Reference Code: PCO/CORR
Title: Correspondence Series
Date range: c.1892-1920.
Level of description: Series.
Extent of medium: 267 textual records (principally letters, circulars and minutes).
Administrative history
Cecil Henry Polhill (1860-1938) was a missionary of the China Inland Mission in China (appointed Superintendent of Tibet in 1899), an independent missionary in India between 1885-1900 and a promoter of mission for the rest of his life thereafter. He was wealthy, influential and dedicated to his vocation, so he received a great deal of correspondence regarding missionary matters at home and abroad. Largely he received these personally, but many of the items were addressed to his immediate family (many of whom were also missionaries). The Rev. J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) established the China Inland Mission in 1865, and it grew to become the largest Protestant missionary organization in China. Each sending country established “home councils,” which acted as the first point of contact for prospective missionaries, discussed administrative, logistic and disciplinary matters regarding missionaries in the field and provided oversight to the activities of the mission. Cecil Polhill was a member of the London Home Council (the most influential after the Shanghai Council) between 1903-1915, and a member of the Shanghai Council 1900-1915. In this position he was privy to a great deal of executive correspondence much of which has been kept in the family. He also received correspondence of a more personal (rather than administrative) character. This might include former friends and colleagues, such as Montague Beauchamp (1860-1939), Stanley Smith (1861-1931) or Emma Upcraft, writing with information from the field, well-wishes, thanks or condolences. Some of the more personal correspondence also came from the United Kingdom rather than from abroad. This might include former friends and colleagues at home on furlough or local support networks with an interest in mission. Cecil Polhill’s wife, Eleanor, his sister, Alice, and his brother were all missionaries. He retired from full-time, in-the-field work in 1900, but his sister and brother, along with their spouses, remained in India and China respectively. The series also includes items from family members, items intended for a family member or even between two other family members.
Scope of series
The series consists of correspondence or circulars from various members of the China Inland Mission executive councils such as, for example, Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), Dixon Hoste (1861-1946), John Stevenson (1844-1918) and Henry Frost (1858-1945). It also includes correspondence related to missionaries dedicated to evangelizing Tibet or prospective missionaries. There are also number of balance sheets, “candidate schedules” (application forms for prospective missionaries) and minutes of meetings. It also consists of correspondence or circulars of a more personal nature from various members of the China Inland Mission, other missions around the world or supporters at home.
System of arrangement
The correspondence series is divided into four subseries: China Inland Mission Executive Correspondence (PCO/CORR/CIMEXEC); International Correspondence (PCO/CORR/INT); Domestic Correspondence (PCO/CORR/DOM) and Family Correspondence (PCO/CORR/FAM).
Conditions governing reproduction
The copyright is held by J. A. G. Polhill, but requests can be made to the editor.
Note
The title is based on the content of the series.
Rules or convention
ISAD (G) General International Standard for Archival Description (1999).
Date of descriptions
June 2019.
Reference Code: PCO/FIN
Title: Financial Series
Date range: 1904-1914.
Level of description: Series.
Extent of medium: Three volumes (one cash book and two ledgers).
Administrative history: In 1900 Cecil Henry Polhill (1860-1938) inherited the estate of his uncle, Sir Henry Page-Turner Barron 2nd Baronet of Glennana and Waterford (1824-1900). It was a large inheritance of land and investments, so he was compelled to keep detailed records of his income and expenditure. These are of interest because Cecil was an energetic and generous philanthropist, especially to missionary and evangelical causes. A number of early Pentecostal leaders received generous donations from Polhill, such as Rev. Alexander Boddy (1854-1930), Thomas Ball Barratt (1862-1940), Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) and George Jeffreys (1889-1962). These records are only available up to 1914.
Scope of series: The cash book details transactions based on a kind of double-entry accounting system i.e. the left page of the cash book records income and the right page records expenditure. The ledgers, by contrast, arrange financial information into categories, such as “Page Estate Income” or “Subscriptions and Donations to Charities.”
System of arrangement: The Financial Series is divided into three sub-series: Cash Book (1904-1910) [PCO/FIN/CASH], Ledger of Accounts (up to 1912) [PCO/FIN/LEDGER1] and Ledger of Accounts (up to 1914) [PCO/FIN/LEDGER2].
Conditions governing reproduction: The copyright is held by J. A. G. Polhill, but requests can be made to the editor.
Note: Most research on Cecil’s life is concerned with charitable donations and expenditure, so to date his income has not been digitized.
