A new travel bursary has been established to enable younger scholars from North America to access the resources and facilities of the Angus Library and Archive at Regent’s Park College, thanks to the vision and generosity of William and Kathryn Brackney.

We are delighted to announce that Landon Adams, senior resident PhD student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Baptist Student Union Director at William Carey University, has been selected as the inaugural award holder of The William H. and Kathryn E. Brackney Angus Travel Bursary.

Landon said, ‘Visiting the Angus archive is a unique opportunity for me. While I have access to wonderful archival data here at William Carey University’s Center for the Life and Work of William Carey, the Angus contains many other primary documents related to the earliest period of the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS). My research focuses on the early period of William Ward’s life in which he transitioned from newspaper editor to missionary candidate. At the Angus, I will be able to consult the earliest samples of William Ward’s correspondence as well as BMS committee correspondence about him. Appointing a once politically active editor and printer to the position of a missionary was a risky task, and some may have registered their apprehension. During my visit, I will consult and transcribe primary material related to this critical moment in the BMS selection of missionaries to assist William Carey in India in 1799’.

The facilities of the Angus Library and Archive are of huge benefit to scholars of Baptist and Nonconformist history as well as to those pursuing wider academic interests.  Although certain items in the collection are available online, the vast majority require scholars to visit in person to be able to access them. The William H. and Kathryn E. Brackney Angus Travel Bursary opens up research potential to such scholars, as well as enabling connections which, it is envisioned, will lead to productive academic collaboration between scholars with shared academic interests on an international level.

Dr William Brackney said, ‘We are delighted with the launch of the Travel Bursary. It is our intent to provide North American scholars (younger and established) with support for their research at the Angus, and overall to raise the level of scholarly research in Baptist studies. The topic of the first recipient, focussed on William Ward, is an excellent beginning. Congratulations to Landon Adams’.

Background

The Angus Library and Archive at Regent’s Park College is the leading world class collection for the study of Baptist and Nonconformist history and heritage. It comprises over 70,000 items relating to the life and history of Baptists, many of which are rare and unique. Scholars from all over the world use the Angus Library and Archive for a wide range of research, particularly in the fields of theology and history.