The collection is comprised of the papers of Donald Stephen Lowell Cardwell, which date between 1961-1989 - though not all items are dated, so it is possible that the range of dates of creation be wider. Within the given date range, Cardwell worked largely at UMIST (from 1963), having previously been at the University of Leeds (1958-1963). He lived in Cheshire, with the exception of an (ultimately temporary) retirement to South Wales in the mid 1970s. While the geographic provenance of the papers is not generally directly attributed, these locations are those most likely associated with their creation.
In terms of content, the bulk of the collection consists of Cardwell's correspondence, spanning personal, academic, departmental and administrative business. There is also a substantial quantity of lecture notes, and a selection of academic papers (including offprints), reviews and research notes, as well as documents relating to television productions in which Cardwell was involved.