John Henry Newman Letters

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Introduction

About the creator

Contents

Arrangement

Related material - here

Related material - elsewhere

Bibliography

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Catalogue

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About the creator

John Henry Newman was perhaps the most important and influential theologian of the nineteenth century. He was born in London in 1801 and educated at Ealing School. It was here, influenced by a schoolmaster, Rev Walter Mayers, that Newman experienced his first religious awakening towards a Calvinistic form of evangelicalism. He also developed a staunch anti-Catholicism based around the concept of the pope as Antichrist following a reading of Thomas Newton's Dissertation on the Prophecies (1754–8).
In 1817, Newman entered Trinity College, Oxford, and won a college scholarship the following year. Although he underachieved in his final examinations, he was elected a fellow by examination at Oriel College in 1822 and was ordained priest three years later. His first position was curate at St Clement’s, a working class parish in east Oxford. During this period, Newman’s religious beliefs became more notably high-church with a rejection of the doctrine of imputed righteousness in favour of baptismal regeneration.
Shortly after his appointment as tutor at Oriel in 1827, Newman suffered a nervous collapse brought on by overwork, family financial troubles and the death of his sister, Mary. He recovered sufficiently to support his mentor, Edward Hawkins, in his successful candidature for the vacant Oriel provostship, which enabled Newman to succeed Hawkins as vicar of the university church of St Mary’s. However, he developed a fractious relationship with the new provost, brought about by political disagreements over Catholic Emancipation.
In the 1830s, Newman began publishing a series of controversial tracts which were to form the basis of the Oxford Movement. The main criticism levelled at these tracts was that they appeared to be undermining the protestant character of the Church of England. Newman replied to this criticism in two tracts published in 1834, wherein he argued that the Anglican Church effectively occupied a via media (or middle position) between Protestantism and Catholicism. Newman further developed this theory in his Lectures on Justification (1838), arguing that the Protestant theory of justification by faith alone and the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification by works were incomplete truths. Instead, he opted for a theory based around the Johannine and Pauline doctrine of the Holy Spirit that both justifies and sanctifies. However, the most controversial of all these tracts was Tract 90, published in February 1841. In it Newman argued that the articles of the Church of England were “patient of a Catholic interpretation”. This led to calls for a public censure, although Newman agreed to the request of the bishop of Oxford, Richard Bagot, to refrain from publishing any more tracts. Feeling that he no longer had the confidence of the bishop, and concerned about his own position within the Church of England, Newman resigned his position as vicar of St Mary’s in September 1843. That Newman appeared to be heading towards a conversion to Catholicism was evident in his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine published in September 1845. In it, he argued in favour of the importance of an infallible authority to distinguish true from false developments in the unfolding of a revelation. Catholicism, he argued, was the only religion which provided this guarantee of authority. It was no surprise, therefore, when Newman was accepted into the Roman Catholic Church on 9 October 1845 and ordained priest two years later.
One of his first achievements as an ordained Catholic was to establish an oratory in England. Based on the Oratory of St Philip Neri, a new oratory was formally set up on a temporary basis at Maryvale, Birmingham, in February 1848, with Newman confirmed as superior, before it was moved to a disused gin distillery in Alcester Street, Birmingham, in the following year. A parallel institution was also established in London by another Catholic convert, F.W. Faber. Following the Restoration of the Hierarchy in October 1850, Newman delivered a series of lectures in Birmingham which were published as Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England (1851). His fifth lecture contained an attack on the anti-Catholic lecturer, Giacinto Achilli. The consequence of this was a drawn-out libel case which Newman lost, although the original sentence of a year’s imprisonment was reduced to a £100 fine because the judge believed the jury was prejudiced against him. Newman was also working towards the establishment of a new Catholic university in Ireland. In a series of lectures, later published as The Idea of a University (1873), Newman defended the idea of a liberal education, arguing in favour of a grounding in both science and theology which were compatible with each other. In May 1854, the university was formally approved and Newman was appointed as rector. However, four years later he resigned. This was partly in response to his inability to manage the Birmingham Oratory effectively but it was also based on disagreements with Paul Cullen, the archbishop of Armagh, as to the mode of discipline within the university.
In the early 1860s, Newman published a series of weekly pamphlets which were originally intended as a defence of the Catholic religion from attacks made by Charles Kingsley, Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, but which ended up as an autobiographical defence of his own conversion. The pamphlets were published as a volume in 1864, entitled Apologia pro vita sua, and became not only an instant best-seller but also received favourable reviews from Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It also ensured financial security for Newman for the first time since his conversion. Newman’s response to the declaration of papal infallibility at the Vatican Council of 1870 was initially subdued, particularly as it had appeared to be more moderate than the Ultramontanes had hoped for. However, following the publication of W.E. Gladstone’s attack on the declaration, in which he argued that it had not only deprived Catholics of their intellectual freedom but also put their civic loyalty into serious question, Newman felt the need to defend it. In his last published book, Letter to the Duke of Norfolk (1875), he argued that all papal declarations required interpretation by theologians, conceding that, although he would be willing to disobey a papal edict, he could not do so conscientiously for papal teaching.
With the exception of two articles, and revised editions of earlier works, Newman published no new material in his later years. In December 1877, Newman became the first honorary fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. Two years later, he received an even greater honour when the new pope, Leo XIII, made him a cardinal, the acceptance of which, Newman hoped, would finally end suspicions of his commitment to the Catholic Church. Newman’s health began to fail in 1886 and he died on 11 August 1890. He was buried in the grave of Ambrose St John at the oratory country house at Rednal, outside Birmingham. In 1991, over a century after his death, Pope John Paul II declared Newman to be “Venerable” and in September 2010, he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. On 13 October 2019, he was canonised by Pope Francis during an open-air Mass in St Peter's Square, Rome.

