The Council
The CAS Council meet several times a year and is presently comprised of the following members:
Abbot Geoffrey Scott – Hon. President
Abbot of Douai Abbey (1998 – 2022). Titular abbot of Lindisfarne and parish priest of Alcester (Warks). He serves as Benedictine librarian, archivist, and congregational annalist. He lectures in church history at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford and previously at St Mary’s College, Oscott, and St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. He is also a member of the Patrimony Committee of the English and Welsh Bishops’ Conference, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society.
Lawrence R. Gregory – Chairman
Lawrence was elected vice-chairman of the CAS in July 2023, becoming chairman in May 2024. He has worked as the senior Archivist & UK Agent to the National Institute for Newman Studies, Pittsburgh, USA since 2016, having graduated from the University of Liverpool earlier that year with a master’s degree in Archival Science. He is currently reading for his PhD with Durham University; he also holds the position of Field Instructor with Duquesne University. Between 2004 and 2017 Lawrence worked concurrently as assistant archivist to the Diocese of Salford, and corporate tax records and compliance manager for a multinational electronics firm. In 2021 he was admitted as a member of British Mensa and in 2024 received the Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution from the British Association for Local History in association with the National Archives. His publications include the two-volume historical biographical studies of the Clergy of the Diocese of Salford and his History of St Bede’s College, Manchester 1876-1950.
Dr Jonathan Bush – Vice-Chairman
Jonathan currently serves as vice-chair of the CAS, following a four‑year term as chair from 2020 to 2024. From 2015 to 2022, he also edited the CAS Journal, Catholic Archives. He earned his PhD in Church History from the University of Durham in 2013, having previously completed a MLitt in Archives and Records Management at the University of Dundee in 2010. He has spent nearly 20 years working in archives at Durham University, including a decade as archivist for the former Roman Catholic seminary at Ushaw College and managing the Catholic collections at Palace Green Library in Durham. In 2022–23, he was awarded an AHRC‑RLUK Professional Practice Fellowship, through which he conducted research and produced a report on the present and future management and storage of Catholic religious institute archives. Jonathan is also the author of several books and articles, among them Papists and Prejudice: Anti‑Catholicism and English‑Irish Conflict in the North East of England, 1845–70.
Jon Purcell – Treasurer & Membership Secretary
Jon was elected to the joint post of Treasurer and Membership Secretary of CAS in 2023. A History graduate of Queen’s University Belfast Jon holds postgraduate qualifications in Librarianship, Management (MBA) and Human Resources Management / Organisational Psychology. Now retired, in his working life Jon was previously University Librarian and Director of Heritage Collections at Durham University. Previous posts have included library senior management posts at the Universities of Liverpool, Newcastle, and St. Andrews. He currently works for the Methodist Church in Britain in a volunteer role as Archivist Convenor for the North West England District of the Methodist Church.
Dr Claire Marsland – Secretary
Claire joined the council in 2020 and was elected as secretary in 2023, she is the Curator at Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens, a historic Catholic seminary in County Durham. Her PhD research topic focussed on Catholic material culture 1560-1700 at Durham University and she contributed a chapter about Catholic material culture to the Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism Volume II. Claire assisted on the British Academy funded project Material Culture Under Penalty which examined church textiles used by English Catholics during penal times and resulted in the online exhibition: Fabric of Resistance https://sites.google.com/ushaw.org/fabricofresistance/fabric-of-resistance-online-exhibition as well as the British Art Network funded project British Catholic Material Culture Research Group https://britishartnetwork.org.uk/research/british-catholic-material-culture-1538-1829/ Claire’s expertise lies in Catholic historical artefacts and she is very happy to provide advice on their care, conservation and interpretation as part of her CAS role.
Isabel Keating – Journal
Daniel Flint – Newsletter
Jenny Smith
Jenny has served on Council since 2021. She holds a BA in History from Cardiff University and qualified as a professional Archivist with a Diploma from the University of Liverpool in 2010. Jenny has experience of working in a Local Authority Archive when she undertook a Graduate Trainee Archivist post with Gloucestershire County Council, 2008 -2009. She has worked as Archivist for the Union off the Sisters of Mercy of Great Britain since 2010 and is based at St Mary’s Convent in Birmingham. As lone Archivist for the Congregation she has responsibility for all areas of Archival Management, as well as the operation of the Convent’s Heritage Centre.
Jenny Delves
Jenny joined the Council at the end of 2024. She holds a BA in History and Geography from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Archives and Records Management from University College London. Archive posts include a Graduate Trainee position with the Royal Society of the Arts, a cataloguing post in the Wellcome Trust and Archivist for the United Reformed Church. Since 2014, Jenny has been the Diocesan Archivist for the Catholic Diocese of Southwark where she has created and developed a professional archive service for the Diocese covering all areas of archival management. In 2025, she was joined by an Information Manager and together they are developing the service further into the Diocesan Archive & Information Management Service, a service that continues to celebrate our history while embracing innovation. Jenny is also Convenor of the Association of Diocesan Archivists.
Dr Isobel Staton
Isobel joined the CAS Council in November 2024. She is the Special Collections Officer at the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, York, helping to care for and provide access to a rich and diverse Special Collection which includes an Archive, Rare Book and Object Collections, and a Research Library. Isobel holds a BA in History from Oriel College, Oxford, an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of York and, in 2024, she graduated with a PhD from York. Her doctoral research explored the writing culture of ordinary people in rural England, c. 1425-1518. She is now a Research Associate of the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York. Isobel has also worked in the world of creative communications agencies, where she developed a range of skills, including in project management.
Our Patrons
Lay Patron: Dr Carmen Mangion.
Reader in the department of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck University. Co-founder in 2001 of the Historians of Women Religious in Britain and Ireland (H-WRBI), a network of approximately 300 international scholars connected via an electronic list and a website (http://www.history.ac.uk/history-women-religious/).
Religious Institute Patron: Sister Barbara Jeffery.
Former archivist for the Union of the Sisters of Mercy, Great Britain (1999 – 2009) and the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy (2011 – 2013). She held office as the Chair of the Catholic Archives Society, and in 2007 collaborated with Jack Scarisbrick from the Birmingham Diocesan Historical Commission, on The History of the Diocese of Birmingham (1850-2000).
Historic Patrons:
Our Historic Patrons are St Bede, Hemming and Mariota Blackburn , For more information on these patrons and how we came to adopt them, please click here
catholicarchivesociety.org 