Holdings of the Church of England Record Centre

The main task of the Church of England Record Centre (CERC) is to support the central administration of the Church of England by providing a records management and deeds registry service to the National Church Institutions such as the Archbishop’s Council, the Church Commissioners, the General Synod and the National Society. 

Description of the holdings

The Record Centre holds the archives of the central institutions of the Church of England and their predecessor organisations relating to the organisation and activities of the Anglican Church in England, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. These include the Queen Anne’s Bounty (1704-1948), Church Building Commissioners (1818-1856), the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (1836-1948) and the Church Commissioners, which was formed by the amalgamation of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and Queen Anne’s Bounty in 1948. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners inherited records from the Commissions on Church Courts (1830-1832), Ecclesiastical Revenues (1832-1835) and Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues sometimes known as the Church Inquiry Commission (1835-1837). The departmental archives of Church Assembly (1919-1970) and the General Synod (from 1970) incorporate the archives inherited by the General Synod including the Church of England Purity Society (founded 1887), the Church Defence Institution (founded 1859), Church Reform League (founded 1895), and the Colonial and Overseas Bishoprics Fund (founded 1841).

The Records Centre holds the archives of several external church organisations including National Society for Promoting Religious Education (from 1811), Church of England Sunday Institute (1843-1936) and St. Christopher’s College Blackheath (c.1908-1960). Holdings of personal records include those of Dr. Francis Eeles (1876-1954), former secretary of the Central Council for the Care of Churches and certain correspondence of Lord Hugh Cecil, Lord Quickswood (1869-1956), primarily on church affairs of the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Finding Aids mainly consist of contemporary administrative indexes, some being computerised and some lists of General Synod records.

Public access to holdings.