Archive of the Church Pastoral Aid Society

The collection comprises papers of the Church Pastoral Aid Society as well as papers of a number of Auxiliaries and other societies carrying out related activities.

Church Pastoral Aid Society records comprise minute books, registers of legacies, 1849-1946 and grants, 1836-1953; accounts, 1934-1936; minutes of General Committee and Sub-Committee/Executive Committee, 1840-1949; minutes of other committees, 1889-1936; press cuttings, 1884-1962; notebooks, 1836-1974; correspondence, 1886-1936; miscellanea, 1923-1961; printed material, 1836-1982; the records of Church Pastoral Aid Society Auxiliaries (or local associations of the CPAS) comprise mainly minutes and accounts of Bradford, Eastbourne, Newcastle and Durham, and York auxiliaries, 1836-1976; records of the Church Pastoral Aid Trust, a body established to acquire and hold property on behalf of the CPAS comprise minutes, 1894-1937; particulars of property and other assets, 1929-1935.

Records of other associated organisations include Church of England Scripture Readers’ Association: minutes, 1844-1847; Clerical Education Aid Fund: minutes, 1845-1876; printed material, 1845-1875; London Clerical Education Society: accounts, 1871-1877; London Clerical Education Aid Society: accounts, 1893-1939; stocks and securities, 1915; minutes, 1876-1985; correspondence, 1916-1939; printed materials including reports, 1878-1915, miscellanea, 1876; Society for the Relief of Poor Pious Clergymen: stocks and securities, 1811-1820; accounts, other financial documents, 1963-1966; minutes, 1849-1884; printed material, 1949-1958; Liverpool Junior Clergy Bible and Prayer Union: correspondence, 1981; printed miscellanea, 1891; and Churches’ Committee on Gambling: Printed miscellanea, c.1950.

As the records such as the CPAS periodicals provide illustrated accounts of work in parishes across the country, they are not only of interest for research into the history and work of the Society but also for local history, including life in Birmingham.

A limited archive mainly of modern material has been retained by the Society at its headquarters in Leamington Spa.

The Church Pastoral-Aid Society (CPAS) was founded in the Committee Room of the Church Missionary Society 19 February 1836 for the purpose of benefiting the population of our own country by increasing the number of working clergymen in the Church of England, and encouraging the appointment of pious and discreet laymen as helpers to the clergy in duties not ministerial. In about 1974 the Society dropped the hyphen from the name. On 1 May 2010, CPAS merged with CYFA Pathfinder Ventures Ltd, an incorporated charity.

Reference: G. R. Balleine, 'A History of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England' (London, 1908).