The Papers of Edward Frederick Bulmer and the Bulmer Family

Edward Frederick Bulmer was the son of the Rev. C.H. Bulmer of Credenhill Rectory, Hereford, and was admitted to King's College, Cambridge as an Exhibitioner from Shrewsbury School on 3 October 1885. He read Classics, and was awarded a B.A. in 1889 and M.A. in 1897. During his studies, he was a member of the Cambridge University Athletic Team, and won a Blue for the Mile race.

With his brother Percy he founded the cider manufacturing firm of H.P. Bulmer and Co., later taking the role of Governing Director. He was Mayor of Hereford in 1908 and 1926, and a Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire and Hereford City. He was a philanthropist and worked particularly in the fields of housing and education.

Edward Frederick Bulmer married Sophie Friederike Rittner in 1899. In this catalogue, these names have been abbreviated to E.F. Bulmer and S.F. Bulmer.

The collection documents social aspects of the Bulmer family, rather than its business enterprise, and relates principally to Edward Frederick Bulmer and his wife Sophie Friederike Bulmer. The papers include correspondence between members of the Bulmer family and letters received by them, a range of personal papers, photographs, texts of speeches made by E.F. Bulmer and others, and printed material. Many of the biographical and genealogical sources were compiled by Robert Harold Bulmer, their son.

Many Bulmer family papers were given by Robert Harold Bulmer (KC 1928) in 1981, with subsequent gifts throughout the 1980s. Additional family papers and photographs were given by Nancy Cooke (nee Bulmer) in 1990, 1992 and 1998.

Permission to quote in print from the published or unpublished writings of members of the Bulmer family should be obtained from Mr Nigel Bulmer. Further information can be obtained from the Archive Centre.

Please cite as King's College Archive Centre, Cambridge, The Papers of Edward Frederick Bulmer and the Bulmer Family, EFB

For biographical details of E.F. Bulmer, see: 'Annual Report of the Council, King's College, Cambridge' Dec. 1941 and L.P. Wilkinson 'Bulmers of Hereford: A Centenary History' (unpublished typescript, 1985). There are copies of both in the Archive Centre.

See also the catalogue of the Nathaniel Wedd papers for letters from E.F. Bulmer. Bulmer family papers are also held at the Hereford Record Office, The Old Barracks, Harold St., Hereford HR1 2QX.

Material relating to the service of F.H. Bulmer, G. Bulmer and O.T. Bulmer during the First and Second World Wars is held in the Dept of Mansucripts, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Rd., London SE1 6HZ.

A printed copy of the catalogue is also available in the Archive Centre.

This material was previously listed as MISC/65/1-25 and Bulmer-Wedd Collection I-VI. E.F. Bulmer maintained a long friendship with Nathaniel Wedd, a Fellow of King's College, and their correspondence is extensive. Formerly, both sides of this correspondence were listed together in the Bulmer-Wedd Collections, but items which belong with the Nathaniel Wedd archive are now described in a separate catalogue. The new catalogue was completed in Sept. 1998.