassed and ready champion in guarding and defending the University privileges and rights." Students at the university (unless exempted by poverty) were to pay 1

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

towards defence of Oxford's rights, and £40 from this fund was to be paid to the Keeper of the Archives as his salary. Under the 1634 statutes,

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...

(the main governing body of the university at the time) chose the Keeper of the Archives, and there were sometimes contested elections for the position; under the modern statutes, the position is filled by decision of the Committee for the Archives. Jeffrey Hackney, July 2010

The scope of the archives is defined by a university regulation. It includes

s, title deeds, copies of university statutes and regulations, records maintained by the university's Registrar and minutes of meetings, as well as any other official material from the university or its departments that is not in current use and whose preservation is "desirable" in the opinion of the Committee for the Archives. The university archives do not contain material from the colleges of the university, which hold their material separately. The earliest document held, dating from 1214, is a decision of a

Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

in a dispute between the town of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and the university. The majority of the archives date from the 19th and 20th centuries, and are mainly in paper format, with only a few photographs and no sound or video recordings. The archives became part of the Bodleian Library in August 2010, with the Keeper of the Archives reporting to the library's Keeper of Special Collections and Associate Director. Bailey was the first full-time Keeper of the Archives: he was previously the Archivist under his predecessor, David Vaisey, but a decision was taken to combine the two posts in 2000. The Archives became part of the Bodleian's Archives & Modern Manuscripts division in April 2020 and the current Keeper ( Faye McLeod, appointed July 2020) now reports to the library’s Head of Archives & Modern Manuscripts. The Keeper works with an Assistant Keeper (a role split between two people each working part-time) and an Archives Assistant. Some of the holders of the position have been appointed to a Fellowship of one of the colleges; unlike some of the professorships at Oxford, it is not linked to a particular college.

List of Keepers of the Archives

In the table below, "college" indicates the college or hall of the university (if any) at which the individual held an official position, such as a

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, during his time as Keeper of the Archives.

Notes

References

External links

Oxford University Archives
{{featured list 1634 establishments in England Lists of people associated with the University of Oxford