Archive of the Mothers' Union

Records of the headquarters of the Mothers' Union, Mary Sumner House, Westminster: minutes, correspondence, accounts, pamphlets, architectural plans, photographs and slides. The majority of the archive dates from when the Mothers' Union established a centralised structure in the 1890s, and contains a small number of papers from members who, although not always based at Mary Sumner House, played important roles within the MU (see MU/MSS/2). Although some files run into the 1990s, many of the series stop in the early 1980s, which coincides with a survey undertaken of the archive in Mary Sumner House (see MU/CO/1/127). Contemporary terminology has been used to refer to the structure or offices of the MU: 'Home' members and dioceses refer to those in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. In the 1990s the acronym CWISY is employed to refer to members and dioceses within the provinces of Canterbury, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and York. Readers should also note that the catalogue contains some transcriptions of titles containing terms that are now politically incorrect.

General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD[G]), 2nd edition, 1999.

The journals of the Mothers' Union (Mothers' Union Journal, Mothers in Council, Workers' Paper, Mothers' Union News, Home and Family, Overseas News Bulletin, Overseas News Extra, Overseas News Digest, World-Wide News and Encompass) are included on the Library's printed books catalogue. Other printed material transferred from the archive for inclusion in the Library's printed books collection is currently awaiting cataloguing. Please contact the Library for advice. Where they have been preserved, branch and diocesan records of the Mothers' Union tend to have been deposited at local diocesan record offices. Records of the Wives' Fellowship, which split from the MU in 1920, are held at the Women's Library (ref. 5WFE). Material on the Scottish MU at the National Library of Scotland: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F148065 Later records are uncatalogued at Acc 2010-22. The Library also holds papers relating to Rosamond Fisher, MU Central President (MSS 4866-4872), some relating to the MU, e.g. a memoir referring to the MU: MS 4872 ff. 106-20.

Where possible, the archive of the Mothers' Union reflects the changing structure of the organisation itself, dividing largely along departmental lines. It should be noted that many of the topics addressed by individual departments were also of interest to the governing bodies - the Central Council and Executive Committee. Besides material that can be identified as originating from a specific department, a number of artificial series of records were also transferred to Lambeth Palace Library, united by their format rather than provenance: photographs, slides, newspaper cuttings, printed material and manuscripts of articles written about the MU.