Idea #15 Noah’s Ark: The only surviving mystery play of the Newcastle cycle

Subjects:   Culture   / Theatre   / Theology / History

Date Range of Material
This edition published in 1922

Size of Collection
1 volume

Collection Reference Code
RB822.1 NOA

How To Order Items From This Collection
# This item is held within the Rare Books collection (Ref Code RB).
# You can place your order by linking to our request form. The reference code and title will be ‘RB822.1 NOA Noah’s Ark: The only surviving mystery play of the Newcastle cycle’.

Rare Books Finding Aid
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Idea #14 The Bosanquet Archive

Subjects:   Social History / Politics

GB186/HBB Trunk 3

The Bosanquet Archive consists of archive material relating to Bernard Bosanquet, the idealist philosopher (1848-1923), and to his wife, Helen Bosanquet, née Dendy (1860-1926), a member of the 1909 Poor Law Commission.

Material relating to Bernard Bosanquet comprises correspondence, research notes, drafts and manuscripts of publications, as well as offprints from journals and other publications by Bernard Bosanquet himself.

Material relating to Helen Bosanquet includes notes and correspondence for her memoir of Bernard Bosanquet, offprints from publications, correspondence relating to Helen Bosanquet’s family and relating to public work, journals of travel, drawings, literary notebooks, photographs, engagement diaries and some undated miscellaneous material. A particular highlight is Helen Bosanquet’s notebook which contains diary notes on Poor Law Commission meetings attended by her in 1909.

Date Range of Material
1865 – 1934

Size of Collection
4 linear metres

Collection Reference Code
GB186/HBB

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/HBB/ Trunk II A Letters from HB to her mother 1902-1918).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form.

Finding Aid
The catalogue for the Bosanquet Archive is available via pdf download.

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Idea #13 A Collection of Recipes, compiled in the years 1684-5

Misc MSS. 5 Jane Loraine Recipe Book- Kakes

Subjects:   Food Science / Social History

Jane Loraine’s recipe book, which was compiled between 1684-6.

Date Range of Material
1684-5

Size of Collection
1 volume.

Collection Reference Code
Misc MSS. 5

How To Order Items From This Collection
# This item is held within the archive collection Miscellaneous Manuscripts (Misc MSS).
# You can place your order by linking to our request form. The reference code and title will be ‘Misc MSS. 5 A Collection of Recipes’.

Miscellaneous Manuscripts Finding Aid
A complete list of all items held within the Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection is available via a pdf download.

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Idea #12 MacSweeney (Barry) Papers

Subjects: Literature / Poetry / Creative Writing

BM 2-19A

These are the personal papers of local poet Barry MacSweeney (1948-2000), who was an important figure in the Modern Poetry Revival. The collection includes manuscripts and published works, correspondence, literature reviews, poetry publications, photographs and newspapers articles.

The correspondence includes a range of MacSweeney’s friends, fellow poets and family including material from Clive Bush, Pete Bland, Tim Fletcher, Nicholas Johnson, Jackie Litherland, Maggie O’Sullivan, Eric Mottram, Elaine Randall, Jeremy Prynne and Chris Torrence.

Date Range of Material
1967 – 2000

Size of Collection
19.5 linear metres

Collection Reference Code
GB186/BM

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/BM/1/4/2 Odes – Draft Typescript Copies).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form.

Finding Aid
A catalogue of the MacSweeney (Barry) Archive is available on a pdf download.

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Idea #11 Grey (2nd Earl) Tracts

Subjects:   History  /  Politics

The Grey Tracts reflect the interests of their former owner, the 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845) whose Whig government was responsible for the 1832 Reform Act, 1833 Factory Act and the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. The pamphlets cover a broad range of historical, social and economic subjects including colonial policy, public finance and banking, the Corn Laws and agriculture, poor relief, slavery, Catholicism, Ireland and the Greek Revolution.

Date Range of Material
19^th Century

Size of Collection
9 linear metres

Collection Reference Code
Grey Tracts

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the library catalogue link below to see a list of the individual books we have within this collection.
# If you find some books you would like to consult, click on each item and you should find yourself in the Request section of the catalogue.  Then simply hit the ‘Request to consult in Special Collections’ button, complete the order form, and the book will be brought out of the stores for you.  You will receive an email from us as soon as they are ready for you.

Library Catalogue Link

A complete list of items within the Grey Tracts collection is available via the Library Catalogue.

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Idea #10 Sharp (Thomas) Archive

Subjects:   Town Planning

GB186/THS/6 Plan for Port Eynon and Horton

The papers of Thomas Sharp (1901-1978) were largely gifted by his sister, Rachel Sharp and had been rescued from Sharp’s Oxford house by Professor Brenikov of Newcastle University. Further material has been acquired for the collection from Patrick Horsbrugh.

