CATALOGUE OF THE PAPERS OF JAMES RENDEL HARRIS HELD AT WOODBROOKE COLLEGE, SELLY OAK ___________________________________________________________________________ Collection description ___________________________________________________________________________ Ref No: JRH Extent: 5 linear metres Title: Papers of James Rendel Harris Date: c. 1880s-1960s Description: The papers of James Rendel Harris include notebooks and newspaper cuttings relating to his research on folklore and the history of the Pilgrim Fathers' ship, the Mayflower; and correspondence with other scholars and friends: Herbert George Wood, his secretary Irene Speller Pickard, Eric Wills, and L Violet Hodgkin. The collection contains many of his own copies of his books and essays, published and unpublished. These are often annotated and occasionally contain letters or other documents. There are also papers about him collected by Irene Speller Pickard during the writing of her book, 'Memories of James Rendel Harris'; and papers of Harris's nephew, John Major, concerning their research on the Egyptian origins of English place names, which was Harris's main research interest in the last years of his life. Arrangement: The papers have been divided into three groups (sub-fonds): papers created by Rendel Harris himself, and papers about him collected by Irene Pickard and by his nephew John Major. The first group has been arranged by record type into five series: press cuttings and research notes; notebooks; articles and lectures; correspondence; and books. The collection was originally listed using references beginning G Har. These correspond to the new references as follows: G Har 1 JRH 1/1/1 G Har 2 JRH 1/3/1 G Har 3 JRH 1/3/2 G Har 4 JRH 1/4/5 G Har 5 JRH 3 G Har 6 JRH 1/1/2 G Har 7 JRH 1/4/9 G Har 8 JRH 1/3/3 G Har 9 JRH 1/4/6 G Har 10 JRH 1/4/7 G Har 11 JRH 1/4/4 G Har 12 JRH 1/4/8 G Har 13 JRH 1/4/2 G Har 14 JRH 2 G Har 15 JRH 1/3/4 G Har 16 JRH 1/1/3-4 G Har 17 JRH 1/3/5 G Har 18 JRH 1/4/3 G Har 19 JRH 1/4/1 Access Conditions: Access to all registered researchers. Copyright: Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Librarian of Woodbrooke College. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Woodbrooke will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. Language: English Finding Aids: A paper copy of this catalogue is available from The Librarian, Woodbrooke College, 1046 Bristol Road, Birmingham. Access Status: Open Administrative History: For full biographical information, see entry for James Rendel Harris (1852- 1941) in 'Who Was Who'; FBA, 1927 and Alessandro Falcetta, 'James Rendel Harris: A Life on the Quest', Quaker Studies 8 (2004): 208-225. James Rendel Harris held many academic posts from 1882 including Professor, Johns Hopkins University, 1882-5, Haverford College, 1885-92; lecturer in palaeography, Cambridge, 1893-1903; First Principal and Director of Studies at the Friends' Settlement for Social and Religious Study, Woodbrooke College (the first Selly Oak College), 1903-1918 and Curator of Eastern Manuscripts at the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 1918-1925. He was a prolific publisher of specialist studies and devotional writings. He travelled extensively in the East in search of manuscripts, finding Syriac versions of the Apology of Aristides (1889) and the Odes of Solomon (1909). He married Helen Balkwill of Plymouth in 1880, who died in 1914. Custodial History: The provenance of the collection is unknown, but it is believed that some papers were brought to Woodbrooke College from Rendel Harris's house, 210 Bristol Road, Birmingham, after the house was bombed during the Second World War. The papers relating to Rendel Harris's Mayflower research (listed as JRH 1/1/3-1/1/6) were given to Woodbrooke by his nephew, Harold Angus, in 1976. Papers belonging to Rendel Harris's nephew, John Major (listed as JRH/3) were given to Woodbrooke by his wife in 1966. Related Material: The archives of Woodbrooke College include papers relating to College administration from 1903 onwards and personal papers of students and staff. Associated Material: Papers of James Rendel Harris and Helen Balkwill Harris (DA21), a related collection, are held at the Department of Special Collections, University of Birmingham. Haverford Quaker College holds manuscript collected by Harris and some of his personal papers. Publication Note: Some of these papers were used by Alessandro Falcetta in his 'James Rendel Harris: A Life on the Quest', Quaker Studies 8 (2004): 208-225. