The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (now known as the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) was founded in 1701 as a missionary society to provide clergy from the Church of England to minister to the settlers and to convert nonbelievers in the colonies. Its archives contain documents relating to the religious, social, and economic history of the British Atlantic world in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The collection pertains chiefly to the promotion of the Church of England in the British empire by sending Anglican clergymen and religious literature to Britain's colonies, supporting schoolmasters, and establishing new churches. It includes selections of manuscripts from the Associates of Dr. Bray, an organization founded by Thomas Bray, of the Church of England, to establish clerical libraries and support schools for African slaves in the United States during the colonial period.

These materials were reproduced at the Society’s headquarters. In the 1980’s the original collection was sent to Oxford University and is now accessible at the Bodleian Library. Materials relating to the SPG that are found at Lambeth Palace are also described in this guide.