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Contents

Letters of John Henry Newman to others, most notably the Wilberforce family and, in particular, Henry W. Wilberforce. These letters cover many of the major events in Newman's life, including the development of the Oxford Movement and the controversies surrounding the publication of the Tracts for the Times, his growing anxieties over his position within the Anglican Church and subsequent conversion to Catholicism, the early formation of his ideas on Anglican and Catholic doctrine published in his many works, and the foundation of the Birmingham Oratory. They also reveal a very initimate friendship between Newman and fellow convert Henry Wilberforce which, although sometimes strained in the years immediately following Newman's conversion, remained close until Wilberforce's death in 1873.

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Provenance

Presented to Ushaw College by Edward Stephens, July 1940
Collection brought together by Rev Michael Sharratt as part of the Old Series of documents in Ushaw College Library

Previous custodial history

Previous reference number OS 1 N

Conditions of access

Open for consultation.

Copyright and copying

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from ushaw.library@durham.ac.uk and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material

Arrangement

The letters and other papers follow the original arrangement of the collection which is broadly chronological. The exception to this arrangement is a handful of letters added to the end of the numbering sequence at a later date.

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Finding aids

1. Card catalogue with calender of letters
2. Transcripts of letters by Fr William Vincent Smith (UC/P45/1/93/3)

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Related material - here

Newsham Papers 1845-1858: 11 letters to Charles Newsham UC/P 26

Related material - elsewhere

Archives of the British Province of the Society of Jesus 1848-1888: letters
Arundel Castle Correspondence with the duke of Norfolk, S.L. Pope, J.R. Hope-Scott and others (c110 items) NRA 12614 Fitzalan-Howard
Birmingham Oratory Correspondence, literary MSS and papers Newman correspondence
British Library, Manuscript Collections MS of The Dream of Gerontius Add MS 33984
1843-1889: correspondence with W.E. Gladstone Add MS 44360-506
Preface by Newman for W. Hutton's Anglican Ministry Add MS 34256
1855-1865: 33 letters, mostly to Thomas Hayden (copies) RP2708
Letters to F.S. Haydon RP827
1849-1884: correspondence with William Maskell Add MSS 37824-825
1855-1881: letters to Royal Literary Fund Loan 96
1855-1875: 35 letters (photocopies) RP 2708 2752
Brompton Oratory 1822-1887: letters
1838-1861: letters to F.W. Faber
Cambridge University: Fitzwilliam Museum Observations on the Proteus-Menelaus letters Blunt Papers
Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives 1855-1871: letters to Lord Acton Add MS 8119
1860-1884: 18 letters to Sir Rowland Blennerhassett and A.S. Griffin Add MS 7486
Cashel & Emly Diocesan Archives 1854-1874: 30 letters
Centre for Kentish Studies 1874-1877: letters to W.B. Woodgate U1050 F94
Clifton Roman Catholic Diocesan Archives 1835-1887: 60 letters
College of the Holy Cross Library 1839-1888: 45 letters to Edwin Palmer
Congregation of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God 20 letters to Mother Magdalen Taylor, Lady Georgiana Fullerton and Alexander Fullerton
Douai Abbey 1856-1882: letters
Dublin Diocesan Archives 1850-1875: 142 letters, mostly to Cardinal Paul Cullen
Edinburgh University: New College Library 1881-1960: 10 letters to Jane and Alexander Whyte Coll-770
English Congregation of Dominican Sisters Correspondence with Catherine Bathurst and Margaret Hallahan NRA 27580Catholic Archives, 6, (1986)

Georgetown University: Special Collections, Lauinger Library 1855-1865: letters to Thomas Hayden
Letters to Henry William Wilberforce
Irish Jesuit Archives 1841-1887: 200 letters
Lambeth Palace Library 1831-1840: correspondence with Charles Golightly MSS 1804-11, 1946
1833-1865: 45 letters to Isaac Williams Dep 3/20-64
1857-1858: correspondence with Angela Burdett-Coutts MS 1379
National Library of Wales: Department of Collection Services 1835-1842: transcripts of family letters
Newman College Library and Information Services Collection on his life and works (c500 items)
Oxford University: Balliol College Library 1857-1885: 36 letters to Tom Arnold Frances Arnold's Gift
1884-1903: correspondence with J.E.C. Bodley NRA 33716 Bodley
Oxford University: Bodleian Library, Western Manuscripts Letters to the Acland family MSS Acland
1811-1889: 433 letters (copies) MS Film 18
1827-1854: 47 letters to Robert Wilberforce MSS Wilberforce; Don e 164-65
1828: correspondence with Joseph Blanco White MS Wilberforce c 67
1832-1841: letters to Samuel Wilberforce MS Wilberforce c 5
1836-1845: correspondence with H.E. Manning MSS Eng lett b 37, c 651-64, d 526-27; misc c 873-76, d 1278-80, e 1393-99, f 852-53, g 355
1841-1882: letters (11) to H.T. Ellacombe MS Eng lett e 91
1842-1876: letters to Mark Pattison MSS Pattison
1871-1886: 18 letters to William Bright MS Eng lett c 493
1875-1876: letters to J.W. Burgon MSS Eng th d 11, 15
Correspondence with Mozley family MSS Eng lett d 101-02
1879-1882: letters to Edwin Palmer MS Selborne 225(8)
Oxford University: Campion Hall Library 1847-1880: 24 letters to Gerard Manley Hopkins
Oxford University: Keble College Archives 1825-1889: correspondence with H.P. Liddon, John Keble and others (c 270 items) K1, 4, 183A
Oxford University: Magdalen College Archives 157 letters to J.R. Bloxam MS 307
1835-1843: letters to M.J. Routh (11 vols)
Oxford University: Oriel College Library 1828-1888: correspondence with Edward Hawkins (40 items) and others (80 items)
1872-1882: 18 letters to David Brown Letters 1052-1067(N13-30)
Oxford University: Pembroke College Archives 1846-1886: 19 letters to Peter Renouf 63/9/2
Oxford University: Trinity College Library 1839-1888: 17 letters OM4 A-E
Pusey House Library Correspondence with J.R. Bloxam
1853-1865: 23 letters to E.S. Ffoulkes NRA 30607 Ffoulkes
1874-1888: 29 letters to Henrietta Woodgate NRA 28341 Woodgate
University of Notre Dame Archives 1832-1890: misc letters (13 originals, 6 photostats) ZCS
Venerable English College 16 letters
Westminster Diocesan Archives 1837-1882: correspondence with E.H. Thompson NRA 27775
1850-1862: correspondence with Rev J.B. Morris and others NRA 16303

