Elgar Archives – Q & A
- 22nd June 2018
We’ve received a lot of support for the Elgar archives coming to The Hive and remaining in Worcestershire, and we are very grateful to everyone who has sent letters of support, signed the petition and helped in other ways.
A few questions have been asked, and we thought it may be helpful to share some of these, and our answers.
The archive isn’t used much in Worcestershire at the moment, so would it be a good idea for it to go to London?
From 1967 to 2002 the letters were held by Worcestershire Record Office at our branch at St Helen’s Church. They then went to the Elgar Birthplace Museum, where they have been for the past 16 years. The number of people consulting them there has been very low, which is why some have suggested they move to London.
We believe that coming back to Worcestershire Archives would lead to increased use of the archive. It is far more accessible than Lower Broadheath in The Hive in terms of opening hours, location and ease of use to access the archives. We were awarded Record Keeping Service of the Year in 2017, and The Hive has won a number of awards, reflecting the service here including accessibility. The limited access and publicity at the Birthplace has affected numbers who have used them in the past few years. Worcestershire people care deeply about their heritage and we are a very well-used archive service. Since many people consult documents from more than one collection it will increase usage of the Elgar archive. When the letters were with us they were used more than they have been over the past 16 years.
Here in The Hive it would be with the county’s archives. For those consulting Elgar in relation to his life in Worcestershire, researchers would find his letters in the context of other contemporary documents. The personal papers of composer Sir Granville Bantock, a close friend of Elgar, are held here for example. County newspapers and our local studies library, with numerous Elgar mentions, are just a few metres away on open access.
We are sure that if it moved here then the use and profile of the Elgar archive would increase significantly. Work has already started on planning how the documents could be celebrated and promoted. There are many highlights within the 12 miles of archives here, but Elgar’s archive would be one of the jewels and in his beloved county it would be celebrated and cherished.
Did his daughter want them to go to the British Library?
One reason given by the Elgar Foundation for disposing of the music manuscripts to the British Library was based on the wording of Carice’s will. However, it is clear from correspondence between 1961 and 1967 that Carice built up trust and confidence in the county archives and gave these letters –and diaries – to the archives before she wrote her will in 1969. There is a Minute from the Trustees of the Birthplace Museum to that effect, describing the deposit of the correspondence as a permanent loan. The Trustees were happy with the archive being held by Worcestershire Record Office between 1967 and 2002.
Since then, it has been suggested that Carice actually bequeathed the letters to the Trust and then to the British Library, despite evidence to the contrary
Will this unite the Elgar archives, most of which are already at the British Library?
The reuniting in some way of the archives has been mentioned a number of times, with an alleged figure of 80% of Elgar archives in the British Library already. There are indeed 1,000 letters in the British Library, but the collection currently at Lower Broadheath has over 11,000 letters, a significantly larger number. Many of the letters and documents held at the British Library are single letters or within other collections and ones purchased in sales. This is different from a consistent or coherent correspondence archive in the way that the correspondence given by Carice in 1967 so very clearly is.
There are also other record offices with Elgar material, and moving the letters to London would not unite Elgar collections. The University of Birmingham has a large collection of his music as well as the 70 or so Diaries. The particular collection which the Elgar Foundation would like to move relates to his correspondence and his life and we believe that Worcestershire is the best place for that.
Why was the correspondence archive moved to the Birthplace Trust in 2002?
From 1988 there were great plans to build The Elgar Centre at The Birthplace. Eventually, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, this came to fruition. The facilities included new research space, custody and conservation facilities of an archival standard that satisfied archivists the material could be united with other Elgar records already there yet still remain close to complementary archive resources held at the county archives. Unfortunately, the Birthplace Trust is no longer able to facilitate the archive, and since handing day to day management to the National Trust, has also come to this conclusion to cease access to it in Worcestershire.
If you had been wondering any of those when you were hearing or reading the reasons for the decision, we hope these explain why we still believe The Hive is the right location. If you have any other questions about the Elgar Archive too we are very happy to answer them. You can email Adrian Gregson at agregson3@worcestershire.gov.uk.
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