Papers of Reverend and Mrs. S. Hobbs and of Reverend and Mrs. H. Maundrell, CMS Missionaries

A collection of papers, sketches and photographs of members of two related families concerning their missionary service with the CMS in India, Mauritius and Japan. It includes the reminiscences of Mrs Mary Hobbs of her time in Mauritius, written retrospectively in about 1880, together with a collection of 60 pencil sketches she made of subjects in both Mauritius and India, 1845-1866. Some of these sketches include her notes and the subject matter includes native clergy and catechists, CMS missionaries, CMS and other buildings including school and general views. Other papers comprise the diaries, letter books and other papers of Herbert Maundrell while at Nagasaki, 1875-1886, some of which relate to the setting up of the Deshima Mission School. The collection also includes a small collection of photographs taken by both families of people, churches and general views in India and Mauritius

Administrative/Biographical History

Stephen Hobbs (1815-1893) was accepted as a Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary in 1839. He was ordained as a priest in the same year and went to Palamcotta, Tinnevelly, South India. He was stationed at Nallur in 1842, Satthankullam in 1843 and from 1854 at Dohnavur and Suviseshapuram. While serving in India, in 1842, he married Mary Eleanor Barton and they had a daughter, Eliza. In 1856 he was transferred to Mauritius and was stationed firstly at Plaines Wilhelms and then in 1859 at Creve Coeur. In 1871, he was appointed Archdeacon of Seychelles and in 1873, Archdeacon of Mauritius. He retired in 1877 and returned to England where he became curate-in-charge of Warlingham-with-Chelsham, Croydon. He died in 1893.

Herbert Maundrell (1840-1896) was admitted to the Church Missionary College in 1860. He was ordained a deacon in 1863 and a priest in 1864. He initially served in Madagascar from 1863 until 1871 when he was transferred to Mauritius when the CMS relinquished the Madagascar Mission. He married Eliza Hobbs, daughter of the CMS missionary, Stephen Hobbs in 1868. Following a furlough in England, he returned to missionary service in Japan, stationed at Nagasaki, and it was here that his wife died in 1887. In 1886 he became Archdeacon of Japan and in 1890, Archdeacon of Nagasaki and South Japan. He subsequently married again in 1891 to Alice Pointer (d 1892) and retired to England in 1893 where he died in 1896. He was involved in translation work and he translated the First Reading Book into Malagasy and Pinnock's Analysis of the Old Testament History into Japanese. He also revised the Occasional Services of the Malagasy Prayer Book.

Reference: Register of missionaries (clerical, lay & female) and native clergy from 1804 to 1904 ( Church Missionary Society, 1905 ). ;unpublished additions to this register in the CMS archives

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into two series: Family Papers and Miscellaneous Papers

Access Conditions

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposited with the CMS in 1965; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s.

See full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

The Special Collections Department holds the Church Missionary Society Archive, the official archive of the society , (GB 150 CMS) , which includes papers relating to the service of these families with the CMS.

The University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department and the Orchard Learning Resources Centre hold a rich collection of archives relating to missions, charities and other religious and ecclesiastical organisations and individuals.