Warrington Training College (WTC) and S. Katharine's College (SKC) Archive

S. Katharine’s College began in 1844 with the Anglican foundation of Warrington Training College, established in response to the need to provide suitably trained women teachers for the increasing school provision. The ‘training school’, later called ‘college’, was associated closely with St. Elphin’s School housed in adjoining buildings but by the 1880s an increasing independence had been established as the college expanded. This Warrington existence came to an abrupt end in December 1923 when a serious fire caused sufficient damage for the college buildings to be abandoned. Pictured to the left are the College staff in 1911 with Revd. Morley Stevenson, Principal 1882-1923.

Warrington Training College survived temporary relocation at Battersea, London, before the building and opening of the Liverpool site in 1930. The former name seemed increasingly inappropriate and the Warrington Chapel dedication of S. Katharine was chosen as the new name of the College in 1938. No sooner had the consolidation at Liverpool got underway when pre-war planning and air-raid precautions necessitated the evacuation of the College buildings on the day war was declared in 1939. The David Lewis Northern Hospital requisitioned the buildings in Childwall and the. The College was re-located to Keswick for the duration of the war only returning to Liverpool in 1947. Due to an increase in student numbers premises in Keswick were retained and additional buildings taken at Scarisbrick Hall near to Ormskirk, Lancashire.

The completion of additional new buildings and facilities in 1963 consolidated the College to the one site in Liverpool, and then federation with the Liverpool teacher training colleges of Notre Dame and Christ’s led rapidly to the formation of the Liverpool Institute of Higher Education in 1980.

The S. Katharine's College Archive spreadsheet is now available to download together with a list of S. Katharine's College slides.

Mount Pleasant Training College 

The Mount Pleasant Training College (MPTC) Archive from the Notre Dame British Province Archive was deposited with The Sheppard-Worlock Library in January 2015. The Notre Dame College in Mount Pleasant is one of Liverpool Hope’s Foundation Colleges. In 1980 the college relocated to Childwall to merge with Christ’s College, and federation with S. Katharine's College under the title of Liverpool Institute of Higher Education (LIHE), took place in 1979.

The archive contains material dating from 1856 to 1980 including correspondence relating to the founding history, the Governing Body, and the Board of Education, Catholic Education Council reports, and information relating to Principals and some student records. A list of these items can be found on the Mount Pleasant Training College Archive spreadsheet, available to download. Please note records still to come to Liverpool Hope include the amalgamation and federation papers (as yet unprocessed) and some property and finance records.

Nugent deposited their archive with Liverpool Hope University in October 2013. Nugent is a charitable organisation which offers support to adults and children across Liverpool and throughout the North West of England. The origins of Nugent date back to the 1800’s and the pioneering work of James Nugent (1822-1905) in relation to child welfare, relief from poverty and social reform. Monsignor James Nugent, better known as Father Nugent, was a Roman Catholic Priest of the Archdiocese of Liverpool. He was a passionate social reformer, appalled by the state of the homeless living in the squalor of Victorian England, he dedicated his life to the education and rescue of destitute children. 2016 marks the 135th anniversary of Nugent.

His statue (created in 1906) can be seen today in St John’s Gardens, adjoining St George’s Hall in Liverpool. The plaque on the statue reads “Apostle of Temperance, Protector of the Orphan Child, Consoler of the Prisoner, Reformer of the Criminal, Saviour of Fallen Womanhood, Friend of all in Poverty, a foot to the Lame, the Father of the Poor.” The work of Father Nugent had a dramatic impact on the lives of thousands of vulnerable people and his work continues to this day, through the charity organisation Nugent.

Monsignor John Bennett (1891-1965) was the administrator of The Catholic Reformatory Association, The Catholic Children’s Protection Society and Father Berry’s Homes, for over 40 years. He was able to build upon the pioneer work for child welfare, in Liverpool, by previous administrators - Monsignors Nugent and Pinnington. He was an important character in the developing form of social welfare, where his influence and expertise often extended beyond Liverpool. He was involved at national level serving as part of the Central Advisory and Training Council. At international level, he was directly involved in the development of child welfare in Malta, after an appeal by the Governess of Malta, Lady Laycock. Canon Bennett would become the biographer of Monsignor James Nugent in 1949, when he wrote the book, Father Nugent of Liverpool.

