Papers of Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison (1869-1951)

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 161 MSS. Addison dep. a. 1, b. 1-14, c. 1-251, d. 1-16, e. 1-2
  • Dates of Creation
      1831-1980
  • Language of Material
      English.
  • Physical Description
      284 shelfmarks

Scope and Content

Addison's papers give a wide insight into the work and private life of Christopher Addison, from celebrated anatomist, to Minister of Munitions during the 1914-18 War, to first Minister of Health. They show the change of political direction from Liberal MP to Labour MP and Peer, including evidence of the close relationships which Addison developed both with David Lloyd George and Clement Attlee. The papers include the following:  

  • Diaries, 1914-21
  • National insurance and early medical papers, 1832-1933
  • Board of Education (Aug. 1914-May 1915), 1910-22
  • Ministry of Munitions (May 1915-July 1917), 1899-1935
  • Ministry of Reconstruction (July 1917-Jan. 1919), 1915-38
  • Local Government Board (Jan.-June 1919), 1917-20
  • Ministry of Health (June 1919-Apr. 1921), 1890-1951
  • Minister without Portfolio (Apr.-July 1921), 1921-8
  • Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (1929-31), 1905-51
  • House of Lords (May 1937-Dec. 1951), 1918-51
  • Party and Constituency Papers, 1910-48
  • Miscellaneous political and personal correspondence, 1906-51
  • Speeches, 1916-33
  • Papers relating to Addison's publications, 1914-39
  • Press cuttings, 1909-50
  • Photographs and original cartoons, 1880-1948
  • Personal and family papers, 1883-1980
  • Papers, mainly of Dorothy, Lady Addison, relating to Christopher Addison, 1895-1960

Administrative / Biographical History

Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison (1869-1951) was a statesman, entering politics in 1907 in order to improve the conditions of the poor. Further details can be found in the introduction to the online catalogue ( http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/specialcollectionswmss/online/online.htm and in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Access Information

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/specialcollections)

Acquisition Information

Most of the papers (137 boxes) were deposited in June 1973. Further papers were deposited in July 1981, October 1982 and October 1983. One box of papers was transferred from the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick in 1988.

Note

Collection level description created by Emily Tarrant, Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts.

Other Finding Aids

A catalogue of the collection is available online at http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/specialcollectionswmss/online/online.htm.

Related Material

Other Addison papers are in the Bodleian: letters of condolence written to Dorothy, Lady Addison on Addison's death, in Dec. 1951 (MSS. Eng. lett. d. 332-3), and in the British Library, Department of Manuscripts: diaries of Dorothy, Lady Addison, 1938-58, and her unfinished memoirs, 'Looking glass land' (British Library: Add. MSS. 71660-71686).