IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 1538 H
Held at: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Title: Legal, constitutional and other vital records of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Date(s): 1927-2002
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: 6 volumes, 14 boxes, 1 CD ROM
Name of creator(s): Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists | RCOG
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The first Memorandum and Articles of Association of the College were approved on 13 September 1929. The first royal charter was granted in 1947, with a supplemental charter in 1948. Further amendments were made to the charter, articles of association, ordinances and by-laws in 1963, 1971, 1979, 1984 and 1999.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Legal, constitutional and other vital records of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 1927-2002, comprising papers relating to William Blair-Bell's will, 1933-1973; correspondence with solicitors and records relating to the granting of the College's royal charter and legal affairs, 1929-1980; articles of association, ordinances and by-laws, and charters of the College, 1927-1984; Trust deeds and associated documents relating to special funds, 1932-1991; financial and taxation matters relating primarily to the College's charitable status, comprising legal documents, reports and statements, 1932-2000;
records relating to College properties, namely legal records relating to 27 Sussex Place, 1955-1969 and to 8 Kent Terrace, 1983-1986; legal records relating to Birthright (later Wellbeing), 1976-1986; deeds relating to the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1950-1981; legal documents relating to the Australian Regional Council, later the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RACOG), 1951-1980; records relating to the New Zealand Council of the RCOG Property Society, 1977; signed copies of annual accounts/annual report and accounts, 1931-1995; Insurance Employers Liability Certificates, 1998-2001; miscellaneous legal documents, 1970-1991; seal books of the College, 1931-1971; records of the College pension scheme comprising rules, trust deeds, reports and actuarial valuations and related correspondence, 1969-2001; inventories of RCOG property, 1929-2002.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
The records are arranged as outlined in the scope and content.
Conditions governing access:
Open 20 years after last date on file.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright varies according to individual series; consult the College Archivist.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
A general index to the files listed in the catalogue of the Archives of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is maintained in the College Archives; refer to the College Archivist.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Many of the records, including original documents relating to the charter, articles of association and bye-laws, seal books, were originally removed from their administrative context and placed in a safe in the basement of the College for security reasons. They were given the artificial classification "GS" (for green safe). In 2000 the College Secretary and the Archivist agreed that the records would be physically safer, and equally secure, in the archives repository. As it was impossible to determine the original provenance of so much material it was added to relevant series within another artificial collection of records, the "H" series covering legal and other vital records of the College.
Accruals:
Further accruals are expected.
Archival history:
This is clearly an artificial series; the bulk of records probably originated in the College Secretary's Office. Some may have been passed to the Archives from the President's Office.
Immediate source of acquisition:
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
For other copies of the articles of association and by-laws see A1/9.
Related material:
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists holds a copy of the text of Blair-Bell's will (Reference: S20); Letters Patent granting the College's coat of arms for 1931 and 1950 are framed and hang in the entrance hall of the College, as does the sealed engrossment of the supplemental charter of 1979.
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Compiled by Clare Cowling, revised by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.
Rules or conventions: National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997; ISAD(G), Second Edition, 2000.
Date(s) of descriptions: November 2002