The Angus blog

The Apostate Baptist and the Father of English Hymns

Posted Tuesday, 26th November 2013

Vindiciæ mentis: An essay of the being and nature of mind: Wherein the distinction of mind and body, the substantiality, personality, and perfection of mind is asserted; and the original of our minds, their present, separate, and future state, is freely enquir’d into, in order to a more certain foundation for the knowledge of God, and our selves, and the clearing all doubts and objections that have been, or may be made concerning the life and immortality of our Souls. In a new method. By a gentleman [i.e. Thomas Emes]

 This work is not in itself unusual.  24 other copies are recorded on the English Short Title Catalogue, and there are almost certainly other copies in private or uncatalogued collections.  However, the author of the book was himself unusual.  Expelled from the Baptists in 1694 for promoting heretical views (recorded in Cripplegate, London, Baptist Congregation Church Book, 1693–1723 – which is in the archives here at The Angus Library and Archive), by the time of Emes’ death in 1707, he had become aligned with an eccentric Huguenot cult known as the French Prophets.  One of this congregation prophesied at his death bed that he would undergo a physical resurrection.  However, 3 days after his death it was wisely decided to bury the putrid corpse, and the time of his resurrection was revised forward by 5 months.  The cult’s future demise was assured by Emes’ failure to appear at the appointed time.

This copy of Emes’ book was owned and annotated by the rather more orthodox Isaac Watts.  Strictly speaking, he was a minister in the Independent tradition, but in the early days of non-conformity, the boundaries between dissenting denominations were rather blurred, and Baptists consider him one of their own.  A great deal of myth and legend surrounds Watts (notably the unverifiable story that he was persistently punished in childhood for refusing to speak in prose), but it is generally agreed that his work transformed worship across all denominations in England.  Prior to Watts, congregational singing had usually been confined to metrical Psalms, and direct and rather clunky translations of a handful of other Biblical texts.  Watts not only ‘updated’ the Psalms in a direct and engaging style, (such as ‘O God our Help in Ages Past’ based on Psalm 90), but also wrote didactic and meditational hymns including the perennial favourite ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’.  His hymns were rapidly adopted not just by dissenting congregations, but even in Anglican circles.  As the hymnodist immodestly said of his own Hymns and Spiritual Songs: “If an Author’s own Opinion may be taken, he esteems it the greatest Work that ever he has publish’d”.

by Anna James, Antiquarian Cataloguer

The New Whole Duty of Man

Posted Monday, 25th November 2013

Cataloguing of the older books in the collection has recently begun, and one of the first items to be catalogued is The New Whole Duty of Man (London, 1756). First published in 1658 at the end of the Commonwealth period, it promoted the High Anglicanism which was restored with the monarchy two years later. It caught the religious mood of the time, and rapidly became a bestseller, and could commonly be found alongside a Bible and a prayerbook in even the humblest of homes. This is a revised version which first appeared in 1741, which is considered necessary because original version was ‘designed for those unhappy times in which it was written’, and failed to mention the XXXIX Articles ‘tho’ essentially necessary to salvation’. This 14th edition of the revised version is very rare: only 5 copies are known to exist in libraries across the world. This is the only complete copy available in the UK.

In addition to its interest as a bibliographic rarity, this copy has a rather more immediate appeal in its childish drawings and doodles preserved inside the back cover, and the rough and ready brown woollen dust jacket obscuring the original leather binding. Who were the amateur portraitist and sitter? Is it a self-portrait? How much trouble was the artist in when their handiwork was discovered by their parent or guardian? The evidence we have at the moment can’t answer these questions, but the pictures can quickly take us back two hundred years to a moment in time when a child was bored in church.

  by Anna James, Antiquarian Cataloguer

Lesson Starters and In-Depth Teaching Resources

Posted Monday, 16th September 2013

Treasures of The Angus

Posted Friday, 13th September 2013

The Angus Library and Archive are excited to be taking part in the 2013 Oxford Open Doors weekend, run by the Oxford Preservation Trust.

On Saturday September 14th, we are offering visitors the opportunity to see rare books, diaries, letters and pamphlets in our Treasures of The Angus exhibition.

Please take a look at our video to see some of the highlights of our exhibition:

Treasures of The Angus Online Exhibition from The Angus Library and Archive on Vimeo.

Check back soon for details about our next exhibtion “Slavery: Historical and Modern Perspectives”

Thursday 31st October – Thursday 5th December

Booking essential, please contact: katie.pearce@regents.ox.ac.uk

Vacancy – Cataloguer RPC Library Service

Posted Monday, 29th July 2013

Cataloguer
RPC Library Service – The Angus
Full-time (1.5 years fixed contract)
£24,000 per annum

Regent’s Park College (RPC), a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford, has a full-time, grant- funded position for a Cataloguer. RPC has secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Baptist Union’s Newington Court Fund to deliver an exciting project which will enable The Angus Library and Archive (The Angus) to realise its full potential as a treasure trove of primary sources.

We are therefore looking to recruit an experienced, highly knowledgeable and motivated person with formal experience in cataloguing procedures and practices to fill this important and interesting post. This position will focus on cataloguing the backlog of works in The Angus in collaboration with the Antiquarian Cataloguer, using Aleph, AACR2, DCRM(B) and an awareness of RDAcataloguing rules. The role requires knowledge of cataloguing standards and experience in the use of external bibliographic databases (RLIN, OCLC, CURL, LOCIS). Experience and knowledge of cataloguing procedures is essential as well as a keen eye for detail and excellent IT literacy. Knowledge of a Classical or at least one modern European language would be desirable but not essential.

