Hartley Special Collections
@hartleyspecialc.bsky.social
southampton.ac.uk/archives
Based in the University of Southampton Hartley Library.
With around 7 million manuscript items and 50,000 printed books, the Special Collections provide a resource of remarkable richness and depth.
Based in the University of Southampton Hartley Library.
With around 7 million manuscript items and 50,000 printed books, the Special Collections provide a resource of remarkable richness and depth.
#OnThisDay in 1892, Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games. Here's a 2001 photo of Miriam and Guin Batten with their graduation robes and Olympic silver medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics quadruple sculls. They both were members of the University Boat Club.
November 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM
#OnThisDay in 1892, Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games. Here's a 2001 photo of Miriam and Guin Batten with their graduation robes and Olympic silver medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics quadruple sculls. They both were members of the University Boat Club.
#OnThisDay in 1919 the British actor David Kossoff was born. Among other roles he played Alf Larkin in TV sitcom The Larkins.
Find our more about his life and the collections we hold relating to him in our blog post:
Find our more about his life and the collections we hold relating to him in our blog post:
David Kossoff – University of Southampton Special Collections
Posts about David Kossoff written by lcn1c13
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November 24, 2025 at 10:27 AM
#OnThisDay in 1919 the British actor David Kossoff was born. Among other roles he played Alf Larkin in TV sitcom The Larkins.
Find our more about his life and the collections we hold relating to him in our blog post:
Find our more about his life and the collections we hold relating to him in our blog post:
21st November is World Television Day – we hold the papers of TV writer Norman J. Crisp under MS199 - he wrote episodes for `Dixon of Dock Green', `Dr Finlay's casebook, `Secret army' `Compact' and more... @explorearchives
Papers of Norman J. Crisp
Papers, 1954-92, including drafts of short stories from 1954; story outlines, scripts and correspondence relating to screenplays, including the film MURDER ELITE; drafts, research notes, corresponden…
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November 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM
21st November is World Television Day – we hold the papers of TV writer Norman J. Crisp under MS199 - he wrote episodes for `Dixon of Dock Green', `Dr Finlay's casebook, `Secret army' `Compact' and more... @explorearchives
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the first of the Nuremberg Trials, which led to the conviction of 19 of the most influential Nazi leaders. Southampton's collections include books on the trials and papers from the subsequent Nuremberg Military Tribunals.
November 20, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the first of the Nuremberg Trials, which led to the conviction of 19 of the most influential Nazi leaders. Southampton's collections include books on the trials and papers from the subsequent Nuremberg Military Tribunals.
Looking Back, looking Forwards: Hartley Library transformations has now launched in the Level 4 Gallery at the Hartley Library and runs until 16 January 2026.
The exhibition includes an exciting selection of items from our Archives and Special Collections from pre first world war to our latest...
The exhibition includes an exciting selection of items from our Archives and Special Collections from pre first world war to our latest...
November 19, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Looking Back, looking Forwards: Hartley Library transformations has now launched in the Level 4 Gallery at the Hartley Library and runs until 16 January 2026.
The exhibition includes an exciting selection of items from our Archives and Special Collections from pre first world war to our latest...
The exhibition includes an exciting selection of items from our Archives and Special Collections from pre first world war to our latest...
Our Behind the Scenes tour will include a chance to visit our conservation studios and hear about the amazing work the team to to preserve and conserve our collections.
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social @historyatsoton.bsky.social
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social @historyatsoton.bsky.social
November 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Our Behind the Scenes tour will include a chance to visit our conservation studios and hear about the amazing work the team to to preserve and conserve our collections.
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social @historyatsoton.bsky.social
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social @historyatsoton.bsky.social
The Duke of Wellington's funeral was held #OnThisDay in 1852 at St. Paul's Cathedral and was the first large-scale service to take place under the iconic dome. Below you can see a copy of the programme for the funeral, and you can find out more about it from our blog post here buff.ly/mPuCwv9
November 18, 2025 at 10:30 AM
The Duke of Wellington's funeral was held #OnThisDay in 1852 at St. Paul's Cathedral and was the first large-scale service to take place under the iconic dome. Below you can see a copy of the programme for the funeral, and you can find out more about it from our blog post here buff.ly/mPuCwv9
Letters regarding loss of ship Lord Raglan, departed from Liverpool in 1863, & regarding a passenger, Mark Bernstein. Mrs Bernstein wished to remarry and the synagogue required proof of the death of her first husband
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Letters regarding loss of ship Lord Raglan, departed from Liverpool in 1863, & regarding a passenger, Mark Bernstein. Mrs Bernstein wished to remarry and the synagogue required proof of the death of her first husband
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
Some really interesting correspondence found among the papers of the West London Synagogue respecting Mosaic Law and the proposed marriage of Mr Drucquer and Miss de Meza in 1872.
