The Cadbury Research Library cares for over four million archive items dating from the seventh century to the present day. We hold extensive collections of records related to organisations, societies and businesses; a wealth of personal and family papers, and other significant manuscript collections including the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts. We also hold archives of the University of Birmingham.
You can search all of our archive holdings on our online catalogue.
Collection highlights
Our most significant collections of archives and manuscripts include:
- Church Mission Society: The official archive of the Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly Church Missionary Society, 1799-2009
- Chamberlain Papers: Personal and political papers of The Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1869-1940); The Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914); The Right Honourable Sir Austen Chamberlain (1863-1937); and of Joseph Chamberlain’s daughters, Beatrice, Ida, Hilda and Ethel Chamberlain
- Papers of Anthony Eden (Avon Papers): Personal and political papers of Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party
- Mingana Collection: Consists primarily of Arabic and Syriac Middle Eastern manuscripts with some Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Hebrew/Jewish, and Greek manuscripts
- Save the Children Fund: Covers the whole spectrum of the charity's work, both in the United Kingdom and overseas
- Papers of Oswald Mosley (1896-1980): Former member of parliament of the United Kingdom, founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists. Collections: OMN and OMD
- Noel Coward Collection: Consisting of items connected with Coward’s career as a writer and composer
- Stuart Hall archive: Professional and political archive of Stuart Hall (1932-2014), cultural theorist and director of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
- Harriet Martineau papers: Correspondence, literary manuscripts and other papers of Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), writer
- Youth Hostel Association (England and Wales): The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) is one of the largest youth organisations in England and Wales, established in 1930
- YMCA archive: Young Men's Christian Association, international charity established in 1844
New acquisitions
We continuously take receipt of new archive accessions to add to our holdings. Details of new acquisitions are available on The National Archive website.
Temporarily withdrawn items
On occasion, items are temporarily withdrawn for digitization or exhibition purposes. Details of temporarily withdrawn items.