Sir Frederick Kenyon collection

The collection comprises of correspondence by Kenyon principally as Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum regarding the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913 (leader Robert Falcon Scott).

Frederick George Kenyon was born in London in 1863. He was educated at Winchester School and New College, Oxford. In 1889, he entered the British Museum as an assistant in the department of manuscripts, cataloguing its collection of Greek papyri and publishing English translations. In 1898, he was promoted assistant keeper of manuscripts and in 1909, was appointed director of the museum, an office he held until his retirement in 1930.

He served in France during the First World War, acting as adviser to the Imperial War Graves Commission from 1917 to 1948. He was knighted in 1912 and died in 1952.

The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by recipient.

By appointment.

Some materials deposited at the Institute are NOT owned by the Institute. In such cases the archivist will advise about any requirements imposed by the owner. These may include seeking permission to read, extended closure, or other specific conditions.

Anyone wishing to consult material should ensure they note the entire MS reference and the name of the originator.

The term holograph is used when the item is wholly in the handwriting of the author. The term autograph is used when the author has signed the item.

Descriptions compiled by N. Boneham, Assistant Archivist with assistance from R. Stancombe and reference to Robert Keith Headland Antarctic Chronology, unpublished corrected revision of Chronological list of Antarctic expeditions and related historical events, (1 December 2001) Cambridge University Press (1989) ISBN 0521309034 and Dictionary of National Biography 1951-1960 with an index covering the years 1901-1960 in one alphabetical series, Oxford University Press, London (1971)

Clive Holland Manuscripts in the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England - a catalogue, Garland Publishing New York and London (1982) ISBN 0824093941.

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