Archives Appeal

A History of Hertford College

2024 will see 150 years since the incorporation of Hertford College in 1874. To mark this anniversary, Professor Christopher Tyerman has been commissioned to write a history of the college and its predecessor bodies, Magdalen Hall and Hart Hall (the first Hertford College).

Our Archives hold a substantial collection of the college’s administrative records. Recent donations to the Archives have included the diaries of John Dewar Denniston, Classics Fellow at Hertford from 1913 to 1949; and personal photographs taken by Thomas Roberts, an Engineering student at Hertford who was killed in the Normandy landings in 1944.

However, there are still significant gaps in documenting the activities and experiences of academic staff, students and college staff. We would be very grateful if any alumni or individuals with a connection to the college have material that they may be willing to donate to the Archives. We are particularly interested in collecting the following:

• Personal papers of fellows, college staff, servants and alumni, if they are illustrative of the history of the college or its predecessors
• Official college photographs and personal photographs of individuals with a close connection to the college, or that are illustrative of college life
• Records of college societies and related organisations
• Records relating to significant events in the life of the college
• Ephemera such as postcards, newspaper cuttings, menus and programmes

Please do not send material into college before contacting us.

If you have material that might be of interest, please contact Professor Christopher Tyerman or the Archivist, Dr Lucy Rutherford on archives@hertford.ox.ac.uk. You can also telephone on 01865 279409 or write c/o Hertford College, Catte Street, Oxford, OX1 3BW.

For more information about our collection, collecting policy and making a donation, visit the main Archives webpage.