Records of the Church of England Council for Empire Settlement [Council for Overseas Settlement] are held at the Lambeth Palace Library (formerly part of the Church of England Records Centre collection). The records include various committees' minutes, annual reports, operational registers, agreements, and correspondence. There may be records about child migration to Swan Homes in Western Australia.
The records of the Church of England Council for Empire Settlement [Council for Overseas Settlement] includes various committees' minutes, annual reports, operational registers, agreements, and correspondence produced by the council. The Lambeth Palace Library for these records is 'CECES'.
The council was also known as the Advisory Council of Empire Settlement, the Council for Commonwealth and Empire Settlement, and the Church of England Council for Overseas Settlement. It was responsible for advising and assisting the Church of England Assembly with migration of people from Britain to various parts of the British Commonwealth, including Australia. It corresponded with and coordinated the various Church of England societies engaged in migration activities. The records in this collection contain information about these and related activities. There may be records in this collection about the migration of children to Australia, and about Church of England agencies involved in child migration, such as Swan Homes.
Additional records relating to the Committee of Overseas Settlement dating from 1974-1981 can be found in the records of the Church of England Board of Social Responsibility, which are also held by Lambeth Palace Library (reference 'BSR').
To access these records an appointment needs to be made at the Lambeth Palace Library. At the time of booking the appointment the person must inform the Centre which records they would like to access. On a person's first visit they will need to get a reader's ticket. Two forms of ID are required, one a piece of photo ID and the other showing proof of address. This collection is not currently available online.
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Committee for Overseas Settlement', in Database of Archives of Non-Governmental Organisations, University of Birmingham, 22 January 2008, https://web.archive.org/web/20090316062640/http://www.dango.bham.ac.uk/record_details.asp?recordType=ngo&id=2442.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser & Constance Thurley-Hart
Created: 14 September 2012, Last modified: 28 March 2022