Identity area
Reference code
Title
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
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
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
Subject access points
- Colonial administrators Middle East Biography
- Women Orientalists Great Britain
- Women travelers Great Britain
- Women in politics
- Middle East, History, 20th century
- Middle East, Politics and government, 20th century
- Middle East, Travel and description
- Middle East, Antiquities
- Iraq, Politics and government, 20th century
- Archaeology
- Politics
- History
- Travel
- Colonialism