Subject strengths: History, Politics, Education, Social History

The Trevelyan Papers, deposited by the Trevelyan family, are those of several generations of the Trevelyan family whose home was Wallington Hall, Northumberland. The archive is rich and diverse, not least because the family had so many roles and indulged so many interests between them that the archive can truly be described as multi-disciplinary.

Charles Philips Trevelyan (1870-1958), 3rd Baronet, was a Liberal and then Labour M.P. and his papers reflect a range of early twentieth-century political issues. He was a founder of the Union of Democratic Control during World War I and President of the Board of Education. His papers cover the Liberal and Labour parties, Parliamentary measures, and contain Cabinet papers and election material but also include items concerning education acts; school diaries; summer, vacation and Sunday schools; Parents' National Education Union schools, Catholic and London Board schools; school attendance; and specific UK schools and colleges. In the 1930s Charles announced his intention to donate the Wallington Estate to the National Trust.

The collection also include substantial content originating from Charles’ wife, Mary Katharine Trevelyan nee Bell (1881-1966) [Molly], half-sister of Gertrude Bell. Mary was president of the Northumberland Women’s Liberal Federation, and involved with the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE), Women’s Institute, Girl Guides and Association of Countrywomen of the World. Her correspondence reflects these interests, as well as her domestic life. Also included are her personal diaries for 1892-1917.

The collection also contains substantial correspondence to and from Charles and Mary’s children; Pauline Dower, George Lowthian Trevelyan, Kitty Trevelyan, Marjorie Weaver, Patricia Jennings and Geoffrey Trevelyan.

Collection Name and Collection Reference Code:

Collection Name: Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive

Archive Ref Code: GB186/CPT

Date Range of Material

1761-1965

Type of Material

Personal archive

Size of Collection

30 Linear Metres 

How To Order Items From This Collection

Please 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 CPT/1/2/1/1 Political scrapbooks relating to Charles' career).

You can then place your order by linking to our Request Form.

Finding Aid:

Archival catalogue available via Archives Hub.

Related Material

Trevelyan (Charles Edward) Archive

Trevelyan (George Otto) Archive

Trevelyan (Walter Calverley) Archive

Other Resources:

For the paper of Charles Philips Trevelyan's niece, Mary Moorman, see Moorman (Mary) Archive. Other collections with family links to the Trevelyans include Bell (Gertrude) Collection, Bell (Gertrude) Archive and Plowden (Lady Bridget) Archive.

Material from this collection was used in our Treasures of the Month feature for July 2014.

The Trevelyan family albums are undergoing digitisation, and are being made available via Page Turners, our browser-based viewer.