The Hockliffe Collection contains over a thousand British children's books dating predominantly from the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

They were originally collected by Frederic Hockliffe (1833-1914), a Bedford publisher and bookseller and were donated to Bedford Training College in 1927 by his eldest son, Frederic Rich Hockliffe (1861-1929), bookseller and mayor of Bedford.

The books in the Hockliffe Collection range in date from 1685 to the mid-twentieth century, although the majority were published between 1760 and 1840.

The collection is not comprehensive, but it is representative of the wide range of writing for children in late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and includes fables and nursery tales, books of instruction and religious works, spelling books, toy-books, and books with moveable parts. The collection was the focus of a major research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board between 1999 and 2002.

The Hockliffe Collection is held in closed access at Bedford Campus Library. Up to 50% of the collection may be accessed digitally. You may browse the entire catalogue on the Hockliffe Project website

However, access to items from the physical collection is by appointment only. Please submit requests to consult Hockliffe items for research to: carly.ramirez-herelle@beds.ac.uk

Please read the guidance on handling items from the Hockliffe Collection [PDF]