The Archive, which can be accessed through Homerton Library, contains a wide range of material, mostly from the nineteenth and twentieth century, related to the history of the College and the various buildings that it has occupied. It is composed of a number of separate collections:
The collection of memorabilia from past students and staff of the present College, although containing significant material about the education of women teachers in Cambridge and the student experience, forms only one part of the archive. This includes examples of students' work, particularly craft skills.
Because of the College's relationship to the Congregational Board of Education, the archive contains minute books and annual reports of the Board from 1843-1909, continuing as Trustee's minute books and reports by successive Homerton College Principals.
The papers of Joseph Lloyd Brereton came to the College by virtue of the fact that he was the founder of Cavendish College which occupied the present buildings of Homerton College before 1895. These papers contain much of what is known about Cavendish College.
Founded in 1694 as a nonconformist teaching academy, before it moved to Cambridge, the College was based at Homerton High Street in the east end of London. The archive therefore contains substantial material about the College's history in London.
From 1730 the College was administered by the King's Head Society, and from 1840 'the Old College at Homerton' was affiliated to London University. In 1849 over 1,000 books were taken from the Old Homerton College to form the nucleus of the library of New College, Finchley Road. A number of archives were transferred to New College at this time, including all but two of the minute books of the King's Head Society collection; the two libraries should therefore be studied together.
There is an extensive photographic archive, most of which relates to the Cambridge period of the College's history, but there are some significantly early photographs of women students in London and other pictographic material.
Homerton's Archives lay undisturbed in the strong room of the old Combination Room until 1951, when nearly 1,500 items were catalogued and studied by T. H. Simms, who published his history of 'Homerton College 1695-1978' in 1979. This work serves as a detailed introduction to the history of the College and its archive. Since 1979 the archive has continued to acquire diverse material which is currently being processed and catalogued on the library computer.
