Francis Berry Archive

This material is held atUniversity of Leeds Special Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 206 BC MS 20c Berry
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1931 - 1994
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • English
  • Physical Description
    • 23 boxes; manuscript, typescript, press cuttings, and printed material (some photocopy).

Scope and Content

Literary archive of Francis Berry. The collection is separated into two series: Correspondence and Literary papers.

Correspondence files arranged alphabetically by correspondent, following Berry's original filing system.
Literary papers, including research notes, drafts and associated material are arranged by type of work and include series on poetry, novels and criticism.

Administrative / Biographical History

Francis Berry, an academic, poet, critic and translator, was born on 23 March 1915. He held chairs in English at the University of Sheffield (1947-1970) and at Royal Holloway College, University of London (1970-1980), and formed a close friendship with Professor George Wilson Knight. He published numerous collections of poems, besides criticism, radio plays, and a novel. For fuller details of his life and achievements see 'Who's who'. Berry died on 10 October 2006.

Access Information

This collection is subject to various access conditions. Please see individual catalogue descriptions for further details on access.

Acquisition Information

The archive was collected in two separate groups. The first group of material, consisting of many of the literary manuscripts and some Wilson Knight related correspondence was acquired directly from Berry between 1975 and 1992 (see Leeds University Correspondence file, BC MS 20c Berry/1/99). The majority of the correspondence in this collection was acquired via Scyld Berry in 2017.