British School at Rome Administrative Archive
Scope and Contents
Consists of records documenting the institution’s activities since its foundation in 1901 and includes: awardees applications and documents arranged by discipline and award (Visual Art, Humanities, Architecture), funding bodies award-related documentation; institutional charters, minutes and supporting papers of Council, Faculties and other committees, Minute books, circulars, Letter books, reports of Executive Committee, Faculties and other committees; administrative records (Building & Premises, Communications, Financial & Personnel, Directors’ correspondence and staff correspondence, IT, Permits & Taught courses, Residence & Facilities); memberships and donor records, fundraising records. Includes also material relating to the Fine Arts and Humanities Programmes as well as exhibition records such as: administrative information, press cuttings, talks and lectures, Library & Archive management and activities and BSR publications.
Reference number
AR
Dates
- 1899
- Majority of material found within 1912 - 2000
Creator
- British School at Rome (Owner, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Access to some records may be restricted and not all materials can be available for consultation.
Historical note
Since the new foundation of the BSR through the Royal Charter of Incorporation (1912), the Rome Scholarships in the Fine Arts were offered for annual competition among British subjects in each of the following branches of Art: Architecture, Sculpture, Decorative Painting and Engraving. These scholarships were administered by the Art Faculties and were tenable for three years. The Faculty of Archaeology, History and Letters (FAHL) administered only one studentship, awarded by the Gilchrist Trust, until the academic year 1928-9, when the Rome Scholarship in Archaeology, then named Rome Scholarship in Classical Studies, was established. Source of information: ex box 554 (new box 236b).
Extent
circa 72 Linear Meters (895 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Italian
French
German
Abstract
These corporate records mostly relate to the history of the BSR since its inception in 1901. A particular focus is given to archival holdings relating to former award-holders and their different roles throughout their association with the BSR and its wide community. This rich documentation shows the groundbreaking impact the BSR has generated on generations of academic, researchers, artists and architects as well as on British research worldwide.
Arrangement
Records are arranged in several sub-fonds:
- Awards & Founding Bodies
- Governance records
- Administration records
- Membership, Development and Publicity records
- Research Programmes & Publications records
- Letter Books
- Minute Books
- Newspaper Cuttings
Physical Location
Rolling shelves in the New basement total 62.4 m.l. which can house 780 boxes; 21 boxes are kept horizontally at the bottom of each rolling cabinet. Centenary Building Project and Sustainable Building Project records (2000-2004; 2015-16) are stored in the Lift Storage Space, filling ca. 12 m.l. of space. Other administrative records are kept in white cupboards in the Administration office corridor filling ca. 8 m.l. Records kept in the Finance Manager office and in the Administration office have not been included in the present assessment.
Custodial History
The Administrative records have been housed in various places since the BSR’s foundation. The majority of the Administrative records were originally housed in London at the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Imperial College, where the BSR UK-based office was found. A large number of boxes were sent to Rome in 1992, when the BSR closed its London office in Regent’s College. Once at the BSR, records were stored in rooms 21 and 22 and then moved to a room behind the kitchen. In 2001, during the Building Renovation Project, they were again moved to rooms 21 and 22. In 2001 Sarah Hyslop, hired by the BSR to curate the Centenary volume publication, rearranged the Administrative records in order to prepare their move to the New basement. The Administrative records inventory, that had been compiled after the boxes were delivered from London, was updated by Sarah Court. In May 2013 additional files were sent by Gill Clark, BSR Registrar and Publication Manager, to Rome in order to free space in the London office at the British Academy. In May 2022 other files were sent from London to Rome.
Appraisal
All files are appraised as ‘retain permanently’ respecting institutional policies. Many records have been examined and duplicates and copies of documents have been disposed of during a reviewing process underataken in 2013 and approved by BSR Director Christopher J. Smith. The appraisal of records that should be retained is still ongoing.
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
Creator
- British School at Rome (Owner, Organization)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the British School at Rome Archive & Special Collections Repository