Temporary Closure of the Angus Library and Archive
The Angus Library and Archive will close temporarily from January to October 2026 to all visitors and enquirers. Continuing high usage levels both in person and online, combined with large amounts of existing and new donations and deposits, have meant that we need to create time and space for the Angus Library team and our volunteers to undertake a variety of critically important tasks and initiate new and exciting projects. A temporary closure will enable us to carry out these tasks as well as improve the operation of the library and prepare for the college centenary in 2027/2028. For more details, please visit the Angus website. If you have any specific questions or need further details, please feel free to ask!
The Angus Library and Archive unites the original collection of historical materials gathered by Principal Joseph Angus in the nineteenth century with the libraries and archive of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Baptist Historical Society, Baptist Missionary Society and The Baptist Times. It offers printed books, pamphlets, journals, church and association records, church histories, manuscript letters and other artefacts from the early fifteenth century to the present day. It contains a comprehensive collection of Baptist periodicals from around the world.
The Angus also has an extensive manuscript collection including collections from key Baptist people such as William Carey, C.H. Spurgeon, Joshua and Hannah Marshman and Willam Ward, E.A. Payne, and J. H Rushbrook. It also holds manuscripts for leading Baptist families such as Angus, Steele, Whitaker, and Reeves.
There is a collection of minutes and papers from a variety of Baptist organisations or organisations with which Baptists have been involved such as the European Baptist Federation, Baptist World Alliance, Baptist Historical Society, Deaconess Movement and the World Council of Churches. Special collections, including those of the Baptist Missionary Society, offer material relating to Baptist witness in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, West Africa, India, China and South East Asia. Early connections between Baptists in Britain and the United States of America are well covered.
Ways to Engage with The Angus
Although researching Baptist history is an obvious reason people would use The Angus Library and Archive, it is only one of many subjects people research. We have had people research, ship building, slavery, human rights, women’s rights, missionary work, geography, linguistics, the list is endless.
The reasons people visit are just as varied with people undertaking: family history, researching doctoral work, writing church histories, academics researching papers and publications, lay people with an interest in a person or event.
To access our archive catalogue and find out what we hold in our collections, visit: https://regents-park.epexio.com.
Access to The Angus Library and Archive is by appointment only. A form of photographic ID and a letter of reference will be required, and there a few forms to complete upon arrival.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with The Angus team by emailing angus.library@regents.ox.ac.uk.
The Opening the Angus seminars provide an introduction to this rich resource, led by academics who have visited and used items from our collection in their research.
You can check out previous seminars on the Centre for Baptist Studies’ YouTube Channel.
To receive regular updates from The Angus and to be notified about future events, you can join the Friends of the Angus mailing list.