Archive Collection GB - Bell (Gertrude) Archive

Identity area

Reference code

GB

Title

Bell (Gertrude) Archive

Date(s)

  • 1874 - 1938 (Creation)

Level of description

Archive Collection

Extent and medium

24 linear metres [The papers were conserved in 1994 which increased the physical size of the collection]

Context area

Name of creator

(1868 - 1926)

Biographical history

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born in Washington, in what was then County Durham, in 1868. Her father, Sir Thomas Hugh Bell, was the son of Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, the industrial metallurgist, whilst her mother was Mary Shield, the daughter of ... Read more

Archival history

The correspondence between Gertrude Bell and Charles Doughty-Wylie was returned to Gertrude Bell after Charles Doughty-Wylie's death at Gallipoli in April 1915. The letters were later deposited to Newcastle University's Special Collections as part of the ... Read more

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Gertrude Bell's photograph albums and books were given to Armstrong College (a predecessor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) by Lady Elsa Richmond, Gertrude Bell's step-sister, in 1926. The papers were given to the University by Lady Richmond in 1... Read more

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The papers and photographs of Gertrude Bell mainly consist of the letters Gertrude Bell sent home to her family whilst on her travels, of the diaries she kept when abroad, and the photographs taken whilst she was away.

The papers consists of sixteen ... Read more

System of arrangement

The letters and diaries are arranged separately and in chronological order. The photographs remain in the original albums and are arranged by journey and date.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Please refer to the Gertrude Bell Research website for information on reproduction: https://gertrudebell.ncl.ac.uk/about.

Language of material

  • Arabic
  • English
  • French
  • German

Finding aids

Over 12,000 items from this collection have been digitised and can be viewed on the dedicated Gertrude Bell website alongside 1,409 letter and 2,115 diary transcriptions.

A portion of the archive labelled Misc is not available online, but a PDF handlist is available.

Uploaded finding aid

Allied materials area

Existence and location of copies

Digitised copies and transcripts of the letters are available to view on the dedicated Gertrude Bell website: https://gertrudebell.ncl.ac.uk/

Related units of description

The library also holds Gertrude Bell's library which was given to Armstrong College (a predecessor of the University of Newcastle) by Gertrude Bell's family in 1926. The books in the Bell Collection are catalogued on the library's main catalogue.

Items ... Read more

Publication note

A selection of some of the published material concerning Gertrude Bell :

The letters of Gertrude Bell edited by Florence Bell. London, E. Benn, 1927.

The earlier letters of Gertrude Bell edited by Elsa Richmond. London, E. Benn 1937.

Gertrude Bell by ... Read more

Access points

Description control area

Description identifier

GB186-GB

Institution identifier

GB-186