Trinity Hall Archives Home Page

History of the Archive and contents

Trinity Hall was founded in 1350 and though few documents survive from that period, the archive is rich in material from the 16th century onwards, including charters, property deeds and letters patent, the most important of which are exhibited in the Old Library.

The material in the Archive chiefly relates to College administration and finance, and College life generally. There are thus several sets of Bursarial records dating back to the 16th century, records of the College estates and documents and plans relating to the college buildings.

As well as general tutorial records, there is material on College societies and sports clubs from the 19th century onwards and collections of photographs of fellows, staff and students.

There is little in the way of personal papers of fellows, even celebrated ones, but the papers of Charles Crawley who wrote the standard College history are preserved. In addition, thanks to the generosity of the Elvin family, the diaries of Lionel Elvin, fellow and eminent civil servant of the 20th century, are on loan to the College.

Access

There are no full-time archival staff and space is exceedingly limited, so it is very important to write well in advance of a proposed visit, stating as precisely as possible the nature of the research being conducted. A small charge is made for photocopying.

Contact:

Fellow Archivist: Dr John Pollard, MA, PhD, FRHistS.

Tel. 01223 332500