| Level | Fonds |
| Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure) | EDEN |
| Title | Papers of the Eden family |
| Extent | 15 boxes |
| Date | 1894-1985 |
| Thumbnail (Click this image to open a larger image) | 
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| Description | Contains the family papers of Anthony Eden, Beatrice Eden (nee Beckett) and Nicholas Eden, their son.
The papers of Anthony Eden contains four folders of letters by Anthony to his brother Timothy, including many written whilst on active service during the First World War; residual correspondence of Anthony Eden, including by Winston Churchill (letter of thanks, 5 May 1939), Austen Chamberlain (series), and Neville Chamberlain (2 October 1938), also a group of letters on his appointment to Cabinet at the outbreak of war including by Joseph Kennedy, Leo Amery, and Edouard Benes, and telegrams on the same subject; a file of correspondence relating to public meetings (March 1938), and miscellaneous unsolicited letters (1930s); a few residual papers of Anthony Eden including a pocket diary for 1922, Cabinet notes on the Abyssinia crisis dated November 1936, a memorandum on party political strategy dated 1938, and notes on the possibility of his appointment as Viceroy to India dated 1943.
The papers of Beatrice Eden contains a large sequence of letters to Beatrice Eden, including from Anthony Eden, her father Sir Gervase Beckett and other family members, Clementine Churchill, Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, Noel Coward, and with men whom she most likely had extra-marital affairs with; a series of four-year diaries of Beatrice Eden dated 1920s-1950s; and photographs of Beatrice Eden, including with her family.
The papers of Nicholas Eden contains correspondence between Anthony Eden and his son Nicholas, almost all on family matters, such as Anthony's health and the publication of his book, but occasionally touching on public affairs, and one letter describes a visit to Sandringham; letters and papers regarding the death of Beatrice Eden; appointment diaries; and photographs of Nicholas Eden with family, in the military, and in his political roles. |
| Notes | Photograph of Beatrice and Anthony Eden with their dog 'Nipper'. EDEN/B/6/3 |
| Arrangement | Series A: Anthony Eden
Series B: Beatrice Eden
Series N: Nicholas Eden |
| Copyright | Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English |
| Finding Aids | A catalogue of this collection is available on the online archive catalogue. Click on the Finding Number to display the summary contents list of the catalogue and to view the full catalogue. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Administrative History | Anthony Eden
(Robert) Anthony Eden was born 12 June 1897 at Windlestone Hall near Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham, one of five children of Sir William Eden and Sybil Frances (daughter of Sir William Grey). He was educated at Eton and then joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1915. He was awarded the MC in 1917 and in 1918 became the youngest brigadier-major in the British Army. After the war he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with first class honours in oriental languages in 1922.
He stood as Conservative candidate in the general election of November 1922 for the seat of Spennymoor, Co. Durham where he was unsuccessful. However, in 1923, he was adopted for the safe constituency of Warwick & Leamington which he won at the next election and he served this constituency up until his retirement in 1957. His lifelong political connection with foreign affairs began in 1926 as parliamentary private secretary to Sir Austen Chamberlain and in 1935, he became the youngest Foreign Secretary since the 18th century. His political career seemed at risk when he resigned from the government in February 1938 because of his disagreement with Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy. However, he was recalled to office on the outbreak of war, briefly as Dominions Secretary and then as Foreign Secretary, under Winston Churchill, until the Conservative defeat in 1945. He served for the third time as Foreign Secretary between 1951 and 1955 and cultivated Britain's vital relations with the United States and western Europe. In April 1955, on Churchill's retirement, Eden succeeded as Prime Minister but within less than two years, he had retired due to ill-health and his career was overshadowed by the Suez crisis. He died 14 January 1977.
Eden became Lord Avon in 1961. He held a number of honorary degrees and other offices including Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, 1945-73, and President of the Royal Shakespeare Company, 1958-66.He was married twice and had two sons by his first wife, Simon (killed in Burma in 1945) and Nicholas (died in 1985).
