Archive of Joost de Blank, archbishop of Cape Town

Diaries and correspondence, 1941-1967; sermons and lectures, 1948-1968; parish and clerical publications, 1948-1952; cuttings and photographs, 1952-1963; autobiography and material for biography, 1960s-1970s.

Joost de Blank, born in Rotterdam of Dutch parents, was educated in England. He was ordained in 1932, and served as an Army chaplain 1939 to 1944. From 1948 to 1952 he was an Assistant General Secretary to the Student Christian Movement, before becoming Vicar of St. John the Baptist, Greenhill, Harrow. In 1952 he was created Bishop of Stepney.
He succeeded Archbishop Clayton in Cape Town in 1957. In South Africa, he re refused to preach in any church not open to blacks as well as whites; and he opposed clause 29 of the Natives Law Amendment Bill, which gave the civil authorities powers to exclude non-whites from Anglican churches. In 1960 De Blank called on the Dutch Reformed Church to repudiate apartheid, and also he criticised the South African jubilee celebrations: `This is no' time for rejoicing, but for shame'.
Ill health forced him to resign from Cape Town in 1963; he was appointed a Canon of Westminster Abbey. In 1966 illness prevented him from taking up a new appointment as Bishop of Hong Kong. He died in 1968.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws. 24 hours' notice is required to access photographic material.

Joost de Blank, born in Rotterdam of Dutch parents, was educated in England. He was ordained in 1932, and served as an Army chaplain 1939 to 1944. From 1948 to 1952 he was an Assistant General Secretary to the Student Christian Movement, before becoming Vicar of St. John the Baptist, Greenhill, Harrow. In 1952 he was created Bishop of Stepney.
He succeeded Archbishop Clayton in Cape Town in 1957. In South Africa, he re refused to preach in any church not open to blacks as well as whites; and he opposed clause 29 of the Natives Law Amendment Bill, which gave the civil authorities powers to exclude non-whites from Anglican churches. In 1960 De Blank called on the Dutch Reformed Church to repudiate apartheid, and also he criticised the South African jubilee celebrations: `This is no' time for rejoicing, but for shame'.
Ill health forced him to resign from Cape Town in 1963; he was appointed a Canon of Westminster Abbey. In 1966 illness prevented him from taking up a new appointment as Bishop of Hong Kong. He died in 1968.

Anne Akeroyd and Colin Lunt (eds), A Guide to the Southern African Archives in the University of York, (York, 1979).

A microfilm copy of the papers (boxes 1-13) is held by the Borthwick Institute (5 reels, 35mm, negative copy, filmed 1976). Reference: GB 193 CSAS/MF/39-43.

Description compiled by Dr Charles Fonge, September 2010.

Quotation of personal and unpublished material, in particular from Box XIV, should be approved by the Keeper of Archives. Anyone proposing to undertake a substantial study should consult the de Blank family.
A reprographics service is available to researchers subject to the access restrictions outlined above. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the document. Copies are supplied in accordance with the Borthwick Institute for Archives' terms and conditions for the supply of copies, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

Further accruals are not expected.

Papers relating to the archbishops of Cape Town and Church of the Province of South Africa are held by the Library of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (collection reference AB2546), including some papers relating to de Blank (section D4 refers).
Biographical notes and material used for 'Archbishop Joost de Blank, Scourge of Apartheid' (London, 1987) by John S. Peart-Binns, are held by University of Bradford Special Collections as part of the Peart-Binns Episcopal Biography Archive (GB 532 PEB).

* The papers were drawn on by Bartha de Blank for her biography, Joost de Blank: a personal memoir (Boydell Press, Ipswich, 1977).
* Peart-Binns, John Stuart. Archbishop Joost De Blank: Scourge of Apartheid (London: Muller, Blond & White, 1987).

Published

GB 193