Catalogue description Records of Private Office and Private Papers

Details of Division within FO
Reference: Division within FO
Title: Records of Private Office and Private Papers
Description:

Records of private offices and private papers comprising the correspondence of foreign secretaries and under secretaries, senior officials and diplomats.

Private office papers of secretaries of state since 1900, with one exception, and under secretaries since 1886 are in FO 800, together with private papers of many other senior officials and diplomats. Correspondence concerning ambassadors and senior diplomats is in FO 794 and miscellaneous private collections are in FO 323.

Other FO series of private papers:

Date: 1636-1973
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Physical description: 30 series
Publication note:

For a detailed analysis of private collections in the Public Record Office relating to foreign affairs see Appendix III ofThe Records of the Foreign Office 1782-1939, (PRO Handbooks, XIII, 1969)

Administrative / biographical background:

A considerable amount of correspondence between the secretary of state for foreign affairs and heads of missions was carried on in a series of semi-official 'private' letters. Before 1900 no attempt was made to retain these in the Foreign Office when a secretary of state left office and they must now be sought in various private collections. Similarly under secretaries also carried on a 'private' correspondence.

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