The Catholic Record Society (Registered Charity No. 313529), "the premier Catholic historical society in the United Kingdom", founded in 1904, is a scholarly society devoted to the study of Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

 and post-Reformation Catholicism in England and Wales. Particularly active members in its early years were Joseph Gillow

Joseph Gillow

Joseph Gillow was an English Roman Catholic antiquary and bio-bibliographer, "the Plutarch of the English Catholics"....

, J. H. Pollen

John Hungerford Pollen (Jesuit)

John Hungerford Pollen was an English Jesuit, known as a historian of the Protestant Reformation.-Life:He was one of the group of Jesuit historians restoring the reputation of Robert Persons...

, and Joseph S. Hansom

Joseph Stanislaus Hansom

Joseph Stanislaus Hansom, FRIBA was a British architect. He was the son and partner of the better known Joseph Aloysius Hansom, inventor of the Hansom cab. He trained with his father, becoming his partner in 1869 and taking over the family practice fully in 1880.He was among the founders of the...

. The initial purpose of the society was to publish Catholic historical records. Only later did it become a more general historical society. It has been credited with making much otherwise obscure archival material more readily available.

Conferences

A residential three-day conference is organized each year, at which the society's AGM takes place. For many years these took place at Plater College

Plater College

Plater College was an adult education establishment which was based in Headington, Oxford, England.- College history :The college was founded in 1922 by the Rev. Leo O'Hea, S.J...

, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

. Regional one-day conferences are also organized.

Publications

The CRS publishes a journal, Recusant History

Recusant History

Recusant History is an academic journal dedicated to the study of Catholic history in England and Wales since 1535, currently published twice yearly by the Catholic Record Society. The journal began publication in 1951 under the title Biographical Studies of English Catholics, under the editorship...

, volumes of source material relating to Catholic history (CRS Records Series), and a series of monograph

Monograph

A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...

s (CRS Monographs).

External links

• Catholic Record Society, Records Series, Miscellanea VI (1909).