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The Church is not afraid of history but, rather, she loves it, and would like to love it more and better, as God loves it!
Pope Francis
The Westminster Diocesan Archives, based at Our Lady of Victories in Kensington, welcome hundreds of researchers every year, including family historians, clergy, academics and students. The archives hold material relating to the diocese, parishes, and much that goes beyond diocesan boundaries.
Diocesan Archivist: Fr Nicholas Schofield
Contact: archivist@rcdow.org.uk
Tel: 020 7938 3580 (only available during office hours, Monday and Friday)
Open Hours: Monday and Fridays on, 10am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm-5pm, by appointment only.
Address: Westminster Diocesan Archives, 16a Abingdon Road, Kensington, London W8 6AF
Please note: if you have not used the Diocesan Archives before, you will need to register upon arrival. Please bring along two forms of ID, one with proof of identity (eg a passport) and one with proof of residence (eg a recent utility bill). A driver’s licence with photograph and address will suffice for both forms of ID.
Introduction
The Westminster Diocesan Archives hold a great deal of material relating to finance, property and education in the diocese as well as records created by parishes, including some baptism and marriage registers.
However, our collections contain much that goes well beyond diocesan boundaries. The papers of the Archbishops of Westminster, from Wiseman to Hume, contain material concerning many national and international issues of the day, reflecting their roles as Cardinals and leaders of the English and Welsh bishops (most recently as Presidents of the Bishops’ Conference).
We hold a significant collection of documents dating from the period before the Reformation, including reports of 15th century heresy trials from the Diocese of Norwich and a very early copy of the Charter of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral. However the bulk of the earlier papers date from the period between the accession of Elizabeth I (1558) and the Restoration of the Hierarchy in 1850.
The most important of these, covering the period from 1501 to 1798, are bound in a series of 50 volumes known as the A Series. These contain letters of Cardinal William Allen as well as the papers of the Vicars Apostolic of the London District, including Bonaventure Giffard (1703-34) and Richard Challoner (1758-81). In total, there are some 9,000 items relating to this period, making Westminster Diocesan Archives one of the richest sources for the Catholic history of the country in the early modern period. There are also papers relating to the Jacobites including letters written by ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’.
Our collections are also supplemented by various deposits of papers from Catholic institutions, organisations and societies. These include the ‘Old Brotherhood’ (originally the Chapter of Secular Clergy that governed the English Catholic Church between 1631 and 1685), St Edmund’s College, Ware (a descendant of the English College in Douai), and more modern material such as the Catholic Evidence Guild, Catholic Association and Catholic Union. There is also a collection of rules, constitutions and papers from religious orders within the diocese.
Catalogues
The majority of our archives are catalogued, although the format and level of detail of the finding aids varies. An online catalogue is available through Catholic Heritage, although this is not yet fully comprehensive as we are continuing to convert previously unpublished hard copy lists to the online catalogue.
Parish Archives
We are happy to provide advice on archives and records management for parishes within the Diocese of Westminster, and welcome the deposit of any historical information relating to individual parishes.
Family Historians
Family historians are advised to go to Find My Past, which has digital copies of the sacramental registers held by the Diocesan Archives, as well as the 1893 Catholic Census for the Diocese of Westminster.