The Anglo-Jewish Archives are part of the University of Southampton Special Collections, based in Southampton. The collection contains records from a large number of organisations as well as the personal papers of significant individuals in Anglo-Jewish history.

Archive Description

The Anglo-Jewish Archives contain important holdings for prominent individuals and national organisations. Papers of individuals include those of Cecil Roth, Selig Brodetsky, and the private and official papers of Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld. This latter collection contains a large section relating to the work of the Chief Rabbi’s Religious Emergency Council and the rescue of members of the Jewish community in the 1930s and 1940s.

Archives of organisations include those of the Jewish Board of Guardians, the Anglo-Jewish Association, editorial correspondence of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, the Union of Jewish Women, the World Union of Progressive Judaism and the Institute of Jewish Affairs and the British Section of the World Jewish Congress.

The archive of Dr James Parkes focuses on his life’s work of the promotion of understanding between Jews and non-Jews; this complements the printed material held in the Parkes Library. Related inter-faith collections include the archives of the International Association for Religious Freedom, of the Council of Christians and Jews, the World Congress of Faiths, of Revd W.W. Simpson.

Access Information

Access to the Archives and Manuscripts and Rare Books Searchroom service is available to anyone regardless of whether you are attached to an academic institution.

Booking an appointment – All visits are by prior appointment and all visitors will be required to book their visit and to order their material at least by 12 noon 1 working day (weekdays) in advance. Bookings are made by emailing Archives@soton.ac.uk.

You’ll be required to give the following information for bookings: details of name, University ID number (members of the University of Southampton only), permanent residential address and contact details, date of visit and list of items to be consulted. A booking form will be provided for use.

Ordering material – All material needs to be ordered in advance, at the point of booking a visit. There is a maximum limit of 10 items per day for bookings (with a reserve list of 10 additional items).

You can explore the archival collections using the new Epexio Archive Catalogue, which brings together brings together thousands of catalogue descriptions along with a powerful search tool and browse functionality. Some modern archival material might be sensitive and subject to restrictions under GDPR or FOIA. Information on restrictions will be noted in the Archive Catalogue. Details of rare book material will be found in the Library catalogue.

Confirmation of appointment – You will be sent an email confirmation of your appointment with the Archives service.

Identification for registration – Researchers are required to provide documentation for registration purposes on either their initial visit (or first visit in a calendar year) to the Archives and Manuscripts and Rare Books Searchroom service. External researchers will be required to produce two pieces of documentation (one with a photograph, one which includes their permanent residential address). Southampton students and staff will need to provide their University ID.

Safety measures in place – Researchers are welcome to wear face coverings during their visit. No visitor should attend site if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and are advised to self-isolate in line with government recommendations.

The Archives reading room is open Tuesday – Thursday, 10am – 4 pm.

Online Accessibility

Digital material is available via the Virtual Reading Room, including the records of the Anglo-Jewish Association. A searchable guide to the Archive & Manuscript’s Jewish collection is also available online.

Digital appointments via Virtual Reading Room service – Special Collections has also introduced a Virtual Reading Room service, where researchers can book a digital appointment to view Special Collections’ material remotely, wherever they are based. Digital appointments are one hour in length and are facilitated using an on-site visualiser and viewed via Microsoft Teams. They are offered for slots 1000-1100, 1300-1400, 1415-1515 and 1530-1630 (UK time) on Mondays and Fridays.

To book a digital appointment, please email Archives@soton.ac.uk .

Searchroom Regulations – For curatorial reasons, special library regulations apply to the use of the collections. Regulations are set out here for the use of the reading room for archives and rare books.

Reprographics service – Users are welcome to order copies of material from the collections.  For curatorial reasons, all copying and photography is done by members of staff.  No private photography of documents or books is permitted.  See the reprographics service pages for further information.

Special Collections Open Access – Special Collections Open Access houses the modern material within the Special Collections. It is open during the Hartley Library’s opening hours .

Street Address

Hartley Library
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