Archive and Library

The house contains a library and an archive relating to the collection.

The library is accessible during house opening hours. It is based upon Ede's collection of books reflecting his interests in art, poetry, religion, philosophy and other subjects, and there are more recent additions to the art section.

The archive largely comprises letters from artists and fellow collectors. It can be consulted by bona fide researchers by prior arrangement with the curator of collections.

The core of the archival holdings are Jim Ede's personal papers. They include correspondence from the 1920s through to the 1980s, lectures, journals, diaries and unpublished manuscripts.

There are also substantial holdings of material relating to Ede's closest associates. These include:

William Congdon (extensive holdings, including correspondence with Ede, 1950-88)

Ian Fairweather (53 letters to Ede, 1928-45)

Ian Hamilton Finlay (168 items sent to Ede, including letters, poems, illustrations, writings on the history of art, greetings and Christmas cards)

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (the sculptor's handwritten list of works, 1914; photocopies of original manuscripts of Sophie Brzeska's 'Matka' held in the Cambridge University Library, the Albert Sloman Library, University of Essex, and Musée des beaux arts, Orléans; photocopies of miscellaneous correspondence between Gaudier and Sophie, 1910-14; extensive holdings regarding the publication and reviews of 'Savage Messiah', and Ken Russell's film from it; exhibitions of Gaudier's work; Ede's casting of sculptures and gifts of individual pieces)

Barbara Hepworth (5 letters and a postcard, 1957-68)

David Jones (extensive correspondence between Ede and Jones, 1926-65, including copies of the holdings at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth)

T.E. Lawrence 'of Arabia' (extensive holdings, including the manuscript of Ede's memoir of Lawrence and facsimiles of letters to Ede 1927-35)

Ben Nicholson (153 letters and postcards to Ede, 1926-81; also Nicholson's correspondence with Margaret Gardiner - un-catalogued)

Winifred Nicholson (12 letters, 1929-50)

Richard Pousette-Dart (122 items of correspondence, 1940-57, including writings, poems, drawings and photographs)

Helen Sutherland (some 440 letters, arranged in two groups: to Jim and Helen Ede, 1926-34; and to Charles Madge and Kathleen Raine, 1947-66)

Italo Valenti (substantial holdings, including correspondence, 1962-88)

Elisabeth Vellacott (her personal archive, un-catalogued, acquired in 2004)

Alfred Wallis (48 letters to Ede, 1929-39; articles on Wallis by Ede, Ben Nicholson and Sven Berlin)