Derrick Webley Research Papers

The fonds consists of the research papers of Derrick Pritchard Webley, mainly relating to his work on the artist Penry Williams. The papers include correspondence, notes and typescript transcripts of letters relating to Williams, his works, his contemporaries and his cultural background, together with catalogues of works by Williams and other artists, and typescript drafts of chapters of Webley's posthumous work Cast to the winds: the life and work of Penry Williams (1802-1885) (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1997). Also included are papers relating to Derrick Webley's archaeological interests, in particular the palaeolithic geography of the Epirus region of Greece.

Derrick Pritchard Webley (1922-1994) spent his professional career as a scientific civil servant, specialising in nematology, and in addition achieved widespread recognition as an amateur archaeologist with a particular interest in the environmental archaeology of the Mediterranean region. He published widely in this field, notably in association with the excavation of neolithic sites in Greece by Professor Geoff Bailey of Cambridge University. He was also an avid collector of Welsh art, and in his later years became absorbed in the life and work of Penry Williams (1802-1885), known as the 'first English painter in Rome', who like Webley had been a native of Merthyr Tydfil. Recognising the need for a study of Williams and his work, Webley undertook painstaking research throughout England and Wales, and especially in Italy, where Williams had spent most of his life. Derrick Webley died in 1994, but his biography of Penry Williams was almost complete, and his papers were used by his wife, Joan, to enable it to be published in 1997.

Arranged according to provenance in two groups: Penry Williams research papers and archaeological research papers.

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.

Donated by Mrs Joan Webley, Cardiff, widow of Derrick Pritchard Webley, November 2001.; A2001/75

Derrick Pritchard Webley (1922-1994) spent his professional career as a scientific civil servant, specialising in nematology, and in addition achieved widespread recognition as an amateur archaeologist with a particular interest in the environmental archaeology of the Mediterranean region. He published widely in this field, notably in association with the excavation of neolithic sites in Greece by Professor Geoff Bailey of Cambridge University. He was also an avid collector of Welsh art, and in his later years became absorbed in the life and work of Penry Williams (1802-1885), known as the 'first English painter in Rome', who like Webley had been a native of Merthyr Tydfil. Recognising the need for a study of Williams and his work, Webley undertook painstaking research throughout England and Wales, and especially in Italy, where Williams had spent most of his life. Derrick Webley died in 1994, but his biography of Penry Williams was almost complete, and his papers were used by his wife, Joan, to enable it to be published in 1997.

A hard copy of the list is available at NLW.

December 2001.

Compiled by David Moore.

The following sources were used in the compilation of this list: Webley, Derrick Pritchard, Cast to the winds: the life and work of Penry Williams (1802-1885) (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1997).

Copyright in the works of Derrick Webley belongs to Mrs Joan Webley, Cardiff, November 2001.

Joan Webley acquired the papers after the death of Derrick Webley in 1994.

Accruals are not expected.

Published