United Boards of Missions of the Provinces of Canterbury and York

The archive comprises minutes of the joint meetings of the Provincial Boards for the two provinces and subsequently minutes of the meetings of the United Boards and sub-committees. The earlier minutes also cover meetings of the Board of Missions of the Canterbury Province, and the later volumes include early meetings of the Central Board of Missions.

Also includes correspondence of the Joint Secretaries of the Board of Mission of the Province of Canterbury, papers and correspondence in relation to a Survey of the Mission Field, and enquires into the supply and training of Missionaires.

The Board of Missions of the Province of Canterbury was established in 1884 following a Resolution by both Houses of Convocation. The Board was created to encourage engagement with missionary work and to explain the Church's principles on the subject; to provide advice to colonial churches and missionary societies; and to issue reports on 'the spiritual wants of heathen countries'. In 1889 a similar Board was created by the Convocations of the Province of York. The first joint meeting of the two Provincial Boards was held at Church House, Westminster, on 14 May 1891, and from that date onward they acted together, and in 1895 became the United Boards of Mission.

In May 1908 the Convocations of both the Provinces recontstiuted the United Boards of Missions as the Central Board of Missions of the Church of England.

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The exact nature of the transfer of these records is not known; it is assumed that they were acquired by the Record Centre with the records of the Church Assembly and General Synod.

This catalogue was created following the generous awarding of a grant by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation via the National Cataloguing Grants Programme for Archives.

The material was appraised in line with the Lambeth Palace Library/Record Centre appraisal policy when cataloguing took place in 2014/2015.

No accruals are expected.

MSS.2446 Minutes of the Missionary Literature Sub-Committee.

For records of the bodies which superseded the United Boards of Missions, see the other collection entries for the Church of England Record Centre. Related missionary material is also held at Lambeth Palace Library.