Sharp was a significant figure in town planning and a major influence on the development of ideas of townscape and on the forms that town and countryside should take through such publications as Town and Countryside (1932), Town Planning (1940) and Town and Townscape (1968). His plans for historic cities such as Durham, Oxford and Exeter in the 1940s were also potent.  The collection contains information and correspondence on plans and texts, including unpublished works; original plans; documentation on key planning cases; press-cuttings; documentation relating to unsuccessful commissions; typescripts, including that of an unpublished autobiography; personal correspondence and creative writing.

This impressive archive documents the progression of Sharp’s thinking throughout his career, draws attention to the important issues which underpinned the planning commission process at the time, provides information on how commissions were received and offers material showing how arguments and ideologies of urban evolution were advanced.

Date Range of Material
1932 – 1984

Size of Collection
4 linear metres

Collection Reference Code

GB186/THS

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/THS/6 Plan for Port Eynon and Horton).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form.

Finding Aid
A catalogue of the Sharp (Thomas) Archive is available via Archives Hub.

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HL-4-5-1-2 P6-2

Idea #9 The Loebl (Herbert) Archive

Subjects:   Electrical Engineering  /  Medical Engineering   /  Medical Laboratory Analysis Technology  /  Technology Transfer   /  Business  /  Exports  /  Local History

Herbert Loebl moved to the North East of England as a refugee from Nazi Germany and remained in the area for the rest of his life, becoming an important industrialist in the region and a major employer.  Loebl specialised in the production of high-tech scientific equipment focussed mainly on the newly emerging medical laboratory analysis market.

This collection consists of business records for the various engineering and knowledge transfer enterprises with which Herbert Loebl was involved in his lifetime, and also a collection of personal records which cover a large range of topics including local events in Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumbria and events within the local Jewish community.

Date Range of Material
1939 – 2012

Size of Collection
8 linear metres

Collection Reference Code
GB186/HL

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/HL/2/4 Newcastle Technology Centre File 1985-1990).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form.

Finding Aid
A catalogue of the Loebl (Herbert) Archive is available via Archives Hub.

Handy Links

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Idea #8 Bloodaxe Books Archive

Subjects:   Literature   Creative Writing   Poetry Publishing

The Poetics Of The Archive bloodaxe.ncl.ac.uk

The Bloodaxe Books archive is considered one of the most exciting archives for contemporary poetry that exists. The material in the collection includes 592 boxes of original typescripts, editorial work, correspondence, and examples of marketing, business and financial records dating from the 1970’s to the present day. These records represent authors and books that have won virtually every major literary award given to poetry, including the T.S. Elliot Prize, Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize.  Bloodaxe is also known for its work with translated collections and American poetry, and have published responsively to cultural change in Britain, publishing some of the finest writers in the British-Caribbean and South-Asian diaspora.   Another significant achievement is that Bloodaxe publish more female writers than any other British poetry publisher, at a 50:50 male:female ratio.  The company has opened up poetry to thousands of new readers and the material held in the archive demonstrates how Bloodaxe Books has been able to achieve this.

Date Range of Material
1978 – Current

Size of Collection
103 linear metres

Collection Reference Code
GB186/BXB

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/BXB/2/3/9 They Made Tyneside Great).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form.

Finding Aid
A catalogue for the Bloodaxe Books archive is available via Archives Hub.

Handy Links

Guide to finding and using Archives and Rare Books

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Idea #7 Theatre Royal Play-Bills

Subjects:   Culture  /  Theatre /  Design

RB792(4282)

A collection of play-bills from Newcastle’s Theatre Royal dating from 1770 – 1820.

Date Range of Material
1770 – 1820

Size of Collection
2 volumes

Collection Reference Code
RB792(4282) and RB792(4282)NEW

How To Order Items From This Collection
# This item is held within the Rare Books collection (Ref Code RB).
# You can place your order by linking to our request form.  The reference code and title will be ‘RB792(4282) Collection of Play-Bills and Notices 1770 – 1820’ and ‘RB792(4282) NEW Collection of Play-Bills, 1806-1807’

Rare Books Finding Aid
A complete list of items held within the Rare Books Collection is available via the Library Catalogue.

Handy Links

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Idea #6 Letter from Charles Algernon Parsons to George Johnstone Stoney concerning mathematical work undertaken by one of Stoney’s daughters.

Subjects:   Mathematics  /  Engineering  /  History

GB186/MSA/2/22

An intriguing insight into the mathematics behind the construction of Newcastle’s famous ‘Turbinia’ steamship.  And who is this (female) mathematician, who seems to get little mention in the history of the Turbinia?

Date Range of Material
1903

Size of Collection
1 letter

Collection Reference Code
GB186/MSA/2/22

How To Order Items From This Collection
# This item is held within the Manuscript Album (Ref Code GB186/MSA).
# You can place your order by linking to our request form. The reference code and title will be ‘GB186/MSA/2/22 Letter from Charles Algernon Parsons to George Johnstone Stoney concerning mathematical work undertaken by one of Stoney’s daughters.’

Manuscript Album Finding Aid
A complete list of items held within the Manuscript Album is available via Archives Hub.

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