19th Century British Social History 

Digital Collections

Defining Gender  - Over 50,000 images of original manuscript and printed material, addressing themes such as leisure and entertainment, consumer culture, education and the body.  Includes contextual essays by 17 leading scholars with hypertext links to source materials. Coverage 1450-1910.

19th Century British Pamphlets View Title List | About this Collection (.pdf) 
This collection contains the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries. Pamphlets were an important means of public debate, covering the key political, social, technological, and environmental issues of their day. They have been underutilized within research and teaching because they are generally quite difficult to access – often bound together in large numbers or otherwise hard to find in the few research libraries that hold them. The digitization of more than 20,000 pamphlets from seven UK institutions will provide researchers, students, and teachers with an immensely rich and coherent corpus of primary sources with which to study the socio-political and economic landscape of 19th century Britain.

Microform Collections

Film and fiche are shelved on South Wing Level 1 in room 1.016. They can be viewed on the Reader/Printer located within the room. Access to the Reader/Printer can be booked for a period of up to 2 hours (which may be extended if there are no other bookings). Booking sheets and instructions are located next to the Reader/Printer. Bookings can also be made from off campus by contacting Janice Pell on 9360 2154 or by email to Janice Pell.

The British in Ireland. Series 1. Colonial Office class CO904 (Dublin Castle records)
1882-1926
Pt.1. Anti-government organisations, 1882-1921
Pt.2. Police reports, Jan.1892-Dec. 1897
Pt.3. Police reports, Feb.1898-Dec. 1913
Pt.4. Police reports, 1914-1921
Pt.5. Public control and administration
Pt.6. Judicial processings, enquiries and miscellaneous records, 1872-1926
112 microfilm reels and printed guide
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection MF 941.508 BRI 1982
MF 941.508 BRI 1982 GUIDE

Diary of Beatrice Webb
1873-1943
The personal journal of Beatrice Webb from childhood until almost the day of her death. These diaries are a valuable resource for researchers on British socialism and ideology of the welfare state in the U.K. The diaries are also a good source for significant personalities of the period.
127 fiche and printed guide
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 335.140924 W365

Economic and Social Investigations in Ireland: the Transactions of the Dublin Social Inquiry and Statistical Society, 1847-1919
1847-1919
The Dublin Statistical Society was one of the foremost reform groups in nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland. It debated many of the most important Irish issues between the great depression of the Irish famine and the struggle for an Independent Irish State. The publications of the Dublin Statistical Society are a rich source of demographic data and of the primary source data concerning poverty, education, health, sanitation, crime, punishment and the economy.
4 reels
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection MF 301.060415 ECO
MF 301.060415 ECO GUIDE

Francis Place Papers
1791-1854
Covers London, the working classes, all kinds of reform movements and parliamentary manoeuvring over a period of 63 years. Complements the collection Radicalism, Anti- Radicalism & Reform in England (see below)
54 reels
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 941.081 P697

Pamphleteer
1813-1828
A 'journal' of pamphlets aimed at reaching "anyone who thought about political and literary matters and who was concerned about pressing social questions of the day. Historians and others will find in these pamphlets a rich approach to the period of early 19th Century Britain, Europe and America.
184 fiche
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 052 P186

Radical Periodicals of Great Britain
1847-1914
Covers protest literature of the Industrial Revolution dating from 1794-1881 and Marxism and the machine age, 1867-1914
fiche and film
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 320.50941 RAD

Radicalism, Anti-Radicalism and Reform in England
1769-1861
Documents reflect opposing views in the pivotal historical period 1760-1860. Manuscripts have been divided into two sections - Section 1, 1792-93 Anti-Radical material, Section 2, 1769--1861 Radical material. Complements the collection Francis Place Papers (see above)
8 reels
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 320.94107 R129

Rare, Radical and Labour Periodicals, Great Britain
Series 1 - Nineteenth Century Covers 99 rare nineteenth century periodicals never before reprinted or reproduced. Provides a window into working class life, social conditions, change caused by industrialisation, opinions of working people about themselves and their environment.
54 reels
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 320.941 R221

Urban and Rural Social Conditions in Industrial Britain: the Local Reports to the General Board of Health 1848-1857
1848-1857
All the local reports to the General Board of Health, 1848-1857 set up under the provisions of the Public Health Act of 1848. Give a clear and uncompromising description of living conditions in England and Wales, excluding London.
214 fiche
Location: South Wing Level 1Microform Collection 941.081 U72U

Urban and Rural Social Conditions in Industrial Britain
Series 2. The Reports to the Local Government Board, 1869-1908
223 fiche
This collection offers 799 reports on varied districts throughout the counties of England and Wales. It provides a remarkable and detailed picture of social and industrial conditions during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. The reports were the work of the Medical Office of the Privy Council from 1869 to 1871 and of the Local Government Board thereafter.
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 941.081 U72T

Women's History on Microform

Anne Lister Papers (1806-1840)
Comprises Anne Lister's journals, volumes 1-24, 1817-1840, extracts 1887-1892, brief notes 1806-1810 and two exercise books 1816-1817.
17 microfilm reels and accompanying guides.
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection MF 305.42092 LIS 2001
Guides shelved in Microform Collection at MF 305.42092 LIS 2001 GUIDE
Transcriptions from a selection of Anne Lister's papers can be viewed on the following website: From History to Her Story: Yorkshire Women's Lives On-Line, 1100 to the Present

Bibliofem
An on-going catalogue and a continuing bibliography on women. It is the joint catalogue of the Fawcett Library and the Equal Opportunities Commission Library (UK) and consists of over 400,000 books, pamphlets, periodicals, letters, press cuttings, photographs and archives on women.
fiche
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 305.4 B582

Gerritsen Collection of Women's History
1543-1945
Coverage includes women's suffrage, feminism, history and social conditions, educational and professional training, employment, physiology, psychology and political and social reform. The collection is extensive - over 4500 titles consisting of books, pamphlets and serials.
13,300 fiche and 244 reels
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 305.409 G378

History of Women
The great strength of the collection lies in the quantity of monographs (approx. 20,000) which have been microfilmed. Filmed in chronological order they enable scholars to follow historical developments in any particular period from medieval times through to 1920. Other segments of the collection are pamphlets, manuscripts, periodicals and photographs.
1248 reels
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 305.409 H673

Women Advising Women: Early Women's Journals, Advice Books and Related Sources
Part 2: Advice Books, Manuals, Almanacs and Journals c1625-1837, from the Bodleian Library, Oxford
This collection will enable scholars to see how women were expected to behave in 1680, in 1730, in 1780 and in 1830, to see how language evolved and practices changed, to understand the notions of the public and private sphere. Includes one of the longest running publications aimed at women - The Ladies Diary...1706-1840.
In all 320 separate titles are reproduced in Part 2. 20 reels with guide
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection 070.48347 WOM

Women's Language and Experience, 1500-1940: Women's Diaries and Related Sources
Part 1: Sources from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire County Record Offices
1500-1940
Makes available an abundance of hitherto unknown material for the study of women's lives, language and experiences, from the early modern period to the onset of the Second World War. It is based on women's diaries, pocket books, occasional memoirs, autobiographies, travel journals, commonplace books and memoranda. Material has been selected to maintain a balance in the coverage of historical periods, geographical areas, subject matter, and - insofar as this is possible - in the social strata of the women concerned.
Part 1: 16 reels with guide
Location: South Wing Level 1 Microform Collection