Fonds GB 0210 ERASTUS - Erastus Jones Papers

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0210 ERASTUS

Title

Erastus Jones Papers

Date(s)

  • 1942-1995 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

0.429 cubic metres (15 boxes)

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Erastus Jones was a minister and an ecumenist who worked with the Council of Churches for Wales and the Welsh Ecumenical Society. He moved in 1967 to Aberfan to help in the aftermath of the 1966 disaster.

He was born in 1918 in Liverpool, where he also attended the University to study Social Sciences. During the Second World War he was a conscientious objector and stayed in Liverpool, during which time he decided to enter the ministry. He then went to Bangor College to study divinity. His first post was at Crewe after which in 1948 he went to Blaendulais. He stayed in Blaendulais until the churches of Merthyr called him in 1966 to represent them in Aberfan following the coal tip disaster. His work was to serve the community as it tried to heal itself, while also using the lessons learned in Aberfan to challenge the rest of the South Wales valleys.

He served as a member, secretary and treasurer of many committees and was a member of the Student Christian Movement, the New Campaign in Wales, the Welsh Ecumenical Movement, and the Council of Churches for Wales. In 1947 he visited the Ecumenical Institute in Bosey and attended the international ecumenical conferences of Amsterdam in 1948 and Uppsala in 1968. While in Blaendulais he set up the Blaendulais Ecumenical Centre and Ecumene (the Ecumenical youth movement) under the auspices of the Welsh Ecumenical Movement, and later in Aberfan he worked as a representative of the community through Tŷ Toronto: both establishments were important to the Ecumenical movement in Wales. Following the Aberfan disaster the 'Call to the Valleys' was sent out by Tŷ Toronto with the aim of uniting and regenerating them.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Donated by the Rev. Erastus Jones, Porthmadog, December 2000.; A2000/98

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of the Reverend Erastus Jones relating to his contribution to the Ecumenical Movement in Wales, including papers of such movements as the Welsh Ecumenical Society, the Council of Churches for Wales and the New Advance in Wales, including correspondence, minutes, some accounts and other papers; papers relating to his work and ministry in Blaendulais, 1948-1967, and his work within the community of Aberfan after the disaster of 1966, including minutes of various committees, correspondence, publications, accounts and papers relating to the Blaendulais Ecumenical Centre and Tŷ Toronto; papers relating to the Ecumenical Movement in Wales in general and relating to contacts in Europe.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Action: The fonds has been appraised (see appraisal form HW/2005-06/2). Details are given at the appropriate level(s) of description..

Accruals

Accruals are not expected

System of arrangement

Arranged into seven series by Erastus Jones before it came to NLW as follows: The New Campaign in Wales, Blaendulais, The Welsh Ecumenical Society, The Council of Churches for Wales, Church Unity, Toronto House, Aberfan and the Valleys. The original order has been retained in the first six series; for the seventh series see the appropriate level of description.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.

Conditions governing reproduction

Usual copyright laws apply

Language of material

  • English
  • Welsh

Script of material

Language and script notes

English; Welsh

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

A hard copy of this list is available at NLW.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Papers, 1972-1984, regarding the Tŷ Toronto project are also held at University of Wales Swansea (South Wales Coalfield Collection). Further papers relating to the Welsh Ecumenical Society and the Council of Churches for Wales are in NLW: Papurau Huw Wynne Griffith. See also appropriate level descriptions.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

The title of the fonds is supplied from the contents. The original titles of the series, sub-series and files were kept, but have been adapted and translated from Welsh into English. The original titles have been supplied in inverted commas on the folders.

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls004188294

GEAC system control number

(WlAbNL)0000188294

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

This description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) Second Edition; AACR2; and LCSH.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

November 2004.

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Created by Hywel Gwynn Williams.

Archivist's note

The following sources were used in the compilation of this catalogue: Erastus Jones, Croesi Ffiniau Gyda'r Eglwys yn y Byd (Tŷ John Penri, Swansea, 2000).

Accession area

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places

Physical storage

  • Text: Erastus Jones Papers.