Bibliography

The key works of and about John Henry Newman are listed below:
Ker, Ian, “Newman, John Henry (1801–1890)”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20023, accessed 12 Jan 2012]
Blehl, V.F., John Henry Newman: a bibliographical catalogue of his writings (1978)
Bouyer, L., Newman: his life and spirituality, Eng. trans. (1958)
Chadwick, O., From Bossuet to Newman: the idea of doctrinal development (1957)
Church, R.W., The Oxford Movement: twelve years, 1833–1845 (1891)
Coulson, J., Newman and the common tradition (1970)
Culler, A.D., The imperial intellect: a study of Newman's educational ideal (1955)
DeLaura, D.J., Hebrew and Hellene in Victorian England (1969)
Dessain, C.S., John Henry Newman (1966)
Faber, G., Oxford apostles (1933): Letters and correspondence of John Henry Newman during his life in the English church, ed. A. Mozley, 2 vols. (1891)
Ferreira, H.J., Doubt and religious commitment: the role of the will in Newman's thought (1980)
Gilley, S., Newman and his age (1990)
Graef, H.,God and myself: the spirituality of John Henry Newman (1967)
Griffin, J.R., Newman: a bibliography of secondary studies (1980)
Harrold, C.F., John Henry Newman: an expository and critical study of his mind, thought and art (1945)
Holloway, J., The Victorian sage: studies in argument (1953)
Houghton, W.E., The art of Newman's ‘Apologia’ (1945)
Hutton, R.H., Cardinal Newman (1891)
Ker, Ian, John Henry Newman: a biography (1988)
Lash, N., Newman on development: the search for an explanation in history (1975)
The letters and diaries of John Henry Newman, ed. by C.S. Dessain and others, [31 vols.] (1961–)
Merrigan, T., Clear heads and holy hearts: the religious and theological ideal of John Henry Newman (1991)
Miller, E.J., John Henry Newman on the idea of church (1987)
Newman, J.H., Uniform Edition of Works, 36 vols. (Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1868–81)
Newman, J.H., Autobiographical writings, ed. H. Tristram (1956)
Newman, J.H., Apologia pro vita sua, ed. M.J. Svaglic (1967)
Newman, J.H., Newman the Oratorian: his unpublished Oratory papers, ed. P. Murray (1969)
Newman, J.H., The philosophical notebook of John Henry Newman, ed. E. Sillem, 2 vols. (1969–70)
Newman, J.H., The idea of a university, ed. I.T. Ker (1976)
Newman, J.H., An essay in aid of a grammar of assent, ed. I.T. Ker (1985)
Newman after a hundred years, ed. by I. Ker and A.G. Hill, (1990)
Selby, R.C., The principle of reserve in the writings of John Henry Cardinal Newman (1975)
Svaglic, M.J., and Dessain, C.S., ‘John Henry Newman’, in Victorian prose: a guide to research, ed. D.J. DeLaura (1973)
Trevor, M., Newman: the pillar of the cloud (1962)
Trevor, M., Newman: light in winter (1962)
Vargish, T., Newman: the contemplation of mind (1970)
Walgrave, J.H., Newman the theologian: the nature of belief and doctrine as exemplified in his life and works, Eng. trans. (1960)
Ward, W., The life of John Henry Cardinal Newman, 2 vols. (1912)

