Magazines of Bedford College

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0505 BC AS200-205
Held at	: Royal Holloway, University of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/archives ›
Full title	: Magazines of Bedford College
Date(s)	: 1886-1985
Level of description	: Subfonds of Bedford College View parent record
Extent	: 22 boxes or 0.22 cubic metres
Name of creator(s)	: Bedford College
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Bedford College Magazine was started in 1886, and became in 1894 the organ of the newly formed Bedford College Students' Association. Another early student magazine, The Magazine of Bedford Knowledge, was intended to be a light-hearted alternative. When in 1923 the Association became responsible solely for former students, the title was kept for a magazine for alumni. Present students were catered for with the Bedford College Union Magazine, which began in the same year (1923).

After a break (1941-1946) during World War Two, when the College was evacuated to Cambridge, the Bedford College Union Magazine was revived mainly as a literary magazine and given the title of The Unicorn, which it kept until 1965. Alongside this magazine ran a newssheet relating to events in the College, known successively as the Bedford News (1946-1961), the Inner Circular (1962-1982), and finally The Absorber (1981-1985), the last of which provided the students with details of the merger with Royal Holloway College.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Bound volumes of the Bedford College Magazine, 1886-1921; copies of the Magazine of Bedford Knowledge, 1896; copies of The Owlet, 1906; copies of The Balance, magazine of the Society for the Study of Womens' Franchise, 1913; copies of Minerva Smiles, 1918; copies of the Bedford College Union Magazine, 1921-1941; 'Bedford writings', compiled from literary pieces from the Bedford College Union Magazine, 1943 and 1945; copies of The Unicorn, 1946-1965, the Bedford News, 1946-1961, the Inner Circular, 1962-1982, and The Absorber, 1981-1985; brochures and programmes for College events, 1903-1985.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Arranged by publication.

Conditions governing access:

Administrative and Committee papers are closed for 30 years from the last date on file. Papers relating to individuals are usually closed for 100 years from the subject's birth. Users are advised to consult the College Archivist for specific details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies of open material may be supplied, subject to the condition of the original. Requests to publish original material should be directed to the Archivist.

Finding aids:

'A catalogue of the Archives of Bedford College (University of London), 1849-1985' by Claire Gobbi Daunton and Elizabeth Bennett, 1987.

Archival Information

Archival history:

The papers were transferred from the Bedford College Archives when the College merged with Royal Holloway in 1985.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

The Royal Holloway, University of London Archives hold a centenary copy of The Unicorn, 1949 (BC RF121/1/5c).

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

A history of Bedford College for Women, 1849-1937 (Oxford University Press, London, 1939), by Dame Margaret Jansen Tuke; Educating women: a pictorial history of Bedford College, University of London, 1849-1985 (Alma Publishers, Surrey, 1991), by Dr Linna Bentley.

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the AIM25 project.

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:
Apr 2000