Keble College was founded in 1870 in memory of John Keble (1792-1866), a founding member of the Tractarian movement, also known as the Oxford Movement, which sought to recover the Catholic heritage of the Church of England. Whilst relatively young by Oxford standards the College’s history and importance should not be underestimated. Its archival holdings bear witness to changes in the College, the University and in British society.
The Archives are a rich resource for research, especially for current students. For those reading History, English or Theology or for keen dramatists the Archives could be a fount of valuable primary source material.
Among the records of Keble College held here are:
- Minutes of the meetings of the College Council from 1870 to 1950
- College accounts and ledgers
- Historical material on the advowsons of which Keble College is the patron
- Records of JCR sports clubs and societies
- Architectural records, including the original designs by the architect William Butterfield
- Personal papers and memorabilia of key members of the Oxford Movement, including Canon H. P. Liddon and Dr E. B. Pusey
- Personal papers and memorabilia of members of the College.
One collection of international importance held at Keble College is that relating to John Keble, father of the Oxford Movement. The material held here includes:
- Keble’s manuscripts of poems that became The Christian Year
- Correspondence between John Keble and his family, friends and associates, in particular, with John Henry Newman, 1829-1863. The Special Collections in Keble College Library also holds John Keble’s own personal library.
- John Keble’s papers on the lives of Richard Hooker, Anglican divine and Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man.
Archivist: Peter Monteith
Opening hours: Monday and Friday, 9.30 - 12.30 and 1.30 - 4.30; Tuesdays 9.30 - 12.30 (by appointment only)
Address: Keble College, Oxford, OX1 3PG
Phone: 01865 282400
E-mail: archives@keble.ox.ac.uk
Web: http://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/about/library/archives
Further reading:
Dame Professor Averil Cameron and Dr Ian W. Archer, Keble Past and Present (London: Third Millennium, 2008)
The Reverend Walter Lock, John Keble (London, 1895)
Sir John Taylor Coleridge, A Memoir of the Rev. John Keble (Oxford, 1869)