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Catalogue

UC/P20/1   4 April 1829
Letter from J.H. Newman to Harriet Newman (extract): the election of Thomas Mozley (Harriet's future husband) and J.F. Christie to the Oriel College fellowships in place of William Churton and E.B. Pusey, Newman's advice to Pusey not to resign, Henry Wilberforce's unsuccessful attempt to stand for election.
1f 
UC/P20/2a-i   28 November 1834 - 11 April 1836
Copy letters relating to the publication of Renn D. Hampden's pamphlet Observations on Religious Dissent:
6f 
UC/P20/3a-d   23 - 30 June 1835
Copy letters concerning a controversy surrounding Newman's decision to edit a collection of pamphlets [probably Tracts for the Times]:
2f 
UC/P20/4   23 December 1836
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: thanking him for the fine surplice which he considers to be the first genuine surplice to be used in the Anglican Church in 150 years.
2f 
UC/P20/5   15 March 1838
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the completion of his latest work on the subject of Church authority and Arianism, seeking Wilberforce's assistance to publish an article on [?religious societies] in the British Critic, rejecting the proposal to write a book on confession for girls, the likely impact of the posthumous publication of the first volume of Froude's Remains (1839).
2f 
UC/P20/6   19 August 1838
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the need to publish an article in the British Critic, Gresswell's brain fever, his anxiety over the Exeter election, the bishop of London's charge and its attack on the Tracts for the Times, Newman's letter to the bishop seeking clarification on his opinions and the possibility that the Tracts might be suppressed, news from Oriel College, a review of the life of Wilberforce's father, William.
2f 
UC/P20/7   22 January 1839
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Wilberforce's article for the British Critic, the attack of The Times on Gladstone [probably his work on The State in its Relations with the Church (1838)], the Irish clergy's attack on the Tractarians, rumours that the Tractarians offered daily sacrifices, accusations of Romanism made by the press against the Tracts, news of Mozley.
2f 
UC/P20/8   1 February 1839
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Wilberforce's article for the British Critic, a meeting of the Cranmer Memorial Society, rejecting accusations made against the Tractarians that they are a “party”, requesting that Wilberforce keeps the identity of the contributors to the British Critic a secret, attacks made on Froude's Remains, the progress of Wilberforce's St Augustine epistles.
2f 
UC/P20/9a   16 September 1839
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: thanking her for Henry's sermon, news from St Mary's, Littlemore.
2f 
UC/P20/9b   25 June 1840
Letter from Newman to Rivington's (publishers): the British Critic exceeding 16 sheets owing to Wilberforce's article.
Includes a letter on the same sheet from Rivington's from 7 June 1873 concerning the destruction of their records by fire, and Newman's letters concerning Wilberforce with enclosed extracts of references to Wilberforce.
2f 
This letter was copied by Rivington's in 1873
UC/P20/10a   2 March 1841
Letter from Newman to John Bloxam (copy): the letters of Mr P[usey] about a reunion with Rome, Newman's view that it would be unadvisable to attempt a reunion at this time, his belief that only bishops could negotiate such a plan, his distrust and deep suspicion of Rome.
2f 
UC/P20/10b   [March 1841]
Letter from Newman to Nicholas Wiseman (copy): assuring Wiseman that his letter to Dr R.W. Jelf was not an attack on the communion of Rome, he is currently experiencing accusations from his own church of being a Catholic sympathiser.
1f 
UC/P20/11   8 November 1841
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the salvation of those dying in the Anglican Church, his view that R. W. Sibthorp's conversion to Catholicism was hasty and that he (Newman) has no call at present to convert, the hostility of the bishops towards the Tractarians, accusing the bishop of Chester of heresy.
3f 
UC/P20/12   12 February 1842
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his attitude to Rome, a visit from a convert, problems with his throat, advice on Lenten penances.
2f 
UC/P20/13   19 February 1842
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the condition of his throat, Pusey's pamphlet, his hopes that Wilberforce will preach on the first Sunday after Easter.
1f 
UC/P20/14   12 April 1842
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the loss of Wilberforce's child, calling on him to be patient and not to complain.
1f 
UC/P20/15   25 April 1842
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the nature of prayer, starting a breviary service at Littlemore, urging Wilberforce not to tell anyone of what is being carried out at Littlemore owing to its likely misinterpretation, the bishop's knowledge of his actions, the role of Providence in guiding him.
2f 
UC/P20/16   3 February 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his belief that he is a Roman Catholic at heart when people assume he is Anglican, he is bound to be misunderstood, his belief that Miss D[yson] should be given a dispensation from fasting, his current mental state and depression.
2f 
UC/P20/17   16 May 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his current depression, his inability to offer advice on prayer to a lady.
1f 
UC/P20/18   16 May 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: informing Keble that he is likely to become a Catholic and will be advised by Keble, the likelihood that his actions will be misunderstood.This is either part of an original letter or a continuation of the previous letter.

