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Papers of Marjorie Reeves

 Collection

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The collection comprises papers and other items relating to the Attwater, Saffery, Reeves, Whitaker and associated families, together with Reeves' own related correspondence and research notes. The collection includes:

  1. Extensive family correspondence dating from the early 18th century to the 1970s
  2. Manuscript poetry and prose, mainly written by family members and friends
  3. Diaries and commonplace books
  4. Wills, deeds and accounts
  5. Photographs
  6. Newspaper cuttings
  7. Keepsakes, memorabilia and juvenilia
  8. Reeves' correspondence, research notes and transcriptions, 1970s-2003

Dates

  • Creation: 1686-2025

Extent

2.7 Linear metres (43 boxes)

Language of Materials

  • English

Conditions Governing Access

Some material is closed.

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. 6005/1/1].

Please see our help page for further guidance on citing archives and manuscripts.

Full range of shelfmarks:

MSS. 6005/1/1-6005/29

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD 6005

Abstract

Family correspondence and papers of Marjorie Reeves (1905-2003), historian and educationist, and of the Reeves, Whitaker, Saffery and related families.

Biographical / Historical

Marjorie Ethel Reeves was born in 1905 in the village of Bratton in Wiltshire to a prominent local Baptist family. Reeves read History at St. Hugh's College, Oxford, and later completed a PhD from London University on mediaeval mysticism and heresy. She returned to Oxford in 1938 where she took up a post as Tutor in History for the Society of Oxford Home Students, which later became St. Anne's College. Her work on Abbot Joachim of Fiore and on prophecy and millenarianism in the Middle Ages and in later centuries brought her an international reputation. Reeves had a long association with St Anne's College, as a fellow and administrator, serving as vice-principal of the college from 1951 to 1962 and from 1964-1967. She was made an honorary fellow of the College on her retirement in 1972. Reeves was elected a fellow of the British Academy in 1974 and in 1993 was awarded the Medlicott Medal for her contribution to improving history education. In 1996 she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

After her retirement, Reeves continued to research and to write. She discovered a large collection of family correspondence and manuscripts in the house of her aunt, Jane Saffery Whitaker, relating to the history of the Whitaker, Saffery, Attwater, Brinkworth and Reeves families, as well as some material concerning the Steele family. Reeves used this collection as the basis for her book on family history, Sheep Bell & Ploughshare, Moonraker Press, 1978 and in Pursuing the Muses, Leicester University Press, 1997 and other publications.

Arrangement

The original arrangement of the archive, as described in the finding aid prepared by Timothy Whelan, has been maintained. The initial archive of 29 boxes has been repackaged into 43 boxes.

Other Finding Aids

'Calendar of the Reeves Collection, Bodleian Library, Oxford and the Attwater Papers, Attwater/Saffery Papers, Saffery Papers, Angus Library, Regent's Park College, Oxford' by Timothy Whelan, Revised Edition, 2015.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquired 23 Sept 2004 as a bequest from Marjorie Reeves.

Related Materials

Marjorie Reeves Collection (D/MRC) and Attwater Papers (D/ATT) at The Angus Library and Archive, Regents Park College, Oxford

Separated Materials

A copy of Marjorie Reeves' book on family history Sheep Bell & Ploughshare, Moonraker Press, 1978 was transferred from the collection to the Bodleian Library as a separate item.

Title
Catalogue of the papers of Marjorie Reeves
Status
Published
Author
Original finding aid prepared by Timothy Whelan, 2015. EAD version 2022 by Carolyn Lewis
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Edition statement
First edition.

Repository Details

Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository

Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom