Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1865-1957 / (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
1.514 cubic metres (132 boxes, 1 volume)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Eliot (Leonard Eliot) Crawshay-Williams (1879-1962) was the son of the barrister and politician A. J. Williams. He was educated at Eton, and Trinity College, Oxford. He joined the Royal Field Artillery and stood as a Liberal candidate for Chorley, Lancashire, in 1906. He had been employed by Winston Churchill at the Colonial Office from 1906 to 1908. He married Alice Crawshay-Williams in 1908, and had two children. From 1910-1913, he was M. P. for Leicester, serving as parliamentary private secretary to Lloyd George. His political career came to an end in 1913, when he was cited in a divorce action brought by his fellow M. P., Hubert Carr-Gomm. In 1915, he divorced Alice and married Kathleen Isabella Carr-Gomm (née Rome), after her divorce. They divorced in 1924, and he then married for the third time, marrying Weeta (daughter of William Cattanach Donaldson), with whom he had two sons, David (b. 1925) and Jonathan (b. 1928). In later life, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction, political texts and to Welsh affairs. Eliot Crawshay-Williams wrote numerous novels, short stories, poetry, plays and film scripts. He was also interested in Canada.
Archival history
Some of the papers were not purchased by the National Library of Wales; photocopies of these are held in the archive. Crawshay-Williams also deposited at NLW a group of papers, mainly deeds relating to the manor of Coity Anglia, Court Coleman, Coed y Mwstwr and other properties, in 1945.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Purchased in 1986. Additional letters purchased in December 2022 have been added to file F2. Postcard, dated July 1929 (purchased Dec 2022 and transferred to archives collection April 2023) has been added to file F22.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers of Leonard Eliot Crawshay-Williams, mainly correspondence, 1865-1957, including general literary correspondence, [1907]-1957; literary press cuttings, 1907-1939; notes for speeches, 1904-1945; press cuttings, 1888-1947; financial and administrative papers, 1902-1945; family papers, 1865-1951; insurance policies, 1900-1944; papers relating to Canadian interests, 1902-1954; family correspondence, 1872-1936; and correspondence between Eliot Crawshay-Williams and women friends, [n. d.].
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: All records have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged into the following: literary papers; political papers; financial and administrative papers; family papers; personal correspondence; general correspondence; personalia; local and family history; miscellanea; albums and scrapbooks; and history of the Crawshay-Williams and A. J. Williams papers.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Correspondence between Eliot Crawshay-Williams and women friends, and papers relating to a case at Leeds City Court, are closed until 2012. Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright regulations apply.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales. The catalogue can be accessed online.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title supplied from contents of fonds
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Crawshay-Williams, Eliot, b. 1879 -- Archives. (Subject)
- Crawshay-Williams family -- Archives. (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
April 2003
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Annette Strauch for the ANW project. The following source was used in the compilation of this description: NLW, Eliot Crawshay-Williams Papers. Additions to file F2 by Rob Phillips, December 2022.