Sir Roy Strong donates his archive to the Bodleian Library

Renowned writer, museum director and chronicler of British cultural life, Sir Roy Strong has donated his archive to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.

The Bodleian, one of the UK’s two largest libraries, is the University’s main research resource. The preservation and enhancement of its vast, unrivalled collections is one of the key priorities of ‘Oxford Thinking: The Campaign for the University of Oxford.’

In 1967, Sir Roy began what developed into an illustrious career in the arts when he became the National Portrait Gallery’s youngest Director, at the age of 32.

His intriguing and comprehensive archive includes personal material manuscripts and letters relating to his varied, distinguished career – from his role as High Bailiff and Searcher of the Sanctuary of Westminster Abbey to his work for television and radio; and his scholarship, particularly in Elizabethan portraiture.

It also includes correspondence from eminent figures in society – among them the late Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Sir Cecil Beaton - as well as close friends who played a significant part in his life, such as his history teacher at his grammar school with whom he kept in touch between 1953 and 2002.

The celebrated wordsmith’s marriage to distinguished designer Julia Trevelyan - captured in photographs, invitation cards and printed ephemera contained within some 150 scrapbooks - also forms a significant part of the archive. It represents a valuable addition to his wife’s family archive, which Sir Roy has also recently donated.