CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY ARCHIVE
Section III: Central Records

Part 19: Papers of Henry Venn (Secretary of CMS, 1846-1873) and Family

Henry Venn (1796-1873), Secretary of the Church Missionary Society for 31 years, was the grandson of Henry Venn (1725-1797), a member of the group of second-generation Evangelicals, later known as the “Clapham Sect” and the son of John Venn (1759-1813).

Henry Venn was one of the key figures of the nineteenth-century missionary and evangelical movement, a strong campaigner against slavery and a proponent of education in the vernacular in the CMS missions.

Included in this first part of the papers of Henry Venn (1796-1873) and his family are:

• Diaries of Henry Venn, (1796-1873), Secretary of CMS and his wife, Martha

(d 1840)

• Diaries of Henry Venn’s father, John Venn (1759-1813) and other members of the Venn family

• Accounts of Henry Venn, (1796-1873) and other members of the family

• Correspondence of John Venn, (1759-1813), Henry Venn of Huddersfield

and Eling Venn

• Family title deeds and probate papers

• Miscellaneous personal and ecclesiastical papers and genealogical notes