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
buff.ly/xHnc1E9
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
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November 17, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Some really interesting correspondence found among the papers of the West London Synagogue respecting Mosaic Law and the proposed marriage of Mr Drucquer and Miss de Meza in 1872.
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
buff.ly/xHnc1E9
@biajs.bsky.social @seethetreasures.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social
buff.ly/xHnc1E9
On this day in 1834 King William IV dismissed Lord Melbourne’s government – the last time a British monarch would dismiss a government with a majority in the Commons – Wellington became a caretaker Prime Minister but urged Peel to return from Europe ASAP! buff.ly/PbQlDg4 @explorearchives
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November 14, 2025 at 11:43 AM
On this day in 1834 King William IV dismissed Lord Melbourne’s government – the last time a British monarch would dismiss a government with a majority in the Commons – Wellington became a caretaker Prime Minister but urged Peel to return from Europe ASAP! buff.ly/PbQlDg4 @explorearchives
Henry Robinson Hartley, whose birthday was celebrated yesterday, wanted his proposed educational institution to preserve his books and papers. Amongst his books now in Special Collections, are these two copies of Tacitus, one featuring his own version of a missing title page.
November 13, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Henry Robinson Hartley, whose birthday was celebrated yesterday, wanted his proposed educational institution to preserve his books and papers. Amongst his books now in Special Collections, are these two copies of Tacitus, one featuring his own version of a missing title page.
Today we mark the birthday of Henry Robinson Hartley (1777-1850) whose bequest to the town of Southampton led (eventually) to the creation of this University.
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@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social
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@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Today we mark the birthday of Henry Robinson Hartley (1777-1850) whose bequest to the town of Southampton led (eventually) to the creation of this University.
buff.ly/x4lP48J
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social
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@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social
#OnThisDay in 1918 Germany signed the armistice, officially marking the end of the First World War. Please see this blog from 2018 on the contributions of the staff at the University War Hospital at the Highfield Campus site during WW1 buff.ly/rUZtpWF
November 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
#OnThisDay in 1918 Germany signed the armistice, officially marking the end of the First World War. Please see this blog from 2018 on the contributions of the staff at the University War Hospital at the Highfield Campus site during WW1 buff.ly/rUZtpWF
An @explorearchives theme for November is #EYASpirituality - so we share the prospectus of the second international conference of the World Congress of Faiths, held at UCL in July 6-17, 1936 @UCL
November 7, 2025 at 11:15 AM
An @explorearchives theme for November is #EYASpirituality - so we share the prospectus of the second international conference of the World Congress of Faiths, held at UCL in July 6-17, 1936 @UCL
#OnThisDay in 1920 Southampton’s Cenotaph was unveiled. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and financed by public subscription, it commemorated the Sotonians who lost their lives in World War I. Lutyens reworked the design for the national war memorial, the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
November 6, 2025 at 1:18 PM
#OnThisDay in 1920 Southampton’s Cenotaph was unveiled. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and financed by public subscription, it commemorated the Sotonians who lost their lives in World War I. Lutyens reworked the design for the national war memorial, the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
For more than 400 years the discovery of the 1605 plot to blow up the Palace of Westminster at the opening of Parliament has been commemorated on the 5 November, known at various times as Gunpowder Treason Day, Guy Fawkes Day and Firework or Bonfire Night
#GuyFawkes #BonfireNight
#GuyFawkes #BonfireNight
Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
For more than four hundred years the discovery of the 1605 plot to blow up the Palace of Westminster at the opening of Parliament has been commemorated on the 5th of November. Known at various time…
specialcollectionsuniversityofsouthampton.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:30 AM
For more than 400 years the discovery of the 1605 plot to blow up the Palace of Westminster at the opening of Parliament has been commemorated on the 5 November, known at various times as Gunpowder Treason Day, Guy Fawkes Day and Firework or Bonfire Night
#GuyFawkes #BonfireNight
#GuyFawkes #BonfireNight
#RememberRemember #5November #GuyFawkes "The night has gone off with little more excitement than is, I understand, usual on the 5th of November," the Bishop of Exeter writes to the Duke of Wellington after the 5 November 1831.
November 5, 2025 at 7:30 AM
#RememberRemember #5November #GuyFawkes "The night has gone off with little more excitement than is, I understand, usual on the 5th of November," the Bishop of Exeter writes to the Duke of Wellington after the 5 November 1831.
