• missionary archives
• 19th and 20th century political papers
• modern literary collections
• records of Christian education and youth movements.

Other areas of interest which are well-represented in our collections include archives relating to athletics, music, drama, religion, history of medicine travel, local history, printing and calligraphy. In addition, we have the largest collection of illuminated Middle Eastern manuscripts in the UK and a significant number of important medieval and early modern manuscripts.

Our collections include papers of individuals and families and the records of societies, businesses and organisations. They can vary in size, from a single item to an extensive archive running to several hundred boxes of papers and volumes. Their content may include:

• correspondence
• diaries
• minutes
• financial records
• legal documents
• maps and plans
• photographs
• printed materials.

Information about our collections can be found in a number of ways:

• the online archive catalogue which  includes both collection descriptions and more detailed catalogues of collections
• the summary guide to collections  which also serves as a signpost to more information available on the online catalogue
• resource guides to subjects, to specific collections and to types of records