University to benefit from JB Priestley royalties

The University of Bradford's library is named in honour of the Bradford-born author

A university archive of Bradford-born author JB Priestley has been left a portion of the author's royalties.

Priestley's youngest son Tom, a film editor, died aged 91 in 2023 and made the bequest in his will.

It means every copy sold, or performance of, Priestley's 1945 play An Inspector Calls, will support the preservation and development of the archive at the University of Bradford's library, named after the author.

A university spokesperson said the royalties would help ensure future generations of researchers could "learn about the legacy of JB Priestley and his link to Bradford".

Tom Priestley was the youngest of the author's five children and, like his father, held an honorary degree from the University of Bradford.

JB Priestley's granddaughter, Sadie Wykeham, who runs the author's literary estate on behalf of the family with her brother Joel, said Tom had previously managed the estate of his father for the family.

"He came to appreciate the sterling work done by the Special Collections Department at the JB Priestley Library at the university," she said.

"So, it is only fitting that he chose to leave part of his share of royalties to this most worthy recipient, and his family send their very best wishes to the department, the library and the university it serves."

JB Priestley's Yorkshire background was reflected in much of his fictional work

Priestley was born in Manningham in 1894, the son of a teacher, and began work as a junior clerk while writing in his spare time at night and publishing articles in newspapers and journals.

He later gained fame as a novelist, dramatist and social commentator, with much of his work reflecting his Yorkshire roots.

The University of Bradford awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1970 and he officially opened its library, which was named in his honour, in 1975.

He died in 1984 shortly before his 90th birthday.

Much of the contents of the university's archive were donated by the Priestley family.

They include scripts for plays, films and TV broadcasts, journal articles, lectures, press cuttings, theatre programmes and other publicity material.

The archive also includes business and personal correspondence and a huge collection of photographs.

Objects in the collection include pipes, painting materials, a typewriter and clothing.

A vase, painted by Priestley in the 1930s, was recently donated to the university, archivist Julie Parry said

Archivist Julie Parry said the collection had recently acquired a Wedgewood vase decorated by Priestley in 1933.

He described it in his book English Journey and it was sold at auction following his death.

Ms Parry said it had disappeared until this year, when it was donated by the person who had bought it nearly 40 years ago.

Speaking of the bequest from Tom Priestley, she said the "generous contribution" would "provide valuable and much welcomed funds for the continued preservation, promotion and sustainability of the remarkable JB Priestley archive".

"The university is proud to provide a home for the archive and is committed to ensuring current and future generations of researchers can learn about the legacy of JB Priestley and his link to Bradford," she said.

The ongoing royalties will support a number of projects, initially including a conservation scheme to assess the objects within the archive and provide them with museum-standard storage.

Other benefits will include a collection management system and a digitisation project of the collection's items.

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