The archive is one of the largest college archives in Oxford. The records date from the 12th century to modern times.
Much of the catalogue is now on-line here: https://christchurch.epexio.com/ The entries are still, in some cases, quite basic and will be given volume over time. Others are much more detailed.
Other sections of the catalogue will be added in the near future. Not everything is available for consultation and there is an indication of the availability of any item on the catalogue entry. There are a few items which will not be included on the public-facing catalogue for reasons of data protection or business security.
Please feel free to ring or e-mail to ask any questions about the content of the archive.
The archive does not hold any diocesan records. These may be consulted at the Oxfordshire History Centre. Records relating to living people are subject to the terms of the UK GDPR/DPA 2018 and its subsequent amendments.
The Archive consists of a number of series, to which there are guides included on the on-line catalogue:
Records of the Dean and Chapter
including:
Chapter Books and minutes from the foundation
Accounts
Service sheets from the late C19, including those for special services
Records of the choir and the cathedral school (limited)
Installation documents for deans and canons
Registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials
Deanery papers
including:
Admissions records
Personal papers of the deans (limited)
Papers relating to benefactions, gifts and trusts
Early material on Cardinal College, including the accounts of Robert Amadas, royal goldsmith, and the 1525 endowment of property.
Governing Body papers
including:
Minutes from 1867
Committee papers
Buildings records
Originally a sub-section of Governing Body papers, this series comprises records dealing with building projects, and maintenance and repairs. The archive also holds a number of architectural drawings from the C18 to the present day.
Clubs, society, and personal papers
Minute and rule books of clubs and societies
Theatrical programmes and related correspondence
Papers relating to and by individual members of Christ Church.
This series includes the large collections belonging to:
Hugh Trevor-Roper (Lord Dacre);
Tom Driberg (Lord Bradwell) MP;
and smaller collections relating to the work of:
Geoffrey Drage MP;
Nigel Lawson MP (Lord Lawson of Blaby);
Cyril Evelyn (poet);
Ralph Hewins (biographer);
Dimitri Obolensky.
The collection of papers relating to the Phillimore family of judges and lawyers has been transferred from the library to the archive, and will undergo detailed listing as soon as possible.
Please note that permission to consult and/or publish anything from the papers of Hugh Trevor-Roper must be obtained in advance from Professor Blair Worden, Lord Dacre's literary executor
Permission to publish material from the Driberg collection must be sought from Ms Georgia Glover, David Higham Associates, 5-8 Lower John Street, London, W1F 9HA.
The large collection of papers relating to Lord Portal and the 2nd World War are retained by the Library.
Common Room records
Minute books, accounts, correspondence, etc. relating to the administration of the Senior Common Room. NB. This section includes a considerable amount of material by Charles Dodgson from his period as Curator of Common Room but material relating to Dodgson as Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, is held by the Library.
Photographs
Albums and loose photographs belonging to college clubs and societies, and topographical images. The Boat Club is particularly well-represented, and we hold matriculation photographs from 1947.
Manorial documents
As part of its endowment, Christ Church was given the lordship of around 20 manors in England. Many of these have been sold with the landed estate over the years although a few remain in Christ Church's possession. The records held in the archive are, on the whole, post-medieval.
Treasury papers
The Treasury papers form approximately half of the archive, and was the section initially catalogued by Dr Geoffrey Bill in the 1950s. As a consequence, it contains items which would not necessarily be considered Treasury (estates bursary) papers today. Principally the section deals with the financial administration of the college and cathedral, and particularly with its landed estate. As such it contains terriers and surveys, rent books, conveyances and leases, etc. However, it also includes material like the collections books, which record the termly reading of undergraduates from c.1700 to the late C19; the correspondence of George Chinnery, an undergraduate in the first decade of the C19; the building accounts of Tom Tower and Peckwater Quad, etc.
Steward's Office
The Steward's Office (domestic bursary) was created in 1867 and took over from the Treasury the administration of accommodation, catering, conferences, etc. Its records include those of special dinners, student room allocations, and domestic staff.
Censors' Office records
The Censors are the academic administrators of the collegiate part of Christ Church. Many of its records are subject to the Data Protection Act and, as such, are not available for consultation. The section contains some material relating to the appointment of senior staff, and all the files relating to undergraduate and graduate members from c.1867. Until the 1930s, these files are often extremely thin. Rarely do our records hold any information on wives, mothers, or children, or on post-Christ Church careers.
Development and Alumni Relations
A relatively new department, the Development and Alumni Relations Office exists to keep in touch with members once they have left Christ Church, and to raise funds. Like the records of the Censors' Office, much remains subject to the Data Protection Act. Most of the material in the archive from this office relates to surveys of old members and fundraising literature.
