Digitised audio recordings of Revd James Parkes

22 December marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Revd Dr James William Parkes. The transfer of his Library and archive to the University of Southampton in 1964 marked the start of a half century of significant growth, both in the Parkes Library and in Jewish archive collections, transforming Southampton into a major Jewish documentation centre. Amongst the predominantly paper based archive collection were a series of audio material in analogue or obsolete formats. This material, which includes recordings of sermons and talks during the 1960s and 1970s, has been transferred to digital to make it available for research.

Revd James Parkes in studio for a radio broadcast [MS 60/34/6]

The sermons include “The End of the Way” delivered by Parkes at the Church of St Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge, at the close of the conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) on Jewish-Christian co-operation in 1966 [MS 60/4/6]; and “The Road to Jerusalem” consisting of five sermons for Lent given at Salisbury Cathedral in 1967 [MS 60/4/8/5], sequentially titled “Jesus Clears His Mind – The Temptations”, “The Road Through Tradition”, “The Road Through Teaching”, “The Road Through Healing” and “The Road Through Suffering”.

Recordings of talks by Parkes include “Israel, the diaspora and the world outside” recorded for the BBC, 1 September 1966 [MS 60/4/6]; “Jewish Students between the Wars” delivered to the Oxford University Jewish Society on 14 May 1967 [MS 60/4/8/8]; and “Tradition and Adventure” given at the Westminster Synagogue on 13 June 1967 [MS 60/4/8/8].

The collection also contains two recordings focusing on the life of James Parkes. These include “Journeying” recorded by Parkes’ wife, Dorothy, on 29 April 1977 [MS 60/37/1]; and “Word of Greeting” recorded by Dr Morton C Fierman, California State University, for a colloquium held by the International Council of Christians and Jews in honour of Rev Dr James Parkes and Professor Jules Isaac at Connaught Hall, Southampton, on 20 July 1977 [MS 60/37/1].

The earliest recording is of the opening of the Parkes Library at the University of Southampton on 23 June 1965 [MS 60/4/6]. The event included speeches by Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, and Lord Perth, Vice President of the Council of Christians and Jews. In his introductory speech, the University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor announced the establishment of the Parkes Library Fellowship, a post intended to raise the profile of the collection and to help secure funding for the international research centre envisaged by James Parkes.

Photograph of the official opening of the Parkes Library at the University of Southampton Library, 23 June 1965 [Univ. Coll. Photos LF 789.5L46]

The following thirty years saw a series of distinguished Parkes Library Fellows working on the collection, but it was not until 1996 — the year of his centenary — that Parkes Centre for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations was launched. Five years later the Parkes Institute was created to coordinate and expand the activities of what had become the AHRB Parkes Centre, and the associated library and archive collections.

All of the recordings are now available to access in the Archives and Manuscripts reading room.

Food and feasting at Christmas time

The keen bakers among you will know that we’ve already missed “Stir-up Sunday”.  This is informally marked in the Anglian calendar on the last Sunday before the season of Advent; the Book of Common Prayer’s collect for the day begins with the words, “Stir up, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”.  The day has become associated with making Christmas puddings as most recipes require it to be cooked well in advance of Christmas and then reheated prior to serving.

Avid followers of our blog will know that a Southampton student spotted Mary Berry, a “cook maid” listed in a Broadlands account book from 1760. Great British Bake Off enthusiasts might like to consider whether judges Mary and Paul got some of their recipes for the show’s technical challenges from a manuscript recipe book found within the paper of Miss Annie Trout, formerly a maths lecturer at University College, Southampton.  It includes many seasonal favourites but, like many older recipes, they are little sparse in terms of instructions and often lack cooking times or temperatures.

Bread sauce: Crumble the bread & soak it in milk put a whole onion in & cover it in the oven taking care that it never boils.  Remove the onion beat it lightly with butter, cream, pepper and salt.

Christmas cake: ¾ lb flour; ½ lb butter; ½ lb currants or sultanas; 3 eggs; lemon peel. 2 oz glace cherries; salt; ½ teaspoon b[aking] powder.  Cream the butter, add the sugar add the egg, beat with a wooden spoon, the add flour and b[aking] powder. Mix lightly. Layer of dough and cherries alternately, a few for the top.  Bake in a hot oven for 3 hrs. Let the oven cool for a bit so as to soak well.

Fig pudding: Soak 8 or 9 figs all night. 8 oz breadcrumbs, 2 oz suet, 2 oz brown sugar, 1 egg beaten with a little milk, 1 level tablesp treacle, pinch of carbonate of soda dissolved in warm milk. Mix all dry things – add eggs and steam at least 2 hours.

[MS 112 LF 780 UNI 2/7/75/266 Miss Trout’s recipe book]

Of course, all these festive ingredients need to be purchased.  The Special Collections hold some price lists for the local chain of grocery stores Lankester & Crook dating from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Lankester & Crook Christmas price list, 1913

They sold, among other things, dried fruit, candied peel and spices plus readymade mincemeat and Christmas cakes as well as Cadbury’s chocolate, “delicious, nutritious, wholesome and pure”: this would surely be unacceptable under today’s trading standards!

It is customary to share food and drink with family and friends over the festive period.  On 22 December, aged about 11, Henry Temple [later third Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister] wrote to his mother, Mary Mee, “in her dressing room upstairs”:

Mr Temple will certainly do himself the honour of waiting upon her ladyship on Christmas day to gobble up mince pies or whatever else there is for dinner [BR21/1/5]

Sketch of Palmerston as a young man

Many years later we find a subsequent resident of Romsey’s Broadlands estate, Lord Mountbatten dining with the troops during Christmas 1945 at Raffles College in Singapore during his tenure as Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia.

Dinner with other ranks and ratings of headquarters

And finally a more sobering thought for this time of year, sometimes criticised for its excesses when many still have so little.  Contained within the Wellington Pamphlets is A well seasoned Christmas-pie for “the great liar of the north”, prepared, cooked, baked and presented by Richard Oastler.  Printed in 1834, it concerns Oastler’s campaigns for better conditions for factory workers and his letter to the Leeds Mercury on the subject.  The demand was to limit the working day to ten hours – all very Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit.

Exploring Arts in the Archive

A reminder that next week, on Wednesday, 14 December, Special Collections will be hosting an open afternoon focusing on music, theatre and the visual arts, allowing visitors the opportunity to view material from the collections and meet the curators.

The afternoon will conclude with a talk by Eloise Rose from the John Hansard Gallery.

John Hansard Gallery

This event will mark the exciting range of arts related activities taking place at the University and across the city, including: the launch of the new Arts at University of Southampton website; the coming of British Art Show 8 to the John Hansard Gallery and Southampton City Art Gallery; and the opening of Studio 144, Southampton’s new arts complex in Guildhall Square.

Space is limited. To reserve a place, please go to:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-arts-in-the-archives-tickets-29214641780

Programme:

1615-1715: Opportunity to view resources from the Special Collections: Archives and Manuscripts reading room, Level 4, Hartley Library

1730-1800: Talk by Eloise Rose: Library Conference Room, Level 4, Hartley Library

Turner Sims Concert Hall

We will also be launching our ‘Arts in the Archives’ online exhibition which will draw on material from the archives to look at some of the key developments in the history the arts at the University.

Programme for the Nuffield Theatre

To view further samples of images from the exhibition, visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/hartleyspecialcolls/