Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1934 - 2001 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 archival folder + 1 medal box
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.
Name of creator
Administrative history
Name of creator
Administrative history
Name of creator
Administrative history
Name of creator
Administrative history
Name of creator
Administrative history
Name of creator
Administrative history
The School of Oriental Studies was founded in 1916 at 2 Finsbury Circus, London, the then premises of the London Institution. The school received its royal charter on 5 June 1916 and admitted its first students on 18 January 1917. For a period in the mid-1930s, prior to moving to its current location at Thornhaugh Street, Bloomsbury, the school was located at Vandon House, Vandon Street, London SW1, with the library located at Clarence House. Its move to new premises in Bloomsbury was held up by delays in construction and the half-completed building took a hit during the Blitz in September 1940. With the onset of the Second World War, many University of London colleges were evacuated from London in 1939 and billeted on universities in the rest of the country. The School was, on the Government's advice, transferred to Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1940, when it became apparent that a return to London was possible, the school returned to the city and was housed for some months in eleven rooms at Broadway Court, 8 Broadway, London SW1. In 1942, the War Office joined with the School to create a scheme for State Scholarships to be offered to select grammar and public school boys with linguistic ability to train as military translators and interpreters in Chinese, Japanese, Persian, and Turkish. Lodged at Dulwich College in south London, the students became affectionately known as the Dulwich boys.
A college of the University of London, in 2011, the Privy Council approved changes to the school's charter allowing it to award degrees in its own name.
Repository
Archival history
These papers were sent and received by the Royal Asiatic Society in the course of its business.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The material is part of the institutional records of the Society from its dealings with other organisations.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Throughout its history the Royal Asiatic Society has made links with various universities. Perhaps most notable is that with the School of Oriental Studies (Now School of African and Oriental Studies), University of London, for which the Royal Asiatic Society had a representative on the Governing Body for many years. Material in these papers includes connections between the Royal Asiatic Society and the School for Oriental Studies, the University of Catania, Sicily, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the University of Hong Kong, and the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
The material was divided into separate series for each institution.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Please contact the archivist using the email address given here. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.
Language of material
- English
- Latin
- French
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Subject)
- School of Oriental Studies University of London (Subject)
- University of Catania (Subject)
- University of Hong Kong (Subject)
- University of Oxford (Subject)
- Université libre de Bruxelles (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
This material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2019.