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 thousand letters, sixteen diaries, seven notebooks and forty-four packets of miscellaneous material; whilst the photographic collection is about 7000 in number, and consists of photographs taken by her between c.1900-1918. Those of Middle Eastern archaeological sites are of great value because they record structures which have since been eroded or, in some cases, have disappeared altogether, while those of the desert tribes are of considerable anthropological and ethnographical interest.

Her competence as a field archaeologist and photographer means that the papers are indispensable for archaeological research of parts of the Middle East.

The items in the Bell Miscellaneous Papers contain material relating to Bell's work and travels, including contemporary articles, notes by Bell on various topics (archaeological sites, Arab tribes, etc.), letters concerning the publication of Bell's letters by Lady Richmond and letters to and from Gertrude Bell, maps and plans, literary manuscripts, lecture notes and copies of letters from Gertrude Bell held elsewhere. There is also a series of the letters known as the Doughty-Wylie letters, 1913-1915. These are the letters between Gertrude Bell and Charles Doughty-Wylie, an army officer with whom Bell was in love. The letters were returned to Gertrude Bell after his death at Gallipoli in 1915.

Books on Arabic and Persian languages, and on the history and antiquities of Arabia, Iraq and the Near East that formed part of Gertrude Bell's working library.

The personal archive of Thomas Hodgkin (b.1831 - d.1913), barrister and later a partner in the banking house 'Hodgkin, Barnett, Pease and Spence', Newcastle upon Tyne. Hodgkin also devoted much time to historical studies, specialising particularly in the history of the early middle ages, and published a number of historical texts during his lifetime. Much of the Hodgkin family papers are held in the Welcome Library in London. The archive held within Newcastle University Special Collections is the personal archive of Thomas Hodgkin and comprises of notes and draft editions relating to his historical research; travel journals, photographs and slides; diaries; a small number of letters; and other published and unpublished material relating to his historical research.

This collection contains correspondence of Sir Austen Henry and Lady Enid Layard and Charlotte Maria Guest between 1869 and 1884. One series mainly comprises the correspondence of Enid Layard with her sister Charlotte Maria Guest and a smaller number from Sir Austen Henry Layard to Charlotte Maria Guest. A second series comprises a file of letters from members of the Du Cane family, including letters written by Alicia Marie Du Cane while staying with the Layards in Constantinople. Much of the material relates to Layard and the custodianship of his collection. There is also some published material relating to Layard, photographs of the Layard family, and some associated family and biographical material including objects and artefacts.