Beatrice Eden
Beatrice Eden (nee Beckett), was born 27 July 1905 and was the third daughter of Sir William Gervase Beckett and Mabel Theresa Duncombe. She was raised at Kirkdale Manor, Yorkshire, with her three sisters Marion, Cynthia, and Ann. Her father remarried, after the death of Mabel, to Lady Marjorie Greville on 1 November 1917. The new marriage created an extended family of step-siblings Lady Mary Diana Duncombe, Charles Duncombe, and David Duncombe, and also a half-brother, Martyn Gervase Beckett.
Beatrice was proposed to by an older man when she was 16, at which point her family took her away to Europe and broke-off the engagement. On her return Beatrice 'formally entered society' and married Anthony Eden in 1923, with their honeymoon being cut short to allow Anthony to campaign in Warwick for his election to Parliament. Beatrice and Anthony had three sons Simon Eden (1824-1945, Robert Eden, (1928-1928), and Nicholas Eden (1930-1985). Beatrice had several affairs during her marriage and Anthony and Beatrice gradually became more estranged over the years with Beatrice eventually moving to Paris and then New York. In 1950 the two were divorced. Beatrice died 29 June 1957.
Nicholas Eden
Nicholas Eden was born 3 October 1930 and was educated at Ludgrove School and Eton College. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 20 May 1950 before transferring to a Territorial Army commission, and later rising to the rank of Lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Green Jackets. He served as the Aide de Camp to the Governor-General of Canada from 1952-1953. He also worked in the banking sector and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the Greater London County in 1973. Nicholas also served in the British Thatcher Government as the British Parliamentary delegate to the North Atlantic Assembly from 1979, as Under-Secretary of State for Energy, 1983-1984, and as Under-Secretary of State for the Environment from 1984.
Nicholas was known to be gay / homosexual and died on 17 August 1985 from complications related to Aids. |
| Custodial History | Correspondence from Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon (1897-1977) to his brother Sir Timothy Eden (1893-1963) was kept by the latter and inherited by Timothy's son John Eden, Baron Eden of Winton (1925-2020). Papers relating to Beatrice Eden (1905-1957) and Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon (1930-1985) were believed to have been passed to John Eden, Baron Eden of Winton following Nicholas' death in 1985. |
| Acquisition | Purchased from the Eden family via The Eden Will Trust, January 2023 |
| Archival Note | The collection was catalogued by Matthew Goodwin, Archivist, in 2024. |
| Related Material | The Cadbury Research Library holds the personal and political papers of Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon. Reference: AP.
The private office papers of Anthony Eden as Foreign Secretary, 1936-1938, 1940-1945 (reference: FO954) and 1951-1955 (reference: FO800) were transferred to the Special Collections Department in 1978 by the Public Record Office, deposited under s.4 (1) of the Public Records Act 1958. References: FO954 and FO800.
In 2023, the Cadbury Research Library purchased further Eden family papers from the Eden family via The Eden Will Trust. The material consists of family papers of Anthony Eden, Beatrice Eden (nee Beckett) and Nicholas Eden, their son. These papers had previously been held by John Eden, Baron Eden of Winton (1925-2020), Lord Avon's nephew and the son of Sir Timothy Eden (1893-1963). Reference: EDEN.
Other related collections in the Special Collections Department include the Letters Additional of Anthony Eden, an artificial collection of letters and other papers of and relating to Eden which have been acquired to support and complement our holdings of his personal and political archives, reference: AELAdd; Papers of Pierson Dixon, Eden's private secretary, reference: MS20; and Papers of Sir Evelyn Shuckburgh, Principal Private Secretary to Anthony Eden from 1951-1954 and under-secretary in charge of Middle East affairs at the Foreign Office from 1954-1956, reference: MS191. |
| Publication Note | The officially commissioned biography by Robert Rhodes James, which made extensive use of the papers, was published in 1986 under the title 'Anthony Eden' |