Archive of Audrey Beecham

Collection

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The archive is comprised of five series:

Diaries and notebooks
Correspondence
Personal papers
Professional papers
Papers of the Beecham family

Dates

Creation: 1845-1988, n.d.

Extent

6.70 Linear metres (100 boxes)

Language of Materials

English
French
German
Hungarian
Latin
Spanish; Castilian

Conditions Governing Access

Some material is closed.

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. 6906/1]

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

Full range of shelfmarks:

MSS. 6906/1-99; JL 1058

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 6906

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of Audrey Beecham (1915-1989), poet and academic, with a small number of boxes concerning the wider Beecham family.

Biographical / Historical

(Helen) Audrey Beecham (1915-1989) was the great-granddaughter of Thomas Beecham (1820-1907), the inventor of Beecham's Pills, and niece to Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961), a conductor and founder of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Audrey read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Somerville College, then moved to Paris and London, before settling back in Oxford in 1940, where she began work at the University of Oxford's Agricultural Economics Research Institute. In 1950 she moved to the University of Nottingham, taking up a position as Warden of Nightingale Hall and lecturer in social and economic history, before retiring back to Oxford in 1980.

Audrey was involved in various political and activist groups, both in Oxford and Nottingham, and wrote poetry throughout her life, with two collections published, The Coast of Barbary (1957) and Different Weather (1979).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Bequeathed by Audrey Beecham, 1989.

Related Materials

Additional papers of Audrey Beecham, primarily focussing on her time as Warden of Florence Nightingale Hall, are held by the University of Nottingham.