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Archives and Special Collections

Welcome to the Science, Technology and Medicine resource guide

This resource guide provides an overview of some of the collections held by the University of Exeter that may be particularly useful for studying the history of science, technology and medicine. The boxes below describe different themes or collections and contain links to the catalogues, through which you can explore the collections further. 

The resources highlighted in this guide have been identified using our catalogues, but are not exhaustive. You can search our archives catalogue and library catalogue with key word searches to identify further items of interest. More information on searching the catalogues can be found on the Search our Catalogues LibGuide. If you come across any other sources within our collections that you think should be included in this guide, we would be very pleased to hear about them.

Archives and rare books held by Special Collections are available to everyone. More information about accessing the collections can be found in our Visiting Heritage Collections LibGuide. Please note that there may be some restrictions on accessing and copying (including photography) material in the archives and books held by Special Collections in line with current data protection and copyright legislation. Always make sure to check the access conditions on the archive catalogue and email Special Collections before your visit for more information about specific restrictions.

Physical Sciences and Technology

Click the next tabs in this box to find out more about the archives and books relating to physical sciences and technology

Archives relating to astronomy

EUL MS 72 - Norman Lockyer Observatory papers (c 1913-1990s)

EUL MS 110 - Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer correspondence and research papers (c 1869-1920)

EUL MS 110 add.1 - Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer correspondence and research papers: additional Lockyer copy correspondence relating to Meadows' biography of Lockyer (mid to late 20th century)

EUL MS 114 - Papers of Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer and the Norman Lockyer Observatory (Royal Astronomical Society) c (1876-c 1969)

EUL MS 128 - Papers relating to the Norman Lockyer Observatory (Schlapp) (1851-1985)

EUL MS 303 - Papers of Donald Barber, partly relating to the Norman Lockyer Observatory (1910s-1990s)

Archives relating to chemistry

EUL MS 39 - Hubert Britton papers relating to chemistry (1930s-1950s)

EUL MS 251 - Offprints of chemistry articles by Prof H Norman Rydon (1933-1970)

Archives relating to engineering

EUL MS 337 - Papers of Sir Harold Harding, including reports, photographs, lantern slides and prints relating to exploratory works for a channel tunnel and Piccadilly Circus (20th century)

EUL MS 337 add. 1 - Additional Papers of Sir Harold Harding, including reports, documents, photographs, and prints relating to exploratory works mainly concerning the Channel tunnel (20th century)

Archives relating to geology

EUL MS 56 - Records of the Santa Teresa Mine, Guadalajara, Mexico (1877-1898)

EUL MS 59 - Charles Osman notes relating to Devon geology (1922-1923)

EUL MS 60 - Edgar Martin papers relating to Devon geology (1906-1908)

EUL MS 416/PRO/9/6 - Papers relating to geology and sculptures based on Local Distinctiveness (c 1979-2007)

Archives relating to physics

EUL MS 14 - William Lynd's diary, including information about his making of wax cylinder recordings and touring with a phonograph (1899)

Archives relating to technology

EUL MS 14 - William Lynd's diary, including information about his making of wax cylinder recordings and touring with a phonograph (1899)

EUL MS 110 - The so-called 'Marconi telegram' is included in Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer correspondence and research papers. It notifies Sir Norman Lockyer of the first Atlantic transmission using Ether waves, sent from Marconi at Mullion, Cornwall, to Sir Norman Lockyer of the Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington, London, 12 January 1903, with copy telegram on reverse to Marconi from Norman Lockyer confirming receipt. (MS 110/Box 14/ZT)

EUL MS 119/2/3 - Material relating to the John Craven Wilkinson's work in the oil industry (1948-1979)

EUL MS 129/1/3/1 - Two copies of Nazih Ayubi's paper 'Technology Policies in Egypt: scientists, technocrats and public policy' (December 1981)

EUL MS 143/8 - Papers relating to Education, Science and Technology in Iraq (1981-1991)

EUL MS 143/13/3 - Papers relating to Iraq's nuclear power (1980-1991)

EUL MS 143/13/6 - Papers relating to Iraq's chemical weapons (c 1980s-1990s)

EUL MS 143/21/4 - Papers relating to railways in Iraq (1982-1989)

