ERIC JAMES ARCHIVE

Biographical History

Canon Eric James was born in Dagenham, England, the 14^th of April 1925. He was the youngest of four children.

He went to school at Dagenham County High, which he left at 15. He went to work as a clerk in the London docks during World War II. He applied to become an assistant organist at nearby Southwark Cathedral but due to his young age he became an organ pupil, and was one of the first members of the Guild of Stewards. He was encouraged to become ordained by the provost, Cuthbert Bardsley (later Bishop of Coventry), who introduced him to the Dean of King’s College, London. After the end of the war, he went on to study theology at the college, gaining Master of Arts and Bachelor of Divinity degrees.

He served as curate at St Stephen’s, Rochester Row in Westminster, London, from 1951 to 1955. He then became chaplain at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1955 to 1959 after being recommended for the position by George Reindorp (later Bishop of Guildford and then Bishop of Salisbury), and then Select Preacher to the University of Cambridge from 1959 to 1960.

At Trinity College he met Mervyn Stockwood, vicar of Great St Mary’s church and later Bishop of Southwark, and John Robinson, Dean of Clare College and later Bishop of Woolwich. When Stockwood became Bishop of Southwark, James and Robinson also moved to the work in the diocese, and the three men became the founders of the so-called ‘South Bank religion’ which advocated for a liberal theology. James served as an inner-city vicar at St George, Camberwell, between 1959 and 1964 and then became canon at Southwark Cathedral. He resigned from Southwark Cathedral in the early 1970s after a dispute with Stockwood about diocesan education policy, which James wanted to become more inclusive. He was recruited to become a canon and preacher in the diocese of St Albans by its bishop Robert Runcie (future Archbishop).

He ran Parish and People between 1964 and 1969 and was the director of Christian Action between 1979 to 1990, both reformist groups. Whilst Director of Christian Action he inspired the 1985 Faith in the City report, which was written by the Archbishop of Canterbury and examined the condition of urban Britain. The report was denounced by Conservative MPs as ‘pure Marxist theology’. James resigned from Christian Action in 1972 after the general synod rejected moves towards unity with Methodists. He supported riverside parishes and pioneered the Southwark Ordination Course.

He was made Chaplain to the Queen in 1984, was Preacher to Gray’s Inn from 1978 to 1997, and then was Select Preacher to the University of Oxford from 1991 to 1992. In 1993 he was awarded a Lambeth doctorate by George Carey.

For many years he regularly offered ‘Thought for the Day’ on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme, and he was also a prolific author. His publications included:

• collections of sermons such as Judge Not: A Selection of Sermons Preached in Gray’s Inn Chapel 1978-1988 (1989), Word Over All: Forty Sermons, 1985-1991 (1992), The Voice Said, Cry: Forty Sermons 1990-1993 (1994), A Time to Speak: Forty Sermons (1997), In Season, Out of Season: Sermons 1996-1997 (1999), and Who Is This? Holy Week Meditations and Other Sermons 1998-2000 (2001)
• collections of lectures such as Spirituality For Today; The Report of the Parish and People Conference, Held at Bede College, Durham, 28 August-1 September, 1967 (1968), and Fire Over Poplar: A Lecture in Memory of Bishop Mark Hodson Given by Canon Eric James on Thursday, Friday 19, 1987 (1987), A Last Eccentric: a Symposium Concerning the Reverend Canon F.A Simpson: Historian, Preacher and Eccentric (1991)
• The Double Cure: How to Receive Forgiveness (1957)
• Odd Man Out (1962)
• Stewards of the Mysteries of God (1979)
• a biography of John Robinson called A Life of Bishop John AT Robinson: Scholar, Pastor, Prophet (1987)
• Homosexuality and a Pastoral Church: A Please for Study and Discussion (1988)
• God’s Truth: Essays to Commemorate the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Publication of ‘Honest to God’ (1988)
• Collected Thoughts: The Radio 4 ‘Thought for the day’ Broadcasts (2002)
• an autobiography called The House of My Friends: Memories and Reflections (2003),
• a journal of his six-month tour through Africa, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Melanesia, India, and Sri Lanka in 1972 called Old Men Ought to be Explorers: The Journal of a Journey (2007)

In 1990 James came out as gay on a television programme.

He died on the 1^st of May 2012 in Charterhouse in London after several years of ill health.

Scope and Content

The archive contains correspondence such as letters, postcards, and Christmas cards, invoices and financial records, committee minutes, diaries, photographs, and publications such as journals and pamphlets. Subjects covered include: services conducted in St George’s, Camberwell, journals and papers from the 1960s with the work on the BBC World Service, Parish and People, the Faith in the City report, the Christian Action group, South Bank religion, homosexuality and the church, the relationship between Shakespeare and Theology, correspondence and notes between Eric James and his intended biographer Reverend Canon Dr Philip Hesketh, correspondence with friends and acquaintances.

Physical Description and Extent

The archive contains 24 large boxes. It consists mainly of paper-based records but also contains photographs, LP records, cassette tapes, and CDs.

Provenance

After Eric James’s death in 2012 the archive was moved to Rochester, and then was deposited at Gladstone’s Library in May 2016 by the executor of James’ estate, Reverend Canon Dr Philip Hesketh.

Arrangement

The material held in this archive was reorganised several times and reduced down to the boxes deposited at Gladstone’s Library by Eric James. In his later years he was assisted in his organisation by Geoffrey Court. After his death the material was somewhat reorganised by Geoffrey Court and Reverend Canon Dr Philip Hesketh, the executor of Eric James’s estate. Despite these reorganisations.

When the records were deposited, however, it was stated that the organisation method of James’ personal records were fairly chaotic, although the papers that he collected on acquaintances and friends were fairly methodical. As a result, some of the records have been reorganised slightly to help users to find related items. The original file structure, however, has been maintained. A list of the original order of the records is available upon request.

Access and Finding Aid

This archive is in the process of being catalogued and cannot be viewed at present.

Reprographics

This archive is in the process of being catalogued and no reprographics requests can be received in relation to it at present.

Related Collections

Many of Eric James’s publications are in Gladstone’s Library’s Main collection in the Theology room and the Annex. These can be found by searching MainCAT.

Gladstone’s Library also holds the John Robinson Archive, which contains material related to Eric James. The archive also relates to the John Robinson papers held at Lambeth Palace.

The Eric James Archive also contains records related to Jim Cotter, whose archive is held by Gladstone's Library.