1f 
UC/P20/19   29 May 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: thanking him for introducing him to St John, W.H. Anderdon is to give up his curacy, his plans to write a publication on the lives of English saints, the controversy caused by Pusey's university sermon, currently decorating St Mary's.
2f 
UC/P20/20   9 June 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Pusey's trial and his wish not to involve himself in it, Keble's permission for him to resign his position at St Mary's but his (Newman's) wish for this to be secret and to remain in his position for the next few months, his growing appreciation of the Jesuits.
1f 
UC/P20/21   28 August 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his inability to attend the Dyson consecration, he is on the point of resigning St Mary's, William Lockhart's decision to convert to Catholicism.
1f 
UC/P20/22   31 October 1843
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the progress of his sister's children, the possibility of measures of coercion against those professing Tractarian views, news of the new incumbent of St Mary's, Palmer writing a preface for Seager's edition of Courrayer, the publication of another work by Seager on Courrayer.
1f 
UC/P20/23   [?June 1844]
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: news of [?Lord] Richmond and Fortescue.
1f 
UC/P20/24   8 June 1844
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his attitude to the Roman Catholic Church in 1839, news of [?Lord Richmond].
2f 
UC/P20/25   4 July 1844
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his belief that his friends should be aware of his unsettled state of mind, it is only a matter of time before he converts.
2f 
UC/P20/26   17 July 1844
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his decision not to resolve anything at present, fears over the lawfulness of remaining in the Anglican church, his wish not to surprise people, works by Ward and Pusey.
2f 
UC/P20/27   29 August 1844
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his visit to see Bowden (who is ill) at Clifton, and his letter to Pusey.
1f 
UC/P20/28-29   2-8 January [?1845]
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his plans to go to London to visit Wilberforce, R. Williams, and Mrs Bowden.
3f 
UC/P20/30   15 January [?1845]
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his arrival in London.
1f 
UC/P20/31   25 January 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his opinion that Wilberforce's paper on Janner would lead to personal attacks, urging him not to say anything controversial.
2f 
UC/P20/32   5 February 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Wilberforce's pamphlet and his fears that it will generate a controversy and possible legal proceedings, the decision of the Hebdomadal Board over the censuring of Tract 90
2f 
UC/P20/33   20 March 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce blaming himself for Mrs D[yson's] illness, his pain at the distress he is causing others, his belief that he will convert by the end of the year, his resignation of his fellowship by October.
2f 
UC/P20/34   27 April 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the difficulties of Fortescue, describing Blanco White's autobiography as dismal and no medium between pantheism and Rome, his belief that his unsettled state of mind is a judgement on his sins, the attitude of people towards his conversion.
3f 
UC/P20/35   16 May 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Oakley's request for advice relating to a lady who wants confession, the possibility of Oakley converting.
1f 
UC/P20/36   11 July [?1845]
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: arrangements for visiting.
1f 
UC/P20/37   2 October 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his resignation from his fellowship, the completion of Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845).
1f 
UC/P20/38   7 October 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Fr Dominic Barberi's proposed stay at Littlemore and his request to be accepted into the Catholic Church, his reasons for choosing this time, Fr Barberi's background.
1f 
UC/P20/39   7 October 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his impending conversion into the Catholic Church, the delay in publishing Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine.
1f 
UC/P20/40   23 November 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his proposed visit to Oscott College, news of Mrs Dyson, a letter from Cardinal Acton, a blessing from the pope, Dr Griffiths's explanation of conditional ordination.
1f 
UC/P20/41   4 December 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: a meeting with Dr Bridle on Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
1f 
UC/P20/42   24 December 1845
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his plans to leave Littlemore to travel to Old Hall, Oscott, Fr Dominic's Grace Dieu, perhaps Ushaw.
2f 
UC/P20/43   [?1845]
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: requesting Babington's address, Oakley's health.
1f 
UC/P20/44   13 January 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce, written from Ushaw: thanking Wilberforce for his offer of help, St John seeking financial assistance.
1f 
UC/P20/45   26 January 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his wish to keep money for St John, his favourable reception by Catholics, his admiration for the Catholic system.
1f 
UC/P20/46   27 January 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: protesting about an article in the Christian Remembrancer, defending himself against the accusation that he never believed the Anglican Church to be divine, his development of the theory of Via Media, his attitude as an Anglican.
2f 
UC/P20/47   21 February 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his impending departure from Littlemore for Maryvale.
1f 
UC/P20/48   26 Feburary 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his friendship with both Pusey and Wilberforce, the Blessed Sacrament at Maryvale.
2f 
UC/P20/49   10 March 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the Lord's knowledge and virtue, life at Maryvale, his distress at Pusey's rejection of those converting to Catholicism.
2f 