EUL MS 143/21/8 - Papers relating to telecommunications in Iraq (1979-1991)

EUL MS 270 - Papers relating to the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (1975-1998)

EUL MS 348/PROD/DES - Series of ground plans, working drawings, technical drawings and sketches for productions staged at the Northcott Theatre and Northcott Studio Theatre (1977-1996)

EUL MS 348/BUILD - Architects drawings, electrical plans and technical drawings showing the sound, projection and lighting systems for the Northcott Theatre (1962-2007)

EUL MS 491 (cataloguing in progress) - Archive of papers relating to Professor Clive Lee's research on the "Exeter Hip"

Highlights

The Hypatia Collection consists of approximately 10,000 books and journals by or about women. The collection includes a range of books and pamphlets concerning science and topography. To search the entire Hypatia Collection, enter *HYPATIA* in the search field on the Library Catalogue. You can also search *Hypatia* + *Keyword* or *Hypatia* + *Author* or *Hypatia* + *Book Title*. Then under *Refine your results* and under *Location* select *Special Collections Old Library*

You can also search the collection by subject:

Botany and Zoology

Click the next tabs in this box to find out more about archives and books relating to animal and plant sciences

EUL MS 15 - William Keble Martin papers relating to botany (1898-1940)

EUL MS 23 - 'Bird Book' containing watercolour illustrations of birds and eggs (c 1802-1831)

EUL MS 35 - Edward Parfitt papers relating to Devon fungi (1851-1864)

EUL MS 277 - Leopold Hartley Grindon: Plant specimen album (1866)

EUL MS 278 - Russel Harris: Algae specimen album (late 19th or early 20th century)

EUL MS 362 - S Lister Petty papers on botany and natural history in Cornwall, the north of England and Scotland (late 19th to early 20th century)

EUL MS 416/PRO/7 - Papers relating to Common Ground's 'Flora Britannica' project (1934-2000)

Highlights

The Hypatia Collection consists of approximately 10,000 books and journals by or about women. The collection includes a range of books and pamphlets concerning the natural world. To search the entire Hypatia Collection, use the Advanced Keyword Search page of the University of Exeter Library Catalogue. Type 'Hypatia' into one field and a keyword or name into the second field. Select 'Special Collections' from the 'Search in the' field.

You can also search the collection by subject:

Medicine and Health

Click the next tabs in this box to find out more about the archives relating to medicine and health

Archives relating to medicine and healthcare in the UK

EUL MS 4 - Edward Cahen photographic collection, including one album relating to medicine, especially the staff at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London (c 1911-1923)

EUL MS 13 - Margaret Littlewood papers relating to Ford Manor (school of music and physical therapy) (1957-1959)

EUL MS 37a - Ransom Pickard treatise on the population and epidemics of Exeter (1947)

EUL MS 237 - Papers of Sue Jennings relating to dramatherapy (1964-1994)

EUL MS 243 - Transcripts (anonymised) of interviews of staff associated with the Royal Western Counties Institution

EUL MS 315 - Papers of the International Association for Research in Economic Psychology (IAREP) (1980s-1990s)

EUL MS 435/6/3/8 - Material relating to Emilie Harmsworth's qualification and work as a nurse (1912-1933)

EUL MS 491 (cataloguing in progress) - Archive of papers relating to Professor Clive Lee's research on the "Exeter Hip".

Archives relating to medicine and healthcare in Lebanon

EUL MS 115/24/9 - Reports on conditions in Lebanon by Derek and Pamela Cooper (1982)

EUL MS 115/39/11 - Report on the Condition of the Palestinian People in the Camps of South Lebanon (1982)

Archives relating to medicine and healthcare in Iraq

EUL MS 143/10/3/22 - Folder of presscuttings, telex reports and other papers relating to shortages of food and medicine caused by UN sanctions against Iraq (1990-1991)

EUL MS 143/11/1-3 - Papers relating to healthcare and hospitals in Iraq (1979-1991)

EUL MS 143/18/2 - Family Planning and Child Healthcare in Iraq (c 1980s)

