Westcott Papers

Letters and Papers of Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, also letters of his wife Mrs Sarah Louisa Mary Westcott and their son Arthur Westcott.

Brooke Foss Westcott (12 January 1825 – 27 July 1901) was a British bishop, biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death. He is perhaps most known for co-editing The New Testament in the Original Greek in 1881. He was Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University 1870-1890 and a Fellow of Trinity College. Westcott married, in 1852, Sarah Louisa Mary Whithard (ca 1830–1901), daughter of Thomas Middlemore Whithard, of Bristol. Mrs Westcott was for many years deeply interested in foreign missionary work. She became an invalid in her later years, and died on 28 May 1901. They had seven sons and three daughters, including Frederick, who followed his father into the ministry in the Church of England, was headmaster of Sherborne School, Archdeacon of Norwich, and author of multiple books on the Letters of Saint Paul; George, Bishop of Lucknow; and Foss, who became Bishop of Calcutta and Metropolitan of India.

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

The collection was assembled by William O'Dea in the course of preparing his Cambridge M.Litt. thesis, 'Westcott the theologian' (1977). These letters were owned by Miss A.Margaret Westcott.

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

Add. 8315 contains sermons by B.F. Westcott, and Add. 8317 contains letters to B.F.Westcott. Cambridge University Library holds Bishop Westcott's memoir of Archbishop Benson, MS.Add.7683. A minute book of the Cambridge Philological Society, which was formerly part of this collection, has been placed with the society's other minute books, MSS.Add.7579-7581.