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Papers created by Rendel Harris ___________________________________________________________________________ Sub-fonds Ref No: JRH/1 Extent Title: Papers of James Rendel Harris Date: 1874-late twentieth century ___________________________________________________________________________ Series Ref No: JRH/1/1 Extent: 6 series Title: Press cuttings and research notes Date: 1874-1930s Description: Scrapbooks of press cuttings, notes, and correspondence relating to temperance, to archaeology, and to the history of the Pilgrim Fathers' ship, the Mayflower. James Rendel Harris was interested in the local tradition suggesting that the timbers of a barn built at Jordans, Buckinghamshire are the timbers of the Mayflower. His research involved tracing the history of the breaking up of the ship, its passengers, owners, and crew, and studying the architecture of the barn and the history of the area surrounding it. ___________________________________________________________________________ File Ref No: JRH/1/1/1 Extent: 1 volume Title: Scrapbook of press cuttings Date: 1874-1878 Description: Includes: pp /1 articles reporting on the unveiling of a statue of Joseph Priestley, 1874; /2-/3 articles about temperance, 1874-1875; /4-/5 articles reporting on revival meetings in Birmingham where Moody and Sankey preached, 1875; /6 letter published in the Morning News discussing Mr Bright and the Corn Laws, 1875; /7-/8 article about Boulton and Watt and George Stephenson, 1875; /9 articles about admitting homeopaths to the Birmingham Medical Institute, 1875; /10-/20 Biographies of Birmingham Town Councillors, 1874-1877; /21-/22 Article discussing the abolition of the Whitsun and Michaelmas Fairs, 1875; /25 Loose cuttings including articles about George Cadbury's standing in the Birmingham Town Council elections, 1878; article about John Bright and Free Trade; articles entitled 'The Patronage of Lord Beaconsfield' and 'Water Troughs for Cattle', 1870s; /26 article describing the opening ceremonies at Mason College, 1875. Arrangement: Original order ___________________________________________________________________________ File Ref No: JRH/1/1/2 Extent: 1 volume Title: Scrapbook of press cuttings about folklore and archaeology Date: 1920s-1930s Description: Indexed. Includes cuttings about Africa, India, Roman and pre-Roman Britain, Orkney, and the Egyptians in Britain. Arrangement: Original order ___________________________________________________________________________ Sub-series Ref No: JRH/1/1/3 Extent: 4 volumes Title: Scrapbooks of press cuttings about the Mayflower Date: 1918-1920 Description: Scrapbooks of press cuttings about James Rendel Harris's research on the history of the Mayflower. There are also cuttings reporting on celebrations held in towns throughout England and in Holland and America to mark the tercentenary of the Mayflower's departure from Plymouth and cuttings relating to James Rendel Harris's proposal to found an Anglo-American University in Plymouth. Arrangement: Original order. ___________________________________________________________________________ Sub-series Ref No: JRH/1/1/4 Extent: 4 files Title: Notes and correspondence relating to research on the Mayflower Date: 1919-1932 Arrangement: Original order ___________________________________________________________________________ Sub-series Ref No: JRH/1/1/4/1 Extent: 1 file Title: Notes and letters from Edith Salisbury to James Rendel Harris Date: 1920s Description: Letters from Edith Salisbury reporting on her research on wills and other documents associated with the Mayflower. Arrangement: Original order ___________________________________________________________________________ File Ref No: JRH/1/1/4/2 Extent: 1 file Title: Correspondence between James Rendel Harris and Rudyard Stephen Uzzel Date: 1932 Description: Correspondence concerning Uzzel's scheme to buy the barn at Jordans, Buckinghamshire, and transport it to America. The scheme was never carried out. Arrangement: Original order ___________________________________________________________________________ File Ref No: JRH/1/1/4/3 Extent: 1 file Title: Correspondence concerning photographs and poems associated with the Mayflower Date: 1919 Description: Correspondence between James Rendel Harris and Lionel D Lewis arranging to photograph a portrait of John Robinson, 1919. Letter to James Rendel Harris from Lucy A Hurrell enclosing a photograph of a painting of the Pilgrim Fathers leaving Plymouth, 1919. Various poems and hymns composed for the tercentenary celebrations of the Mayflower's leaving Plymouth. Arrangement: Original order ___________________________________________________________________________ File Ref No: JRH/1/1/4/4