Richard Willis takes through his research journey as he took on the challenging task of researching and writing up the history of the College of Preceptors
It was on a cold winter’s morning, and in the middle of a snow storm when the postman delivered a registered letter from the College of Preceptors. I was aware that the word ‘preceptor’ was used in Victorian times to describe a teacher. Yet in those years, the college, founded in 1846, not only achieved pioneering fame but also occupied a unique position in Britain’s national heritage.
Some time before the letter arrived, I had put cursory feelers out to the preceptors in a bid to research their history. I was friends with the college’s marketing and academic officer, Judith Roberts, and I had a good track record and reputation as a family historian. I had also worked as a research assistant for the preceptors previously, researching into their exams for teachers working at home or overseas. Judith had indicated that she hoped to put some more work my way, but I hadn’t given the matter much more thought until I received the letter.
The preceptors were about to celebrate their 150th anniversary. To my delight, they wanted to give me the task of researching their past and drawing up a timeline showing the key events in their history. The college offered a generous grant, with all expenses paid for visits to and from libraries and record offices located within the UK. I wasted no time, and signed the contract then took it with a covering letter to a local post office that morning.
The preceptor’s archive
I was soon in touch with Judith, and she explained more about the role I was about to take on. She told me that I would have full access to the College of Preceptors’ archive, which had been stored in the loft at their HQ at the time, in Theydon Bois, Essex. The roof had fallen into disrepair, and part of the archive was beyond recovery and had been exposed for several years to the harsh English winter. The archive was at the time unclassified; minute books, journals, correspondence relating largely to exams for teachers and pupils, and membership were in one heap, in a pile spread across the loft’s flooring.
My first task was to do my best to devise a way to sort out the disorganised archive. I spent five full days doing this, and managed to extract reports of meetings, minute books and letters. I discovered that the College of Preceptors had been opened in