Rules or convention: ISAD (G) General International Standard for Archival Description (1999).
Date of descriptions: July 2019.
Reference Code: PCO/PP
Title: Personal Papers Series
Date range: 1896-1906
Level of description: Series
Extent of medium: Eight items.
Administrative history: There are various items in the collection that do not easily fit into one of the larger series or sub-series. These generally fall under the category of Cecil Polhill’s personal papers and they often reflect his primary concern for mission to Tibet, evangelistic activity at the University of Cambridge, work for the China Inland Mission and philanthropy.
Scope of series: This series contains a draft version of Polhill’s missionary newsletter Tidings from Tibet (1904); There is also a hand-written list of Tibetan curios; a Tibetan course outline and newspaper clippings concerning the British invasion of Tibet (1904). The only item that covers a period in which he was still a full-time missionary is a copy of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Tibet Mission Band and the China Inland Mission (1896), agreed between Cecil and Hudson Taylor; Later items reflect his activity at the University of Cambridge, for example, there is a rare flyer from the Cambridge Intercollegiate Christian Union dated 1902 and a flyer for a prayer meeting for China and Tibet, and for world-wide revival (1903) scheduled to be held in Cambridge and as an energetic philanthropist he also appears in a list of donations for the enlargement of the London’s Soldier’s Home (1906). There is also a Proposal for an Eton mission to the East, written by his brother Arthur Polhill, dated c.1903-1904.
System of arrangement: Catalogued with descriptive title and date.
Conditions governing reproduction: The copyright is held by J. A. G. Polhill, but requests can be made to the editor.
Note: There is some extra accrual and reorganisation expected in this series.
Rules or convention: ISAD (G) General International Standard for Archival Description (1999).
Date of descriptions: August 2019.
Reference Code: PCO/PHOTO
Title: Photograph Series
Date range: c.1860-c.1938
Level of description: Series
Extent of medium: More than two hundred photographs.
Administrative history: Two photo albums make up the bulk of this series. An album of photographs that probably belonged to Cecil’s mother (PCO/PHOTO/ONE), Emily Frances Polhill-Turner (c.1827-1913), containing images of her children, extended family and servants. The other is an album that appears to have belonged to Cecil himself (PCO/PHOTO/TWO), containing many images of missionary life. Many of these photos seem to pertain to annotations on the draft version of his memoirs, so some of these were evidently intended to illustrate his memoirs.
Scope of series: There are 102 photographs in the album believed to have belonged to Emily Frances Polhill-Turner and 110 photographs in the album that belonged to Cecil Polhill. The latter is particularly note-worthy for the many rare photos of missionaries, Chinese Christians, missionary stations and other scenes from the mission field.
System of arrangement: Photos from the album belonging to Emily Frances Polhill-Turner will contain PCO/PHOTO/ONE in the unique identifier, and photos from the album belonging to Cecil Polhill will contain PCO/PHOTO/TWO in the unique identifier.
Conditions governing reproduction: The copyright is held by J. A. G. Polhill, but requests can be made to the editor.
Note: There is some extra accrual expected in this series.
Rules or convention: ISAD (G) General International Standard for Archival Description (1999).
Date of descriptions: August 2019.
Reference Code: PCO/MEM
Title: Memoirs Series
Date range: 1925-26.
Level of description: Series.
Extent of medium: One full draft and more than one hundred sheets of manuscript notes.
Administrative history: c.1925, Cecil and his brother Arthur began writing their memoirs, Two Etonians in China, 1885-1925: Reminiscences of Two of the ‘Cambridge Seven’ Missionary Band apparently for the China Inland Mission. A more-or-less full draft was written and kept in the family collection, but for reasons that are not absolutely clear it was never published. The collection also contains some of the hand-written manuscripts for the memoirs.
Scope of series: The series consists of one full draft of Two Etonians in China and more than one hundred sheets of manuscript notes.
System of arrangement: The Memoirs Series is divided into two sub-series: the typed draft (PCO/MEM/TYP) and handwritten numerous manuscript notes (PCO/MEM/MS).
Conditions governing reproduction: The copyright is held by J. A. G. Polhill, but requests can be made to the editor.
Note: The full draft has been digitised for some time, but many of the manuscript notes have yet to be digitised. A number of photos in the collection appear to pertain to hand-written annotations on the memoir draft, evidently intended to illustrate the memoirs.
Rules or convention: ISAD (G) General International Standard for Archival Description (1999).
Date of descriptions: August 2019.