UC/P20/50   16 March 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: advising Wilberforce not to come to Maryvale, the pope's intention to send him a crucifix.
1f 
UC/P20/51   22 March 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: advising Wilberforce not to come to Maryvale because of his adherence to the Church of England.
1f 
UC/P20/52   29 May 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the trials of Wilberforce's mother-in-law Mrs Sargent, the difficulties faced by his friends in deciding whether to join the Roman Catholic Church, his happiness at hearing of Lisle Ryder's conversion, his expectation of a letter from Propaganda to advise him when to come to Rome, news that he will be receiving minor orders on the eve of Trinity Sunday.
2f 
UC/P20/53   8 June 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the postponement of his journey to Rome, news that he has received minor orders, a disagreement with Wilberforce over the doctrine of Papal Supremacy, his belief that the Anglican Church is in schism, the vitality of Rome.
2f 
UC/P20/54   25 June 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: arguing that the Anglican Church is not part of the Universal Church, the relationship between doctrine and practice, the question of infant baptism, the inconsistent opinions of the Church Fathers.
5f 
UC/P20/55   4 July 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Papal Supremacy and the authority of the Church, the Roman Catholic view that sanctity is a mark of the Church which can be observed on a daily basis.
3f 
This letter is damaged and a section is missing.
UC/P20/56   8 July 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the reception of Mrs Bowden into the Roman Catholic Church.
1f 
UC/P20/57   21 July 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the Feast of St Henry, memories of Littlemore, his offer to answer any questions which Wilberforce may have on Thomas William Allies' new publication The Church of England cleared from the charge of schism, upon testimonies of councils and fathers of the first six centuries.
1f 
UC/P20/58   1 August 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his disappointment in hearing that Wilberforce had been reading Allies' book, Wilberforce's dread of Newman's influence and whether Wilberforce now has a creed, the unfair criticism of converts, including Capes, Marshall, Thompson, Northcote, Pools, Faber, and Oakley.
2f 
UC/P20/59   3 August 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: apologising for the tone of his last letter, Pusey's health.
1f 
UC/P20/60   14 August 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Pusey's health, discounting his own influence on Wilberforce's actions.
1f 
UC/P20/61   22 August 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: arrangements for visiting, cholera in Wilberforce's parish.
1f 
UC/P20/62   24 September 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: apologising for the tone of his last letter, an account of his stay in Rome including his love of Grecian architecture and visit to the Tomb of St Ambrose, the presence of the Church Fathers, his belief that he never knew what worship was until he became a Catholic, a description of Milan Cathedral.
2f 
UC/P20/63   13 December 1846
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce (written from Propaganda College): the kindness of the people there, his new friends, his happiness in being isolated, his view that he is not seeking any dignity or station, the superiority of the Milanese clergy viz-a-viz their Roman counterparts, his belief that the Ryders are firm converts.
2f 
UC/P20/64   10 March 1847
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce (written from Propaganda College): condolences on John's death.
1f 
UC/P20/65   11 August 1847
Letter from Ambrose St John to Wilberforce (written from Santa Croce): condolences on John's death, conceding that it was Wiseman's idea about the Oratory, the pope's visit in Santa Croce, their ordination on Trinity Sunday, his favourable impression of the Jesuit General.
2f 
UC/P20/66   17 September 1847
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce (written from Santa Croce): congratulating him on the birth of his son, his visit to Naples with St John, a Nubian convert, the Feast of St Gennaro and description of various miracles performed, St Pantaleon of Ravello, the martyrs of the cholera epidemic in England, Sir E. Vavasour's decision to become a Christian Brother and his death, a British Association meeting in Oxford.
2f 
UC/P20/67   12 January 1848
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his arrival back in Maryvale on Christmas Eve, the first mass of his godson Charles Bowden, the poor health of Manning in Rome.
2f 
UC/P20/68   19 January 1848
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the papal brief fixing him at Maryvale and Birmingham, a hostile reception from Bishop Griffiths, plans for Newman to bring the papal bulls relating to the re-establishment of the Hierarchy, his strengthening faith in Loreto, his belief that for Pusey and Wilberforce to countenance subdeacons would be sectarian.
3f 
UC/P20/69   9 March 1848
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his work at Maryvale, questioning Manning's belief of a wide gulf and simultaneous oneness with Catholics.
3f 
UC/P20/70   8 May 1848
Letter from Ambrose St John to Wilberforce: a French priest (Malou), his desire to find work in England, the possibility of teaching in a seminary.
2f 
UC/P20/71   17 August 1848
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: dispensation in cases of consanguinity, the reception of John Bowden into the Catholic Church.
2f 
UC/P20/72   30 November 1848
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the growth of his conviction that Rome is the true Church, the Catholic doctrine of justification, Palma's death and its impact on the Oratory. Also includes a P.S. by Ambrose St John on Cheadle Church and work in the Potteries.
3f 
UC/P20/73   9-25 December 1848
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his first midnight mass on Christmas Day, moving the Oratory to a large gin distillery in Birmingham, the local mission at St Wilfred's Cheadle.
2f 
UC/P20/74   24 January 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: thanking him for criticism of Faber's translation, feeling old.This letter is incomplete

