Papers and Correspondence of Reginald M. Hewitt (1887-1948), Professor of English, University College, Nottingham, 1910-1953

The collection includes correspondence of a personal and academic nature. Hewitt corresponded with many eminent scholars and literary figures of his day including Lascelles Abercrombie, Walter de la Mare, J. Dover Wilson and Herbert Grierson. There are also letters of condolence to Luisa Hewitt, following her husband's death in 1948. Notes for lectures given by Hewitt at Nottingham from 1910 to 1942 survive. His literary papers include some of his original poems and translations of poems, and a manuscript copy of The New University: A Satire by R. Ascham Jr , which Hewitt composed.

Reginald Mainwaring Hewitt (1887-1948) was born at Rippenden near Halifax. He went to Keble College Oxford in 1905 on a History Scholarship, but transferred to the New School of English. He left Oxford in 1910 with an MA.

From 1911-1913, Hewitt taught History at South Shields High School, before being appointed lecturer in English at the then University College, Nottingham. He married Luisa Krebs, whom he had met at Oxford, the same year. In 1925 Hewitt was made head of the English Department following the retirement of Professor Richard Warwick Bond.

Hewitt was influential in the creation of the English section of the University Library. He was an accomplished linguist and was particularly admired for his translations of poetry, notably from Russian. His great literary interest was Coventry Patmore and, with his friend Frederick Page, he was responsible for building up the Patmore Collection (GB 159 Pt) at the University library.

In 1935 Hewitt began to suffer from Paget's disease, and was forced to retire in 1938. He was given an Honorary Readership in Comparative Literature and retained a strong connection with the University's activities until his death in 1948.

The collection is arranged into sections of correspondence, testimonials, and poetry. Material is arranged chronologically within each section.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers

REPROGRAPHIC: Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

NOTE: Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

• In the Reading Room, University of Nottingham Library: Typescript Catalogue, 16 pp
• At the National Register of Archives, London: Typescript Catalogue, 16 pp

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk ). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

LANGUAGE: English.

An additional series of papers was added to the collection by Mrs H. Kinsley, wife of Rev. Professor J. Kinsley formerly of Nottingham University English Department.