Romans Collection

Extensive collection of lantern slides (ca. 2,500) and negatives (ca.1.800), together with papers (excavation notes, correspondence, texts of lectures, working notes), some published guidebooks, and a few photographic prints. The photographic collection chiefly relates to Romans' interests in church architecture, and pre-Conquest stone sculpture, particularly in the north of England, but also includes material reflecting his interest in Roman archaeology and architecture. Many of the photographs were taken by Romans himself, but the collection includes numerous lantern slides by other photographers, some obtained from friends and others probably through Romans' membership of an exchange club. The papers include material on the excavations in which Romans participated at Birdoswald, Malton, Brough by Humber and Old Durham.

The photograph albums and accompanying loose papers reflect Romans's tremendous interest in and knowledge of church buildings. They include a quantity of loose photographs, newspaper cuttings about church buildings, and more general historical sites, lectures on biblical, ecclesiastical and local history topics, extracts from Staindrop parish registers (in connection with his study on Staindrop church and parishioners, and a catalogue of the Kepier library in Houghton-le-Spring.

Thomas Romans was born on 24 July 1876, and educated at St Peter's School, York, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He graduated with a first in Natural Sciences and went on to teach at Abingdon School from 1898 to 1902. Ordained in 1902, he was a Durham clergyman of the old school, serving as a curate for some 20 years from 1902 in Haltwhistle, Gateshead and then Staindrop, interrupted by 2 years' war sevice, before taking the living of St Mark's Millfield, Sunderland in 1922. In 1937, he became master of Sherburn Hospital, and also secretary to the governing body of Bede College, Durham, being finally rewarded with an honorary canonry of Durham Cathedral in 1956.

Romans graduated from Cambridge with a first in Natural Sciences, and developed strong antiquarian and archaeological interests. He excavated with Kirk and Collingwood at Brough by Bainbridge in Wensleydale in 1926, with Kirk and Rowland in 1927 at Malton in Yorkshire, at Birdoswald on the Roman Wall in the same year, and later with Kirk and Corder at Langton and with Corder at Brough by Humber (Roman Petuaria ). He was also involved in the 1940 rescue of the bath-house associated with the villa at Old Durham.

Much of Romans' antiquarian work was concerned with churches, particularly with structural detail and ornament. His interest ranged through the whole of English ecclesiastical architecture, with particular emphasis on the Anglo-Saxon and early medieval churches of the north. Pre-Conquest sculpture was an especial enthusiasm.

Romans published little, but he was an accomplished photographer, and it has been said that his way of describing was to photograph. He was also a member of the Architectural Details Postal Club, through which members could arrange to exchange photographs. Romans served for many years on the Central Advisory Council for the Care of Churches, and on its local diocesan committee, and on the committee of the Society of Antiquaries' William Morris Fund for the repair of historic churches. He was made a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1932. From 1948 to 1950 he was President of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The main part of the collection is still in course of arrangement. It is grouped in five sections: lantern slides, negatives, photographic prints, papers, and guidebooks. Within the lantern slides section, principal groups are Roman architecture; Pre-Conquest sculpture; Fonts; Misericords; Cistercian abbeys; other monastic; Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire churches; other English churches. There are also small sections on Belgium, France and Italy, largely concerned with ecclesiastical architecture.

The albums and photographs etc transferred from Durham Cathedral Library are unlisted.

Open for consultation.

The bulk of this collection was transferred by the University of Durham Department of Archaeology, 1995. It had been deposited with them by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to whom Romans had apparently bequeathed it.

The albums, with additional photographs and other loose items, were transferred by Durham Cathedral Library in November 2005, having apparently been deposited with them by the Bishop of Durham's office at Auckland Castle (accession reference Misc.2005/6:40).

Not yet fully listed; there are partial draft lists of some sections

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Romans supplied many other researchers with illustrations by gift and exchange, and copies of some of his slides are found in many other collections, including the University Library's Gibby Lantern Slides (GIL).