Catalogue description D SERIES

This record is held by Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives

Details of Z0001
Reference: Z0001
Title: D SERIES
Description:

This collection of papers, containing 5,500 documents, covers the period 1900-1929. In the main the collection comprises correspondence, the principal recipient being the Rev. Michael Francis Glancey, the Diocesan Oeconomus or Treasurer. During the course of the period he was appointed to the Cathedral Chapter, of which he eventually became Provost, and made a Protonotary Apostolic. Under Archbishop McIntyre, he was Vicar General and appointed Auxiliary Bishop, with the titular see of Flaviopolis. The collection also contains sets of correspondence to the two Bishops (later Archbishops) of Birmingham during this period, the Most Rev. Edward Ilsley and the Most Rev. John McIntyre. There is also a small set of correspondence to the Rev. Francis de Capitain who took over from Glancey as Diocesan Treasurer. A great deal of the correspondence relates to requests for loans for the building of churches, schools, the opening of new Missions, and for priests to keep body and soul together. There are also many references and papers relating to endowments and bequests to Missions. There are a number of references to national and international events, especially during the 1914-1918 War, and a number of comments about the situation in Ireland and the popularity of Sinn Fein in the period up to 1920. There are many references to the local economy in certain areas; periods of depression in industry, like the railway and coal strikes in Staffordshire in 1912, and references to mining. A large collection of correspondence between Archbishop Ilsley and the Rev. Thomas Newsome throws much light on Newsome's innovative idea of setting up a home for children with learning difficulties and behavioural problems at Besford Court in the Worcestershire countryside. The collection reflects the discussion and speculation about possible changes in the Birmingham and other diocesan structures, fuelled by the antagonism between Cardinal Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster, the reputed protagonist for change, and the rest of the English Hierarchy.

Date: 1900-1929
Related material:

See also the collection of DP diocesan papers, EP episcopal papers, parish collections and the E series

Held by: Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives, not available at The National Archives
Former reference in its original department: D0
Language: English
Creator:

Birmingham Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust Registered

Physical description: 5,548 documents
Subjects:
  • Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives
Administrative / biographical background:

The original provenance of the collection was destroyed long ago and in its place the papers have been arranged roughly chronologically. This has made the task of cataloguing them extremely difficult in cases where a letter encloses a document which is now physically separated by fifty or more other documents. There are also a number of missing documents. This has resulted in the creation of some artificial sections. The collection has been divided into two parts. Part One contains material relating to the Roman Curia and in particular the various Sacred Congregations and their specific responsibilities. A large part of this material is in Latin and Italian. The other part of the collection contains material which has been headed 'Birmingham Diocese' and contains the correspondence previously referred to. It also contains a number of loose papers which have been artificially created into sections and series pertaining to their subject matter. Probably, some of this material was originally enclosed with correspondence, but because this is no longer extant, these papers have been left in limbo. During the period covered by the collection there were certain changes in the diocesan structure in England and Wales. Until 1911 the Province of Westminster had fifteen Suffragan Sees. In that year it was divided into three new Provinces, viz. Westminster, Liverpool and Birmingham. To the Province of Birmingham were assigned the dioceses of Clifton, Newport, Plymouth, Shrewsbury and Menevia. In 1916 Newport was raised to Archiepiscopal rank, under the title of Cardiff, and Menevia became a Suffragan See of this new Province. In 1917 the county of Essex was made into a separate diocese of Brentwood and in 1924 a new diocese of Lancaster was formed of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. Jeanette Grisold May 2004

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