The archive contains 26 books and 264 items in total, including: Father Nugent’s letters written during his time as Chaplain of Walton Gaol and as co-founder of the Liverpool Catholic Children’s Protection Society; Monsignor Bennett’s correspondence letters covering subjects such as child welfare, juvenile delinquency, child psychology, and the end of child emigration to Canada; and also Bennett’s correspondence with Lady Laycock and the development of care of deprived children in Malta. A list of these items can be found on the ?Nugent Archive spreadsheet, available to download.

In 2017 Liverpool Hope Archives & Special Collections were fortunate to receive a significant collection of education research material donated by the Culham St. Gabriel's Trust. The collection belonged to Dr. Lois Louden, a prominent figure in Education and Church Schools in the North West.

Overview

Dr Lois Mary Robertson Louden (1938-2015) was an historian of education, education advisor, lecturer, author, guide, and general educationist who specialised in studying the relationship between the Church and Schools, with particular emphasis on the National Society and Methodism. Her academic studies and career spanned from 1956 to 2015. Louden was also an active member of the Lancaster Methodist Church and volunteered for many organisations, including the NHS Ambulance Services Trust. Louden was largely active in the Lancaster and Blackburn area, and took a special interest in the history and development of the schools and education authorities in that area. Read more biographical information about Dr Lois Louden in the Hope Special Collections blog.

The Collection

The Lois Louden Collection consists of two halves, books and archival papers covering a wide variety of topics including the general history of education, schools, and the Methodist Church. There are specific texts concerning Church Schools, public education, missionary movements, education as a value to society, education and law, women in education, and biographies and autobiographies of individual educators. Among the most rare and possibly most valuable materials in the collection are the six School Government Chronicles, which date from as early as 1885 and were an index or ‘gazette’ of issues in education at the time of their publication. They contain announcements and short articles regarding changes to school programs and structures. Louden also owned a series of Wesley Historical Society North Lancashire Branch Bulletins containing a selection of prayers and society notes.

Another valuable set of materials are Louden’s collection of The National Society Annual Reports. The Church of England National Society was established in 1811 to provide Education and Church Schools in every Parish, especially for poor children. The reports Louden collected run almost consistently, except for a few years, from 1920 to 1989 and contain a plethora of interesting and useful content regarding the National Society.

The second half of the collection contains over eight linear metres of archival material, catalogued as the Lois Louden Papers. Three categories are identified; research, work-related materials, and personal materials. A significant aspect of Louden’s personal papers is her research of education and church schools. This includes research organised by location and school, such as materials she collected relating to St Martin’s College, research organised by event, such as the 1902 Education Acts, and research organised by topic and type of school. Additionally, there are materials relating specifically to the Church of England and the National Society.

Lois Loudon’s interest and passion for education was as much personal as it was professional and the books and archival material she has left behind will be an invaluable resource for the contribution to future research in the history of education, specifically (but not limited to) Church Schools in the Lancaster and Blackburn areas, and the Methodist Church.
The books are fully catalogued and available to search on our Library Catalogue and the Lois Louden Papers archive listing is available to download.

Archbishop Stuart Blanch

Hope has been fortunate enough to receive materials from the estate of Archbishop Stuart Blanch (1918-1994). These include notes from his student days at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and notes for sermons, lectures, talks and speeches made while Bishop of Liverpool (1966-1975) and Archbishop of York (1975-1983). There are also hand written works on the Gospels and transcripts of various broadcasts and press articles. Lists of these papers can be found on the Archbishop Stuart Blanch Archive database, available to download. Read more about Archbishop Stuart Blanch and the Annual Memorial Lecture that takes place here at Liverpool Hope University in association with the Diocese of Liverpool.

Church Missionary Society Archive

(Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society Archive

John Henry Newman Archive

The diaries, letters and miscellaneous documents from the Cardinal Newman archive held at the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, in Birmingham, preserved on microfilm.