BINDOFF, Stanley Thomas (1908-1980)

Papers of Professor Stanley Thomas Bindoff [known as Tim or S.T. Bindoff], 1908-1980, historian.

Letters to and from Bindoff, and papers including committee meeting papers and exam papers. Includes papers and correspondence concerning: Queen Mary College Academic Board, Faculty of Arts, History Department, and other Queen Mary College correspondence and papers. The University of London: Board of Studies in History, History Special Subject 'Church, Society and Government in England, c. 1530-c.1570', Institute of Historical Research, and Senate Committee on Colleges Overseas in Special Relation. Also includes papers relating to Essex Records Committee, several educational institutions, other University of London files, and files of letters to S.T Bindoff from, and regarding, his students. Visiting Professorship at U.S. colleges and universities including Wellesley College and Harvard University. External Examinerships for the Universities of Oxford, Reading, and Nottingham. Conferences, including the Anglo-Dutch Historical Conferences. Publications edited or contributed to by Bindoff, including the History of Parliament Trust. Other interests of S.T. Bindoff, such as The Historical Association. Bindoff's various roles, interests and activities.

Also contains correspondence series concerning: Lectures, including The Neale Lecture in English History, 1973-74. Letters to and from S.T. Bindoff arranged alphabetically into files mainly according to the initial of the surname of the sender or recipient.

S.T. Bindoff was born 8 April 1908 in Hove, Sussex, to Thomas Henry and Mary Bindoff. He was educated at Brighton Grammar School and University College London, where he achieved a BA (History Hons) in 1929 and an MA with a mark of distinction in 1933.

After graduation he worked as a research assistant, a professional indexer and a history tutor. He worked at University College London from 1935-45, as an Assistant Lecturer and then a Lecturer in History. During World War Two he served in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty from 1942-1945. He then worked as a Reader in Modern History at University College London from 1945-1951. In 1951 he became the first Professor of History at Queen Mary College, University of London, where his impact was great. During his time at Queen Mary College he served as Head of the History Department, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and as a representative of the Academic Board on the Governing Body. He also became involved in the complex affairs of the University of London; he performed roles including Chairman of the Board of Studies in History, and Representative of the University on the Essex Records Committee, and on the Governing Bodies of several educational institutions. Bindoff also worked as a Visiting Professor in History at U.S. universities including Claremont Graduate School, California, in 1966, and Harvard University, in 1968. In addition, Bindoff acted as an External Examiner for the Universities of Oxford, Reading, and Nottingham. Bindoff remained at Queen Mary College until his retirement in 1975.

Bindoff wrote one book, Tudor England (Pelican History of England series, 1950), which was highly successful. He had twenty nine items published, not including several reviews. These items included The Scheldt Question to 1839 (1945), and Ket's Rebellion (a Historical Association pamphlet, 1949). He also jointly edited Elizabethan Government and Society (1961). Bindoff devoted much of his later years to the History of Parliament, a gazetteer of the members and constituencies of The House of Commons. Bindoff was the editor of the section covering the parliaments of 1509-58, published in 1982.

In addition, Bindoff served on committees and councils of various organisations, including the Royal Historical Society, which he became Vice-President of in 1967, the Historical Association, and the Advisory Council on Public Records.

Bindoff married Marjorie Blatcher (1906/7–1979), in 1938. She was A.F. Pollard's research assistant, an authority on the technicalities of legal history. They had a daughter, Helen, and a son, Tom. He died 23 December 1980 in Surbiton, Surrey, after falling ill with bronchopneumonia.

This collection has been arranged by subject, chronologically, alphabetically, and where possible respecting original order of the records.

The Archives are available for access in the Archives Reading Room located on the 2nd Floor of the Mile End Library. The Archives Reading Room is open Mondays to Fridays 9am-4pm by appointment only. Contact the Archives for more information: Archives, Main Library QMUL, 328 Mile End Rd, London E1 4NS, telephone: 020 7882 3873, email: archives@qmul.ac.uk . For more information about the Archives see the website: library.qmul.ac.uk/archives

Donated to the Archive after Bindoff's death in the early 1980s.

Archives catalogue

Compiled by Susannah Gillard. Sources: Oxford DNB

Applications for copies for research or publication should be made to the Archivist: Main Library QMUL, 328 Mile End Rd, London E1 4NS, telephone: 020 7882 7873, email: archives@qmul.ac.uk .