#OnThisDay in 1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Here are a few photographs from Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten's visit to the Valley of the Kings in 1928 while boxes of treasures were being taken away from Tutankhamun's tomb! #DidYouKnow
November 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
#OnThisDay in 1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Here are a few photographs from Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten's visit to the Valley of the Kings in 1928 while boxes of treasures were being taken away from Tutankhamun's tomb! #DidYouKnow
A floor plan and sketch of the bungalow featured in "The Bungalow Ghost": a story by James Parke about an "impersonating elemental" that lived in his boyhood home on Guernsey
#Halloween #Ghosts
#Halloween #Ghosts
October 31, 2025 at 7:00 AM
A floor plan and sketch of the bungalow featured in "The Bungalow Ghost": a story by James Parke about an "impersonating elemental" that lived in his boyhood home on Guernsey
#Halloween #Ghosts
#Halloween #Ghosts
As #Halloween approaches, we wonder if the Cope Collection books have ghostly tales to tell. Their original home was Bramshill House which accommodated not only Sir William Cope but an impressive 14 ghosts, including a lady in grey, a woman in white and a green man. #Ghosts
October 30, 2025 at 4:39 PM
As #Halloween approaches, we wonder if the Cope Collection books have ghostly tales to tell. Their original home was Bramshill House which accommodated not only Sir William Cope but an impressive 14 ghosts, including a lady in grey, a woman in white and a green man. #Ghosts
Calling all Austen fans!
On Monday 12 December we're hosting a pop-up exhibition of archival and rare book material relating to Southampton in the Georgian and Regency eras including places known to and reflecting the life of Jane Austen.
Email us to book [email protected]
On Monday 12 December we're hosting a pop-up exhibition of archival and rare book material relating to Southampton in the Georgian and Regency eras including places known to and reflecting the life of Jane Austen.
Email us to book [email protected]
October 29, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Calling all Austen fans!
On Monday 12 December we're hosting a pop-up exhibition of archival and rare book material relating to Southampton in the Georgian and Regency eras including places known to and reflecting the life of Jane Austen.
Email us to book [email protected]
On Monday 12 December we're hosting a pop-up exhibition of archival and rare book material relating to Southampton in the Georgian and Regency eras including places known to and reflecting the life of Jane Austen.
Email us to book [email protected]
In October 1974 the @TurnerSims.bsky.social Concert Hall was opened @unisouthampton.bsky.social. Here is a black and white photograph from David Warren Brubeck's concert in January 1996
October 28, 2025 at 10:00 AM
In October 1974 the @TurnerSims.bsky.social Concert Hall was opened @unisouthampton.bsky.social. Here is a black and white photograph from David Warren Brubeck's concert in January 1996
"The scale then fixed on by the Treasury is now pronounced to be altogether insufficient and useless" writes Henry Gouldburn to the Duke of Wellington in October 1842 concerning "the survey of the yet unsurveyed part of Great Britain."
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 11:15 AM
"The scale then fixed on by the Treasury is now pronounced to be altogether insufficient and useless" writes Henry Gouldburn to the Duke of Wellington in October 1842 concerning "the survey of the yet unsurveyed part of Great Britain."
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social
The Battle of Kinburn in the Crimean War was fought 170 years ago last Friday and is referenced in a short letter (MS62/BR/30/22/8) sent to Palmerston from his wife Emily Mary, Lady Palmerston, written just four days after the battle @explorearchives
Letter from Emily Mary, Lady Palmerston, Broadlands, to her husband, Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston: Crimean War: victory at Kinburn; Minny and Lord Ashley
Letter from Emily Mary, Lady Palmerston, Broadlands, to her husband, Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, on the victory at Kinburn in the Crimean War; Minny and Lord Ashley. \[Transcript…
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October 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The Battle of Kinburn in the Crimean War was fought 170 years ago last Friday and is referenced in a short letter (MS62/BR/30/22/8) sent to Palmerston from his wife Emily Mary, Lady Palmerston, written just four days after the battle @explorearchives
A postcard of the Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley, near Southampton. A military hospital planned after the Crimean War, it opened in 1863 and closed in 1958. The main building, only half of which is shown, was demolished in 1966 leaving only the central chapel standing.
October 23, 2025 at 12:39 PM
A postcard of the Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley, near Southampton. A military hospital planned after the Crimean War, it opened in 1863 and closed in 1958. The main building, only half of which is shown, was demolished in 1966 leaving only the central chapel standing.