Papers of Sir Eyre Crowe

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 161 MSS. Eng. c. 6034-5, d. 2890-910, e. 3010-26
  • Dates of Creation
      1880-1928
  • Language of Material
      English.
  • Physical Description
      40 shelfmarks

Scope and Content

Sir Eyre's papers consist mainly of correspondence, but also include some printed items, two files concerning Sir Eyre and Lady Crowe's post-war claims concerning their family's German and Rumanian investments, 1920-3, and some personal papers. The letters to his parents and later to his wife, Clema, provide a detailed account of the making of British foreign policy between 1880 and 1924.

Administrative / Biographical History

Sir Eyre Alexander Barby Wichart Crowe (1864-1925) was Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1920-5. Sir Eyre played a major role in the reform of the organization of the Foreign Office in 1906 and served as Minister Plenipotentiary in the British delegation to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Access Information

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/specialcollections).

Acquisition Information

The papers were given to the Library by B.L. Crowe in 1995.

Note

Collection level description created by Emily Tarrant, Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts.

Other Finding Aids

A full description is available in the Library.

Custodial History

The papers were inherited from Sybil Crowe (Crowe's daughter) by her nephew, B.L. Crowe.

Bibliography

Crowe's daughter, Sybil Crowe, made extensive use of the papers for her work, Our ablest public servant: Sir Eyre Crowe, 1864-1925 (London, 1993).