IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 1551 BNC
Held at: Royal Historical Society
Title: British National Committee of the International Committee of Historical Sciences
Date(s): 1913-1993
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: 10 box files, 2 folders, 5 files and 2 photographs.
Name of creator(s): British National Committee of the International Historical Congress | [1913-1923]
British National Committee of the International Committee of Historical Sciences | 1923-present
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The British National Committee (BNC) was established to provide for British representation at the International Congresses of Historical Sciences. The first Congress was held in Paris, 1900, followed by Rome, 1903, Berlin 1908. In 1913, the BNC organised the Congress in London, the only International Congress held in Britain.
In 1923, following a conference on historical sciences in Brussels, 1923, the International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS) was formed. It was officially chartered in 1926 in Geneva.
The members of the BNC are nominated from accredited constituent bodies which include professional societies and associations representing a range of general and specialist historical interests in Britain (not including Northern Ireland). The Committee is also supported by the majority of British universities (or their History departments) through annual subscriptions, though the universities are not directly represented on the Committee.
The BNC constitution has been amended at various time to take account of the changing structure of the profession. In 1972 the BNC became a committee of the British Academy (The national academy for humanities and social sciences), and in 1980, a number of recently formed societies were added to its constituent membership.
International Committee of Historical Sciences holds an International Congress, meeting every five years in a different city of the world. The BNC, representing historians in Britain, is entitled to send one voting and one non-voting representative to the General Assembly of the Congress which meets immediately before and after each Congress, and on one occasion between Congresses.
Organisation of bilateral conferences with historians in other countries is another task of the BNC. Since the 1950s, these have taken place regularly at two to three year intervals, taking place alternately in Britain and in a partner country.
After 1993, the BNC ceased to be a committee of the British Academy From the 1960s to the 1990s, the BNC secretariat was located at the Institute of Historical Research, London. In 1993, the administration of the BNC was transferred to the Royal Historical Society by the retiring director of the Institute of Historical Research.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Papers of the British National Committee comprising:
agenda and signed Committee minutes 1933-1992 (4 files); records of subscriptions and bank statements, 1972-1993 (1 box file); Correspondence 1972-1993 including papers concerning new management arrangements, 1993 (1 box file, 1 folder); Report for 1927-1928;
Papers relating to Anglo-French, Anglo-Italian, Anglo-Spanish, Anglo-Hungarian, Anglo-Czech, Anglo-Polish, Anglo-Soviet and other meetings, 1970-1993 (6 box files, 1 folder); papers of the International Historical Congress including programmes, proofs, bulletins, and ephemera for the International Historical Congress, London 1913, Brussels, 1923 and Warsaw 1933 (1 box) ; papers relating to International Congresses, 1980, 1985, 1990 (2 box files);
photographs of the first meeting of the International Congress of Historical Sciences, Lincolns Inn Hall, London, 1913; and delegates of the Fifth Congress International des Sciences Historiques, Brussels, 1923.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English and French
System of arrangement:
The collection is uncatalogued
Conditions governing access:
By appointment only. Contact the Executive Secretary, Royal Historical Society, University College London, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT. Tel 020 7387 7532 rhsinfo@rhs.ac.uk
Conditions governing reproduction:
Subject to usual copyright restrictions and condition of the original.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
The material is uncatalogued.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Post 1993 documentation of this committee is incorporated in the adminstration of the RHS.
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Transferred in 1993 to the Royal Historical Society, by the retiring director of the Institute of Historical Research, Prof FML Thompson.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
The Royal Historical Society holds copies of the published Bulletin (in French) of the International Congress, 1926-2002 (24 vols).
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: : Sources: Historical Manuscripts Commission's On-Line National Register of Archives; 'BNC of the IHC Information Sheet' Aug 1992; Historical Manuscripts Commission summary report of archives of the Royal Historical Society, R Olney and M Pendleton, Dec 2000; 'What is the International Committee of Historical Sciences (IHCS)' at (www.oslo2000/uio.no/english/ichs.htm)
Compiled by Alison Field as part of the London Signpost Survey Project.
Date(s) of descriptions: September 2003