For more information regarding this position or to request an information pack please contact the Project Administrator, anja.clark@regents.ox.ac.uk or (01865)288142.

Closing date is 5pm Friday 20th September 2013. Interviews will be held on Thursday 26th September.

Vacancy – Antiquarian Cataloguer

Posted Monday, 29th July 2013

Antiquarian Cataloguer
The Angus Library and Archive
2.5 years, full-time
£30,000 per annum

Regent’s Park College (RPC), a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford, has a full-time, grant- funded position for an Antiquarian Cataloguer. RPC has secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Baptist Union’s Newington Court Fund to deliver an exciting project which will enable The Angus Library and Archive (The Angus) to realise its full potential as a treasure trove of primary sources.

We are therefore looking to recruit an experienced, highly knowledgeable and motivated person with formal experience in cataloguing procedures and practices to fill this important and interesting post. This position will focus on cataloguing the backlog of works in The Angus and developing a plan to catalogue, conserve or dispose of items using Aleph DCRM(B)/AACR2 (with an awareness of RDA)cataloguing rules. The role will involve being responsible for all the cataloguing undertaken as part of the HLF project and will be the direct point of contact for all other cataloguing roles. The role requires knowledge of antiquarian cataloguing standards and experience in the use of external bibliographic databases (RLIN, OCLC, CURL, LOCIS). Knowledge and experience of Heritage Lottery Fund projects, and a knowledge of a Classical or at least one modern European language would be desirable but not essential.

For more information regarding this position or to request an information pack please contact the Project Administrator, anja.clark@regents.ox.ac.uk or (01865)288142.

Closing date is 5pm Monday 12th August 2013. Interviews will be held on Monday 19th August 2013.

Exhibition Research Volunteers Needed!

Posted Thursday, 18th July 2013

We need volunteers specifically to work on preparing materials for our upcoming exhibitions. Themes include: Women, Slavery, Fairtrade, and Literature. The exhibitions will coincide with national events: Black History Month, International Women’s Day & Fairtrade Fortnight.

Volunteers will be able to interpret our archive treasures in a way to make them presentable to the public.

We rely on volunteers to make our outreach project work! If you are a keen historian, would like to work in museums or archives, or just have some spare time which you would like to donate to a good cause, then please get in touch!

As usual, my email address is: anja.clark@regents.ox.ac.uk

Looking forward to welcoming you into The Angus Family.

Vacancy – Educational Consultant

Posted Wednesday, 10th July 2013

The Angus Library and Archive are seeking an Educational Consultant to oversee the development of creative and visionary National Curriculum resources with a focus on KS3 and KS4 History.

 Key Responsibilities:

• Oversee all development of educational resources to include the design of online content
• Work with teacher volunteers in the co creation of educational resources for KS3 and KS4 students in the area of History
• Liaise with the Learning and Participation Officer, College Librarian and volunteers in regard to resource development
• Advocate for the project in regional and national arenas

The essential requirements are:

• Demonstrated enthusiasm and passion about helping people engage with history, heritage and/or culture
• Experience in public engagement in the museum, archive or other cultural sector
• Experience in working with schools
• Experience in the development of learning activities
• Excellent IT literacy, with proven Microsoft Office experience
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work on own initiative, with strong organizational and time management skills
• Ability to work as part of a team and follow instructions
• An appropriate degree

 The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 19th July 2013.

For full details, please see our website: http://www.rpc.ox.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=294&tln=AboutUs

Teachers! We need you!

Posted Thursday, 27th June 2013

Would you like your students to engage with exciting primary resources, such as this fifteenth-century Nuremberg Chronicle?

Please read our Teacher Information Sheet

With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and The Baptist Union Newington Court Fund, we would like to see more people from a wider cross section of society using The Angus Library and Archive. We aim to help people engage with the heritage of the nation and the Baptist denomination, taking advantage of the true value of this wonderful collection.

We would like teachers to be involved both in the development stage and the testing of new educational resources. We will be creating National Curriculum Resources for Key Stage 3 and 4, covering subjects such as:

• The Victorians and non-conformists
• Trade in the Edwardian period
• Colonialism
• The Slave Trade
• Religious liberty and tolerance

We will also be offering the opportunity for year 10/11 and A-Level students to gain first-hand experience using the archive. We would like to foster the students’ curiosity, helping them to develop independent study skills which are vital for university.

Cultural Partnership Opportunity

The recent review of Cultural Education in England revealed the importance of schools making links with cultural organisations. Such partnerships offer students the opportunity to take part in academically and socially enriching activities outside of the classroom. We would like to work with teachers and schools to provide accessible and inspiring learning experiences within the library and archive setting. If you would like to discuss the possibility of forming a partnership with The Angus Library and Archive, please contact our Learning and Participation Officer, Katie Pearce, on: katie.pearce@regents.ox.ac.uk.

Interested in running an Archiving for the Future course in your area?

Posted Tuesday, 18th June 2013

At The Angus Library & Archive we are in need of volunteers to help run Archiving for the Future courses in churches across the UK.

We are looking for anyone with experience in training others, or with knowledge of archiving, to present our Archiving course to prospective groups.

Full ‘train the trainer’ training will be provided, as well as Archiving for the Future training for those coming from a different background.

Own transport is desirable as well as an understanding of religious history in Britain.

Would suit those with the ability to engage with others, and an interest in conserving the history of faith communities.

For more information, or for an application form, please contact: anja.clark@regents.ox.ac.uk, 01865 288 142