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Papers of David Playfair (D. P.) Heatley

 Fonds — Multiple Containers
Identifier: Coll-243

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers of D. P. Heatley include, at Dk.6.5-7, manuscripts of unpublished works on political science, these being on the subjects of :"The mind of Britain in politics"; "Britain, the USA, and the comity of nations"; "The politics of Richard Hooker"; "Shakespeare and Bacon on human nature and politics"; and "A humanist view of a political classic". There is also some material for a memoir.

At Gen. 825/1-2 there are certificates mainly for classes taken at the University of Edinburgh, and notes on "the doctrine of political sovereignty in England, 1628-1653". 1882-1889.

At Gen. 811-814, there are four notebooks containing class notes taken by Heatley in the 1880s: (a) at Royal High School, (b) on lectures on consitutional history and law given by Prof. John Kirkpatrick, University of Edinburgh, 1885, (c) on lectures on political economy by Prof. Joseph Shield Nicholson, University of Edinburgh, 1887-88, (d) on lectures on moral philosophy (advanced) by Prof. Henry Calderwood, University of Edinburgh, 1889-90.

At Gen. 815-818, there are four notebooks of notes on lectures on Political Science given by D. P. Heatley taken down by T. C. Higgins, University of Edinburgh, 1902-03.

Dates

  • Creation: 1880-c 1944

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open. Please contact the repository in advance.

Biographical / Historical

David Playfair Heatley was born in Northumbria in 1867. He was educated at Edinburgh's Royal High School and then studied in the Arts at Edinburgh University from 1884 until 1890, but did not graduate. Until 1892, he carried out research at the University looking at Northumbria at the time of Aidan. His subsequent career was spent in teaching History at the University of Edinburgh. Heatley was an Assistant from 1892, a Lecturer in Modern History and Political Science from 1900, and Reader in Political Science from 1920 until 1935. He was also Official Adviser in Arts between 1907 and 1915, and was a member of Senatus, 1924 to 1935. Heatley also represented the Civil Service Commissioners on committees for appointments for several years. His publications, often written under the pseudonym of Politicus, include Studies in British history and politics (1913), Diplomacy and the study of international relations (1919), and Viscount Grey of Fallodon (1934). David Playfair Heatley died at Rothbury, Northumberland, on 20 September 1944.

Full Extent

3 boxes (Dk.6.5-7)

Full Extent

8 notebooks (Gen. 811-818)

Full Extent

1 folder (Gen. 825/1)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Previous references

Dk.6.5
Dk.6.6
Dk.6.7

Gen. 811-818

Gen. 825/1

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Dk.6.5-7: no provenance information. Acquired before 1967.

Gen. 811-814: accession no. E65/35, "D. P. Beq[uest]", acquired in 1965.

Gen. 815-818: accession no. E65/36, "D. P. Beq[uest]", acquired in 1965. These notebooks have been kept in this collection despite the fact that they were not authored by D. P. Heatley himself, because they have the same provenance as Gen. 811-814.

Gen. 825/1: accession no. E65/45, acquired in 1965.

Processing Information

Catalogued by Aline Brodin in May 2026, based on an existing description by Graeme Eddie on ArchivesHub.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Academic papers of David Playfair (D. P.) Heatley, 1880-c 1944
Author
Aline Brodin
Date
May 2026
Description rules
Isad(g)2
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

https://library.ed.ac.uk/heritage-collections
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379