St. Edmund’s House was founded in 1896 by the fifteenth Duke of Norfolk and Baron Anatole von Hugel as a hall of residence for Catholic priests and ordinands studying in Cambridge. Two years later von Hugel sought formal recognition for St. Edmund’s as a public hostel of the University through a vote in Senate, a move which polarised opinion in Cambridge and beyond, the opponents raising fears of the malign influence of Rome. The supporters of recognition included two of the most prominent advocates of liberal and reformist views within the University: John Peile, Master of Christ’s, and Henry Jackson, Fellow of Trinity. The correspondence catalogued below illustrates their efforts to drum up support in advance of the vote. This took place during the Congregation of 12 May 1898, the motion for recognition being rejected by a substantial majority (non placet 471, placet 218).