1f 
UC/P20/75   18 February 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the loan of a paper on dispensations of fasting and abstinence, his hopes that Birmingham will escape the cholera epidemic, the life of Cardinal Odescalchi.
2f 
UC/P20/76   28 February 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the rumours and lies spread concerning him, including a statement by the Rev Hugh Stowell that Newman and Wiseman despised each other, his denial of the validity of Anglican orders.
2f 
UC/P20/77   7 March 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his distress at hearing of the news of William Froude's agnosticism, explaining Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine by arguing that the Anglican Church is in the position of the early religious sects, Brownson's attack on him.
A section of this letter has been mutilated.
2f 
UC/P20/78   31 July 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: seeking financial assistance (£1,000) for the Oratory to be built in the centre of Birmingham, the liberality of his Catholic friends towards the London Oratory.
2f 
UC/P20/79   19 September 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his visit to cholera patients in Bilston, his assurance to Wilberforce that he will be there if needed, the death of Caswall's wife from cholera.
2f 
UC/P20/80   21 September 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: fearing that Wilberforce is experiencing a personal crisis, urging him to reply.
1f 
UC/P20/81   1 October 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: expressing his understanding at Wilberforce's predicament and his dilemma over converting to Catholicism, urging him not to let God's grace slip and to act immediately, curing a poorly girl with a relic of St Philip.
2f 
UC/P20/82   10 October 1849
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: urging him not to delay and not to read Development, questioning why Wilberforce still retains his living.
1f 
UC/P20/83   [1849]
Letter from Maria Giberne [to Newman] (extract): an example of God's judgement on anti-papalists in Rome.
1f 
UC/P20/84   28 April 1855
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: mostly family news, a reference to statues having arrived from Rome.
1f 
UC/P20/85   19 July 1857
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the Richardson affair, advising him not to write an article against the Union.
2f 
UC/P20/86   3 June 1861
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: his current weary state of mind, his opinon of T. Mozley, agreeing to say mass for Mrs Sargent.
2f 
UC/P20/87   4 December 1861
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: apologising for being such bad company.
1f 
UC/P20/88   22 November 1863
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: expressing his satisfaction that Harry has joined Arthur at Ushaw.
1f 
UC/P20/89   29 February 1864
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Wilberforce's financial difficulties, his unsuccessful application for the inspectorship.
1f 
UC/P20/90   24 December 1864
Extract, written in the hand of Francis Newman, taken from an article by J. H. Fowler in Garrison's Liberator, 6 January, about preaching to former slaves in South Carolina and the social mixing of races.
1f 
UC/P20/91   22 January 1865
Letter from F. Newman to Wilberforce: the exchange of prisoners in the American Civil War, his lack of recent knowledge concerning the West Indies, feeling ashamed of the English upper classes.
4f 
UC/P20/92   31 May 1867
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the benefits of cider.
2f 
UC/P20/93   18 June 1868
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: declining his invitation, seeking news of Harry at Ushaw.
2f 
UC/P20/94   3 January 1869
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: the lack of communication by W. Froude, the progress of his essay, his exclusion from the Vatican Council.
2f 
UC/P20/95   19 September 1869
Letter from Newman to Agnes Wilberforce: hoping that she will not have to do battle with Amberley.
2f 
UC/P20/96   14 September 1870
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: a dispute with Father Vaughan.
2f 
UC/P20/97   6 November [?1871]
Letter from William Snape to Agnes Wilberforce: Henry Wilberforce's voyage to Jamaica.
2f 
UC/P20/98   29 February 1872
Letter from Newman to Wilberforce: Wilberforce's illness, the view of the press that Bishop Ullathorne is afraid of the pro-Fenianism of his clergy.
2f 
UC/P20/99   13 April 1873
Letter from Newman to Agnes Wilberforce: thanking her for the news of the death of Mrs Roberts.
1f 
UC/P20/100   14 July 1873
Manuscript by Newman of a memoir of Henry W. Wilberforce.
7f 
UC/P20/101   21 October 1873
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: his prayers for her, a controversy surrounding the publication in the Dublin Review of his correspondence with R. Hampden, a doctrinal dispute involving the archbishop and relating to the worship of the Sacred Heart.
3f 
UC/P20/102   9 December 1873
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: surprised at Caroline's speedy departure, wishes to know if she is going to join the Franciscans.
1f 
UC/P20/103   24 December 1873
Letter from Newman to Agnes Wilberforce: Caroline entering the convent.
2f 
UC/P20/104   16 February 1874
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: his memoir of Henry W. Wilberforce.
1f 
UC/P20/105   23 February 1874
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: Woodgate's ill health.
1f 
UC/P20/106   7 June 1874
Letter from Newman to Henry E. Wilberforce: apologising for not attending the Oratory reunion day.
1f 
UC/P20/107   9 January 1875
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: his pamphlet Letter to the Duke of Norfolk in response to W.E. Gladstone's attack on the Vatican Decrees.
2f 
UC/P20/108   7 March 1875
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: hoping that she will visit him.
1f 
UC/P20/109   11 March 1875
Letter from Newman to Wilfred Wilberforce: seeking a loan of his (Newman's) letters to Henry.
2f 
UC/P20/110   22 April 1875
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: agreeing to say mass for Henry.
1f 
UC/P20/111-113   9-19 May 1875
Letters from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: Ambrose St John having lost his mind through overwork and anxiety.
3 letters 
UC/P20/114-116   25 May-18 June 1875
Letters from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: the death of Ambrose St John.
3 letters 
UC/P20/117   16 January 1876
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: the death of Mrs Wooten.
1f 
UC/P20/118   20 April 1876
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: promising to return Henry's letters.
2f 
UC/P20/119   3 January 1877
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: her health, the wills of St John and Mrs Wooten.
