Arthur Godley, Baron Kilbracken, Letters
Finding aid prepared by Hannah Blythe, Claremont Graduate University, Fall 2015.
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
© 2015
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont, CA, 91711
Phone: (909) 607-3977
Email: spcoll@cuc.claremont.edu
URL: http://libraries.claremont.edu/sc/default.html
Title: Arthur Godley, Baron Kilbracken, Letters
Dates: 1875-1899 and undated
Bulk Dates: 1898-1899
Collection number: H.Mss.1066
Creator:
Kilbracken, Arthur Godley, Baron, 1847-1932
Extent:
1 document box
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711.
Abstract: This collection contains the letters of Arthur Godley, Baron Kilbracken to his adult daughter Helen from the years of 1898-1899,
along with two photographs of Helen from 1875. An additional autograph letter signed by Catherine Gladstone (wife of Prime
Minister William Gladstone) to Walter Charles James is also included. The letters were written during Godley's time as Under-Secretary
of State in India and provide an intimate picture of the private, upper-class world of the time, while also encompassing the
larger political and social scene in late 1890s Britain. Topics include family and government matters, travels, societal
events, and notable figures.
This collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
[Identification of item], Arthur Godley Baron Kilbracken Letters (H.MSS.1066). Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library,
Claremont University Consortium.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Purchase, 2015.
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
This collection was processed by Hannah Blythe, Claremont Graduate University in Fall 2015. The collection has been arranaged
to the item level, chronologically by date on letter. Two folders appear at the front of the collection containing collection
information and photographs. Remaining folders contain a single letter. Undated letters appear at end of collection followed
by the Catherine Gladstone letter.
Arthur Godley, Baron Kilbracken (1847-1932) had an illustrious career as a civil servant and was acquainted with many well-known
figures of his time. A decorated Oxford scholar, he served as assistant private secretary to Prime Minister William Gladstone
from 1872 to 1874, and as principal secretary to Gladstone from 1880 to 1882. In 1883 he was appointed Under-Secretary of
State of India, a post he retained until his retirement in 1909, though he himself never visited the country. Working well
within British politics, Godley did not, however, advance the interests of the Indian National Congress during his time in
the India Office. In his later years, he was made Baron Kilbracken of Killegar, served as chairman of the board for Rugby
School, and was a trustee at the British Museum. Godley married his wife Sarah in 1871, and together they had two sons and
three daughters.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The letters in this collection span 1898-1899 and are written to his just married daughter Helen, detailing his life as under-secretary.
The collection contains nearly 400 pages of Godley’s light-hearted thoughts about family and government matters, about his
travels (he was especially fond of visiting churches and reveals keen knowledge of architecture), his reading, the cause of
women's rights (Helen was a supporter of women's rights), dinners and other occasions with imporant people. He also writes
of other matters, including religious bills before Parliament, bicycling, the perils of foreign travel, and the memorial windows
to Jane Austen newly installed at Westminster Cathedral. Among the people mentioned in the letters are the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Lord Curzon, Rudyard Kipling and the dukes of York and Cambridge. The majority of the collection consists of complete
letters, with a few undated partial letters, two photographs of Helen at the age of three and an autograph letter signed by
William Gladstone's wife, Catherine, to Walter Charles James referring to the installation of James's son-in-law, Godley,
as Gladstone's private secretary.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library’s online public access catalog.
British politics and society
Father-daughter relationship
India
Secretary of State (England and Wales)
Women's rights
Correspondence
Photographs
Box 1, Folder 1
Collection information
Arthur Godley, Baron Kilbracken, letters to Helen, 1898-1899 and undated
Box 1, Folder 25