Archives relating to medicine and healthcare in Jerusalem

EUL MS 115/38/6 - Folder of annual reports, correspondence, newsletters and other material relating to the Spafford Children's Hospital in Jerusalem (1966-1977)

Archives relating to medicine and healthcare in Kurdistan

EUL MS 403/3/19 - Papers relating to the Association of Kurdish Doctors

EUL MS 403/8/2/12 - A folder of papers relating to medicines and medical aid (1967-1995)

Highlights

The Hypatia Collection consists of approximately 10,000 books and journals by or about women. The collection includes a range of books and pamphlets concerning the natural world. To search the entire Hypatia Collection, use the Advanced Keyword Search page of the University of Exeter Library Catalogue. Type 'Hypatia' into one field and a keyword or name into the second field. Select 'Special Collections' from the 'Search in the' field.

You can also search the collection by subject:

The Map and Cartography Collections include a copy of a 'Map of Exeter in 1832: Shewing the localities where the Deaths caused by Pestilential Cholera occurred in the years 1832, 1833, & 1834'. This is a modern copy of a map by Dr. Thomas Shapter, printed in 'The History of the Cholera in Exeter in 1832' (1849). The first cholera outbreak reached England in the autumn of 1831 and arrived in Exeter in July 1832. Horizontal bars (1832), diamonds (1833), and dots (1834) identify the location of the individual cholera deaths for those years. A legend box at the side of the map references sites relating to the city’s response to the epidemic, including places where contaminated clothes were destroyed and burial grounds. The second legend box lists the parishes by the percentage of the population who died of cholera.

A high-resolution image of the map can be found here on our Digital Collections site.

Further information about map collections can be found on our Rare Books and Map Collections guide.

The heart of the Nursing Ethics Heritage Collection is the personal research library of Professor Marsha Fowler. In 1977, Professor Fowler began collecting books to support her research into the development of nursing ethics and the American Nurses Association code of Ethics for Nurses. Many of these key texts were not available to consult in academic libraries. At the University of Surrey, the Special Collections collaborated with Professor Fowler and Professor Ann Gallagher to develop the collection by acquiring further publications and materials concerning nursing, the history of nursing, bioethics, women, religion and health, with titles leading up to the present day. The collection was transferred to the University of Exeter Special Collections in 2021.

The collection comprises almost 500 books, periodicals and articles, including works dating from 1888 to editions of ‘Nursing Ethics: An International Journal for Health Care Professionals’ published as recently as 2017. Many of the books contain the names of former owners inscribed within, as well as annotations and underlined words in the text, highlighting their importance in shaping the study and work of nurses. Though predominantly consisting of English-language works, the collection also includes texts in Italian, Dutch, Hungarian, Russian and Japanese.

The online catalogue for the collection can be found here under collection reference EUL MS 472/NEHC. The six main sections of the collection comprise:

EUL MS 472/NEHC/1 – Texts from the nursing ethics heritage period, 1860s-1965

EUL MS 472/NEHC/2 – Texts relating to Bioethics

EUL MS 472/NEHC/3 – Texts and audio visual material relating to nursing bioethics

EUL MS 472/NEHC/4 – Biographical records relating to nurse ethicists

EUL MS 472/NEHC/5 – Histories of nursing ethics

EUL MS 472/NEHC/6 – Contextual publications for medical practice, nursing and ethics

EUL MS 472/NEHC/7 – Codes of ethics for nurses

Education at the University of Exeter and its predecessor institutions

Click the next tabs in this box to find out more about the archives relating to the education of sciences and medicine at the University of Exeter and its predecessor institutions

University Archive materials

Printed materials:

  • Prospectuses (including some summer schools) of the University of Exeter and its predecessor institutions (1899-2002)
  • University/CAL - University Calendars including statutes and regulations (1949-2003)
  • Calendar for Exeter Technical and University Extension College including Reports on the School of Science and Art for 1892/1893 and a syllabus of the course of instruction ( 1893/1894)
  • Exeter University/REG - Exeter University Registers of those to whom degrees, diplomas, certificates and testamurs were awarded by the University (1893-1972)
  • Exeter University/ANN - Annual Reports, including reports on departments, staff and students (1870s onwards)
  • Exeter University/LIS - University List, including lists of students (1955-1987)