2f 
UC/P20/120   22 Feburary 1877
Letter from Newman to Barbara Wilberforce: revising his Anglican volumes and correspondence, Arthur Wilberforce's retreat at the Oratory, Henry Bellasis is to be an Oratorian.
2f 
UC/P20/121   5 March 1878
Letter from Newman to Agnes Wilberforce: his visit to Oxford, offering prayers on her bereavement with the recommendation of the psalms.
2f 
UC/P20/122   15 August 1879
Reply by Newman to the address of the Academia.
2f 
UC/P20/123   [?1879]
Reply by Newman to the address from members of the Oratory School Society.
With additional copy
2 items 
UC/P20/124   5 January 1882
Letter from Newman to Henry E. Wilberforce: a memoir of him (Newman) which he has refused to sanction.
2f 
UC/P20/125   21 March 1882
Letter from Newman to Wilfred Wilberforce: sympathy for Agnes' suffering but is glad to hear that her child was baptised.
1f 
UC/P20/126   23 December 1882
Letter from Newman to Henry E. Wilberforce: urging him not to send word to the Weekly Register about his actions.
1f 
UC/P20/127a-b   18 November 1884-[2000s]
Memorandum by Newman: Manning's visit to Littlemore on 6 November 1843.
Also includes an incomplete transcript and other background information on this memorandum.
1f/4p 
UC/P20/128   18 February 1885
Letter from Newman to Henry E. Wilberforce: congratulating him on his engagement.
1f 
UC/P20/129   12 December 1885
Letter from Newman to Stevenson: his difficulties in writing, his lack of knowledge of the Lake District.
2f 
UC/P20/130   2 April 1886
Letter from Newman to Wilfred Wilberforce: declaring that his loyalty to the Holy See has made him reluctant to recognise Charles Parnell as a leader.
1f 
UC/P20/131   6 October 1890
Letter from William Neville to Henry E. Wilberforce: Ryder handing over Newman's letters to Henry W. Wilberforce, seeking more from Wilfred.
1f 
Purchased by Sr Frideswide Stapleton from Edward Stephens for £10 from Mrs Wilberforce.
See UC/P20/137
UC/P20/132   April 1891
Incomplete list of letters sent to William Neville.
6f 
Presumably sent by Wilfred Wilberforce but they do not correspond to the Ushaw letters.
UC/P20/133   6 October 1891
Letter from Wilfrid Wilberforce to [Arthur] Wilberforce: the loan and possible sale of Newman letters to the Birmingham Oratory.
2f 
UC/P20/134   31 March 1906
Account of Dr Newman's visit to Littlemore after an absence of twenty years (1868).
This has been transcribed by Canon Irvine.
2f 
UC/P20/135   31 March 1906
Letter from J.W. Irvine to W. Wilberforce: the next above (UC/P20/134).
2f 
UC/P20/136   20 September 1937
Letter from Henry Tristam to Sr Frideswide Stapleton: the Wilberforce correspondence at the Oratory.
1f 
UC/P20/137   14 June 1940
Letter from Sir Frideswide Stapleton to Edward Stephens: the purchase of a Newman letter (UC/P20/131) from Mrs Wilberforce.
1f 
UC/P20/138   17 June 1940
Letter from Sr Frideswide Stapleton to Helen Wilberforce: the sale of Newman's letters to Ushaw.
1f 
UC/P20/139   20 June 1940
Letter from Helen Wilberforce to Edward Stephens: the sale of a Newman letter.
2f 
UC/P20/140   3 July 1940
Letter from Helen Wilberforce to Edward Stephens: the sale of a Newman letter, pleased to see that the letters are appreciated, enclosing a receipt.
2f 
UC/P20/141   20 July 1940
Declaration by E. Stephens presenting Newman and Manning letters to Ushaw.
1f 
UC/P20/142   18 March 1953
Letter from Robert Wilberforce to Bernard Payne: his grandfather's fondness for Ushaw College.
1f 
UC/P20/143-151   13 May-13 September 1859
22 letters between Newman and John Gillow over objectionable passages in the Rambler, particularly over the correct interpretation of the word “consult”.
22f 
UC/P20/152   8 March 1879
Letter from Newman to Henry Logan: the kindness of the pope.
1f 
UC/P20/153   4 February 1881
Letter from Newman to Logan: Gilbert Scott (son of Sir Gilbert Scott) and the new church to be built in Cambridge.
2f 
UC/P20/154   11 April 1881
Letter from Newman to Logan: thanking him for arranging the dedication of M. du Boys' Queen Catherine.
1f 
UC/P20/155   19 April 1846
Letter from Newman to John Walker: wishing to further their acquaintance begun at Ushaw, settling in Maryvale.
Section torn off.
2f 
UC/P20/156   27 February 1856
Letter from Newman to William Walker: information on John Davison and his books, an article on him (Newman) in the British Critic.
4f 
UC/P20/157   24 June 1864
Letter from Newman to William Walker: thanking him for his kind letter relating to his (Newman's) Apologia, he is glad that the attack on him has let him serve the Catholic cause.
2f 
UC/P20/158   10 February 1866
Letter from Newman to William Walker: thanking Walker for congratulating him on his Letter to Pusey, enquiring whether Walker feels he should write on science or scripture, delaying a publication on papal infallibility because it is likely to cause controversy.
2f 
UC/P20/159   28 February 1866
Letter from Newman to William Walker: admitting that a treatise on the authority of the Church is beyond him and is likely to cause discord amongst Catholics.
2f 
UC/P20/160   12 March 1866
Letter from Newman to John Walker: Mr Martin's attack on him, his caution in following up his Letter to Pusey, thanking him for his account of Lingard's controversy in 1832, his belief that a direct argument on Anglican claims could be counterproductive.
2f 
UC/P20/161   22 May 1868
Letter from Newman to John Walker: W. Smith's work The Book of Moses and Robert M. Beverley's The Darwinian theory of the transmutation of species, his belief that Darwin's theories of evolution do not clash with revelation.
3f 
UC/P20/162   27 June 1873
Letter from Newman to William Walker: John Walker's death, John was one of the few priests to have kept up the tradition of Lingard's generation of Catholics.
1f 
UC/P20/163   19 August 1873
Letter from Newman to William Walker: thanking him for sending the letters Newman wrote to John Walker, his respect for John.
2f 
UC/P20/164   13 September 1873
Letter from Newman to William Walker: Canon William Knight's sending John Walker's letters.
1f 
UC/P20/165   19 September 1873
Letter from Newman to William Walker: the possibility of Ushaw receiving Lingard's letters to John Walker, none should be destroyed.
2f 
UC/P20/166   7 June 1875
Letter from Newman to William Walker: seeking a photograph of John Walker, St John's death>
1f 
UC/P20/167   28 August 1875
Letter from Newman to William Walker: declining his invitation.
1f 
UC/P20/168   29 July 1879
Letter from Newman to William Walker: thanking him for the address from the clergy of Lancashire.
1f 
UC/P20/169   [?1880 x 1891]
Miscallenous papers by John Henry Newman, mostly relating to his preface for William Palmer's Notes of a Visit to the Russian Church in the Years 1840, 1841 (1882), as well as notes for a sermon, autograph, and portrait photograph
1 file