Bishopsgate Institute Archives

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0372 BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE
Held at	: Bishopsgate Institute   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/library ›
Full title	: Bishopsgate Institute Archives
Date(s)	: 1891-2010
Level of description	: Fonds
Extent	: c100 boxes, c92 volumes
Name of creator(s)	: Bishopsgate Institute

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Bishopsgate Institute is an independent centre providing educational and cultural activities for adults. It was founded in the late 19th century by the Reverend William Rogers, Rector of St Botolph's Church in the City of London. Rogers was a noted educational reformer and the Institute was established to provide free libraries, a large concert and lecture hall and meeting rooms for the benefit of the public. The Institute was financed by the parish's charitable endowments and its building was designed in the Art Nouveau style by Charles Harrison Townsend, architect of the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Bishopsgate Institute opened its doors to the public on New Year's Day 1895; the Grade II* listed building is one of the few in the area to survive intact from the 19th century.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers and administrative archive of the Bishopsgate Institute, 1891-2005, including: minute books and papers of Board of Governors meetings, Institute Committee and Sub-Committee meetings, 1891-1980; ephemera, press cuttings, correspondence, press releases, deeds, promotional material and other papers relating to all aspects of the Institute's activities, property and work, including its foundation, public events, educational courses, Institute structure and staffing, internal events, the Library and other departments, 1891-2005; photographs, illustrations, maps and plans of the Bishopsgate Institute and covering all areas of the Institute's activity, 1895-2005; personal papers, certificates, obituaries and other ephemera and other material concerning Institute founder and Rector of St Botolph's, William Rogers, c1860-1896; papers of Institute librarian, Charles Frederick Goss, including material relating to his work at the Institute, publications and minute books and other material concerning the Society of Public Librarians, c1897-1941; papers of Institute Governor Geoffrey Ince concerning his work at the Institute and his own research into his family umbrella manufacture business, James Ince and Sons, 1993-1997.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

No further arrangement at present.

Conditions governing access:

OPEN

Conditions governing reproduction:

Documents cannot be photocopied at present. Digital photography (without flash) is permitted for research purposes on completion of the Library's Copyright Declaration form and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Finding aids:

Various small handlists and finding aids are available.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Transferred to Archives from the Institute's offices and collected by Librarians incrementally since the Institute's foundation.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Entry compiled by Stefan Dickers.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
28 September 2005.