Catherine Lewis joined the College in the Trinity Term as our new Archivist. She introduces herself here:

‘I started my career as a teacher in Southampton and was then appointed Head of History at Thornton College in Buckinghamshire where I spent many very happy years, under the Headship of Agnes Williams. Thornton College was founded by the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, who set up a school for girls after fleeing the French Revolution, so Princethorpe’s history is very close to my heart. Teaching was my passion but I wanted to have a more hands-on experience with history and so a career change took me to working in the Archives for the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Enthusiasts’ Club, whilst I completed an MA. This was a very interesting role that immersed me in the history of these iconic brands and I cared for their entire collection of build records dating from 1904 to 2002. To further my experience of working with all types of artefacts, I then moved to the National Trust, where I was lucky enough to work in the beautiful surroundings of Basildon Park, Charlecote Park and Baddesley Clinton. Each historic house had its own collection of unique and wonderful objects that gave me first-hand experience of working with items of national interest and importance, from taxidermy to weaponry to Victorian coaches!  I very much missed working with young people so becoming the Archivist for the Princethorpe Foundation has seemed like the perfect next step for me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my first few months here. I can’t wait to get to know the pupils and share the history of the Princethorpe Foundation with them.’

Over the past eight years the Foundation Archives have grown substantially and Catherine’s immediate plans are to complete the catalogue to help her assimilate what is within the collection and also to make it more accessible to a wider audience. She also hopes to build on opportunities to integrate the Archives more fully into the curriculum.

Old Princethorpians, St Joseph’s Girls and Old Crescentians all have a major part to play in preserving the Foundation’s history. Catherine would be delighted to hear from anyone who wishes to donate material or who would like to learn more about the Archives. She looks forward to meeting OPs and in the future hopes to arrange archive-related events.

To contact Catherine, email catherinelewis@princethorpe.co.uk.