Files relating to:

  • Exeter Technical and University Extension College (1894-1899)
  • Department files for Botany, Chemistry, Physics (1930s-1940s)
  • Washington Singer (1940s-1970s)
  • Hatherly Laboratories (1961-1972)
  • Heads of Science Departments Committee (1960-1976)
  • Science Buildings (1956-1968)
  • Maths and Geology (1959-1968)
  • Joint Advisory Committee for Health Studies (1963-1984)
  • Applied Sciences (1970-1987)
  • Faculty of Science (1952-1990)
  • Biometrics and Community Medicine (1968-1982)
  • Physics (1977-1979)
  • Postgraduate Medical School (1980-1985)
  • Earth Sciences (1987)

Additional University-related archive collections

EUL MS 39 - Hubert Britton papers relating to chemistry (1930s-1950s). Britton was Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter,

EUL MS 189 - Copy plans of Basil Spence for the chemistry and physics buildings, University of Exeter (1958)

EUL MS 251 - Offprints of chemistry articles by Prof H Norman Rydon (1933-1970). From 1957 Rydon held the post of Professor of Chemistry at Exeter University until his retirement in 1977.

EUL UA/P/1b/7a-f - University photographs: Streatham campus: academic buildings A-F, including the Chemistry Building (1960s)

EUL UA/P/1b/7g-l - University photographs: Streatham campus: academic buildings G-L, including the Hatherley Laboratories (1970s-1980s) and Kaye Laboratories

EUL UA/P/1b/7m-r - University photographs: Streatham campus: academic buildings M-R, including the Physics Building (1960s-1980s)

EUL UA/P/1b/7s-z - University photographs: Streatham campus: academic buildings S-Z, including the Washington Singer Laboratories (1930s-1980s)

EUL UA/P/2b - University photographs: people: UCSWE officials and college groups, including a photograph of F H Newman, first professor of Physics from 1923 and director of the Washington Singer Laboratories from their opening in 1931, he became Acting-Principal of the University College of the South West of England 1951-1952, the year of his death. The Newman Building is named after him.

EUL UA/P/3e - University photographs: events: royal visits, including photographs of R H The Duke of Edinburgh inaugurates the Harrison (Engineering) Building, 21 Mar 1969

EUL UA/P/3g - University photographs: events: teaching, studying and research in subjects including: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering and Physics

EUL UA/P/4b - Unknown or unidentified photographs, including a contact sheet of photographs of Science and Engineering students (Sept 1998)

EUL UA/P/5 - Photograph album devoted to the World Health Organization seminar held in the Department of General Practice, Postgraduate Medical School, 18-22 Jul 1983

EUL UA/P/5/1 - Photograph collection of Grace Sharmon, student of UCSWE, including the Chemistry laboratory (c 1925-1928)

Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is both a public museum and an academic research centre, housing one of Britain's largest public collections of books, prints, artefacts and ephemera relating to the long history of screen practice. There are over 80,000 items in the collection. Holdings include many examples of nineteenth-century panoramas, dioramas, magic lanterns, stereoscopes, peepshows, optical illusions, and early cinema handbills. Artefacts are complemented by printed works relating to nineteenth-century science, technology, domestic leisure and popular entertainment. is home to one of the largest collections of material on the moving image in Britain.

Other archives held in Exeter

National Meteorological Library and Archive

The National Meteorological Library and Archive is part of the Met Office. The library holds a huge collection of books, ebooks and e-journals on all aspects of weather and climate. The Archive holds the ‘National Memory of the Weather’ including weather observations from the UK and other countries, publications and rare books. The bulk of the collection covers 1854 – today but we do have some earlier records in private weather diaries and ships meteorological logs. The collection is relevant to history of science, environment science and some aspects of social science.

Further information is available from:

Our Catalogue

Our Web pages

Our Digital Library and Archive – which holds a wide range of digitisied historical publications and records

Our Meteorological fact sheets, Historical weather fact sheets and Hidden Treasures

Our Google Arts and Culture Online Hub

If you are looking for historical weather data a free self-service web based source of Met Office data is available via the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA). You will need to register and be over 18 in order to access the datasets. You can find more information here.

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