Westminster Baptist Church Archives

Scope and Content

Includes church records dating back to the foundation of the church: correspondence (with members, deacons, and third parties); subject files with publications, administrative documents, and government files. Includes meeting minutes covering deacon and membership meetings throughout the church's history. Missionary files include information about missions organisations, correspondence and general missions subject files.

Administrative / Biographical History

The archival finding aid for this collection was first begun by Miss Platt in 2012. Miss Platt, who married Jonathan Arnold, continued as the Hon. Archivist from 2012. Jonathan Arnold became pastor at Westminster Baptist Church in April 2016.

Arrangement

The records are arranged into five series: church subject files, church correspondence, meeting minutes, missionary files, and missionary correspondence and organizations. All are further arranged to the file level, with item level description for significant names and documents. Names are arranged chronologically by mention in the files. Location stickers are located on materials, noted in the finding aid. “M” represents the missions files, “C” represents the church files. These are often examined separately as a unit thus requiring a clear distinction between the two. The first numeral following the letter indicates the box, the second number indicates the file (where necessary).

Access Information

The archive is available without restriction to current members at Westminster Baptist Church. For external researchers, the archives are readily available - with supervised access - on any period for which no person involved in the content is still in living memory (i.e., records which are 100+ years of age). Any exceptions to this may be provided on a case-by-case basis.

Other Finding Aids

Church Subject Files 1895-1991 (Bulk 1954-1972)

Church Correspondence Files 1930-2009

Meeting Minutes 1811-2006

Missionary Correspondence and Organisations 1977-1987

Missions Files 1977-1987

Archivist's Note

Unfortunately we are unable to fulfil research requests on family history queries at this time.

Custodial History

In the 1970s the church received a lot of archives from a former church member's family in the post, indicating these had been sitting in his attic.