Stephens, Joseph Rayner: letter

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0096 AL113
Held at	: Senate House Library, University of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/our-collections ›
Full title	: Stephens, Joseph Rayner: letter
Date(s)	: 1853
Level of description	: fonds
Extent	: 1 sheet
Name of creator(s)	: Stephens | Joseph Rayner | 1805-1879 | Methodist minister and social reformer

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Joseph Rayner Stephens was born in Edinburgh in 1805 and was the son of the Methodist minister John Stephens (1772-1841). He was educated in Leeds and Manchester before becoming a schoolteacher and preacher. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1826 and worked in Sweden before returning to hold several posts in England. His political opinions were radical and he was much concerned with workers' rights and the condition of the poor. Stephens's expression of his strong opinions in his speeches and sermons brought him into conflict with both the Methodist hierarchy (he seceded in 1834) and the law (he once served 18 months for sedition, disturbing the peace and infractions). He took up writing for magazines in the 1840s and became a poor-law guardian in 1848. He died in Stalybridge, Lancashire in 1879.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Letter from Joseph Rayner Stephens of Stalybridge, Lancashire to an unspecified recipient, 6 Aug 1853. 'I am afraid it will not be in my power to comply with your request [to sell or give away some of his father's letters]. Continuing that he will try to obtain an autograph of his father's [John Stephens]. Autograph, with signature.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

See hard copy catalogue.

Conditions governing access:

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Please contact the University Archivist for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

Finding aids:

Catalogue of the manuscripts and autograph letters in the University Library at the central building of the University of London (1921). A copy is available in the Library's Palaeography Room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

See archivist.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Found inside a copy of John Phipps's A guide to the commerce of Bengal - classmark: [G.L.] 1823.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Anya Turner.

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:
July 2008