Papers of Reverend Henry John Lane-Smith

This collection comprises the papers of Henry Lane-Smith, relating to his service as a CMS missionary, working amongst Moslems with the Western India Mission. It contains his circular and annual letters, 1904-1919 and various printed and duplicated materials including copies of The Bombay Muhammadan News , 1901-1903 which was edited by Lane-Smith, annual reports of the CMS Urdu mission, 1907-1918/19 and a volume of newspaper cuttings entitled Islamics containing cuttings from both Indian and English newspapers, 1905-1906. The collection also contains copies of some of Lane-Smith's writings and a number of photographs.

Administrative/Biographical History

Henry John Lane-Smith (b. c. 1870) was educated at King Edward VI School, Birmingham, Queen's College, Birmingham and the University of Durham and was awarded his BA in 1899 and MA in 1904. He was ordained deacon in 1896 by the Bishop of Coventry and priest in 1897 by the Bishop of Worcester. He served as curate at All Saints, Birmingham, 1899-1900 and then at St George's, Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1900. He was accepted as a CMS missionary in 1900 and left later the same year for Bombay, Western India Mission. He worked among Moslems at Aurangabad until 1918 when he moved to Nasik. He was Secretary of the Western India Mission, 1919-1923 and then Superintendent Missionary of the Diocesan Mission to Moslems in Bombay, 1925-1930. He was chaplain at Hyderabad, 1930-1931 when he retired from service with the CMS. He married Sarah Ann Lamb in 1901.

Reference: Register of missionaries (clerical, lay & female) and native clergy from 1804 to 1904 ( Church Missionary Society, 1905 ). ; Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1961-62

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into a single series: Miscellaneous Papers.

Access Conditions

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Presented to the CMS in 1961; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s.

See full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Further deposits are not expected.

The Special Collections Department holds the Church Missionary Society Archive, the official archive of the society (GB 150 CMS), which includes papers relating to Henry Lane-Smith's service as a CMS missionary.

The University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department and the Orchard Learning Resources Centre hold a rich collection of archives relating to missions, charities and other religious and ecclesiastical organisations and individuals.