Chester Cathedral Library

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Chester Cathedral Library
Chester Cathedral Library
Country England
Established1541
Location Chester
Coordinates 53°11′31″N2°53′28″W / 53.192007051826856°N 2.89117780009896°W / 53.192007051826856; -2.89117780009896
Other information
Affiliation Chester Cathedral
Website chestercathedral.com/library/

Chester Cathedral Library is situated in three rooms in and around the cathedral in Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been in existence since the time of St Werburgh's Abbey, the predecessor of the cathedral. The library was previously housed mainly in the chapter house of the cathedral, then in a room above the former King's School. During the 2000s it was refurbished and partly rehoused. It is available for study and research, and is open for visits by organised groups.

Contents

History

Early history

In 1541, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, St Werburgh's Abbey in Chester became a cathedral and the abbey library became the cathedral library. It is not known when the library originated, but it has been argued that it was in existence before the end of the 12th century. [1] After the foundation of the cathedral the contents of the library continued to grow, although there is little evidence of activity between 1613 and the early part of the 18th century. The chapter house had been restored in 1723 and the library was moved into it in 1728. During the previous year the library had been augmented by the purchase of the library of the late Prebendary Thane, consisting of around 500 volumes, at the cost of £105 (equivalent to £17,000 in 2021). [2] [3] About the same time the library received a bequest from the will of Dean James Arderne, consisting of a lump sum of £500 (equivalent to £79,000 in 2021), [2] and income from an annual rent of over £67 (equivalent to £11,000 in 2021). [2] [4]

There is evidence of increased activity in the library in the early 19th century. In the late 1830s many of the books were rebound, in 1838 Revd William Harrison was appointed as librarian and the regulations regarding use of the library were strengthened. [5] There were about 1,100 books in the library in 1849 but they were said to be neglected. [6] When Nathaniel Hawthorne visited the library in 1853 he found it to be "in a discreditable state of decay". [7] Following this, further attention was given to the library. It was enlarged between 1867 and 1885 during the time of Dean Howson. [8] Between 1896 and 1898 new bookcases with sloping tops, designed by the architect Edward Ould, replaced the old high bookcases. [9] A further reorganisation took place in 1920, which included housing elsewhere some of the books that were overflowing from the library. [10]

In 1960 the King's School moved from its site in Northgate Street, adjacent to the cathedral, and the large room on its first floor was adapted to form the main library (then known as the Upper Library). [11] There was little further activity until the early 1980s, at which time the contents of the library were housed in five separate sites around the cathedral. By the middle of the decade, most of the contents of the chapter house, both books and bookcases, were covered in mould. [12] Since that time there has been an extensive programme of repair, cleaning, restoration, rebinding and re-cataloguing. [13]

Refurbishment and re-opening

Around 2000 it was decided to build a new Song School for the cathedral choir and while this was being built the choir would be using the Upper Library. In order to accommodate the contents of the library during this time, and to provide increased capacity for the future, two rooms elsewhere were refurbished for the purpose. These were a long room above St Anselm's Chapel and an adjoining room. Access to the rooms was improved by building a new staircase to replace the existing spiral staircase. This project was assisted by a grant of £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The new Song School was opened in October 2003 and the choir moved out of the Upper Library. While the choir had been in occupation, additional bookcases had been acquired, including some from Knutsford Public Library, together with some display cases from John Rylands Library, Manchester. Work then took place to reorganise and refurbish the Upper Library, which was renamed the Exhibition Library, with the intention of re-opening it in 2007. [14]

A special opening event took place on 10 February 2007. Professor Philip Alexander of Manchester University gave a talk about notable people associated with the cathedral, and this was accompanied by a display of books relating to the talk. The refurbished library was officially opened by the Duke of Westminster on 7 September. [15]

Notable contents

The most important work created by a monk of St Werburgh's Abbey was the Polychronicon, written in the 14th century by Ranulph Higden. A copy of this was given to the library in 1925 by the widow of Bishop Henry Luke Paget; she had paid £25 for it. [3] This copy is now stored at the Cheshire Record Office for safety, as is a Book of Hours that was donated to the library in 1906. [16] The library holds a copy of an English translation of the Polychronicon which was printed in London in the early 16th century. Also in the library is a two-volume Biblia Latina, which was printed in Cologne in 1477. [17]

Present use

The library is housed in three rooms; the Exhibition Library in the former King's School, a room above St Anselm's Chapel, and a room adjoining this in the northwest corner of the nave of the cathedral. The contents can be used for research but are not available to borrow. Most of the books are theological, but there are books on other subjects, including the county of Cheshire and the Diocese of Chester. Visits for groups can be arranged by appointment. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester</span> City in Cheshire, England

Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester and serves as its administrative headquarters. It is also the historic county town of Cheshire and the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester</span> Second Norman Earl of Chester

Hugh d'Avranches, nicknamed le Gros or Lupus, was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werburgh</span> Anglo-Saxon saint

Werburgh was an Anglo-Saxon princess who became the patron saint of the city of Chester in Cheshire. Her feast day is 3 February.

Ranulf Higden or Higdon was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk who wrote the Polychronicon, a Late Medieval magnum opus. Higden, who resided at the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester, is believed to have been born in the West of England before taking his monastic vow at Benedictine Abbey in Chester in 1299. As a monk, he travelled throughout the North and Midlands of England, including Derbyshire, Shropshire and Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh of Cyfeiliog, 5th Earl of Chester</span> Anglo-French magnate

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester Cathedral</span> Cathedral in Chester and the seat of the Bishop of Chester

Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1541, it has been the seat of the Bishop of Chester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ince, Cheshire</span> Human settlement in England

Ince is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated immediately to the east of the Stanlow Oil Refinery. It shares Ince & Elton railway station with the village of Elton, which it runs into.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Chester</span> Diocese of the Church of England

The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatton Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combermere Abbey</span>

Combermere Abbey is a former monastery, later a country house, near Burleydam, between Nantwich, Cheshire and Whitchurch in Shropshire, England, located within Cheshire and near the border with Shropshire. Initially Savigniac and later Cistercian, the abbey was founded in the 1130s by Hugh Malbank, Baron of Nantwich, and was also associated with Ranulf de Gernons, Earl of Chester. The abbey initially flourished, but by 1275 was sufficiently deeply in debt to be removed from the abbot's management. From that date until its dissolution in 1538, it was frequently in royal custody, and acquired a reputation for poor discipline and violent disputes with both lay people and other abbeys. It was the third largest monastic establishment in Cheshire, based on net income in 1535.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Douglas (English architect)</span> English architect (1830–1911)

John Douglas was an English architect who designed over 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester. Initially he ran the practice on his own, but from 1884 until two years before his death he worked in partnerships with two of his former assistants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John the Baptist's Church, Chester</span> Church in Cheshire, England

St John the Baptist's Church is the former cathedral of Chester, Cheshire, England during the Early Middle Ages. The church, which was first founded in the late 7th Century by the Anglo Saxons, is outside Chester's city walls on a cliff above the north bank of the River Dee. It is now considered to be the best example of 11th–12th century church architecture in Cheshire, and was once the seat of the Bishop of Lichfield from 1075 to 1095.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ince Manor</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Ince Manor or Ince Grange is a former monastic grange in the village of Ince in Cheshire, England. The remains of the manor house, consisting of the old hall and the monastery cottages, are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument It is one of only two surviving monastic manorial buildings in Cheshire, the other being Saighton Grange Gatehouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saighton Grange</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Saighton Grange originated as a monastic grange. It was later converted into a country house and, as of 2013, the building is used as a school. It is located in Saighton, Cheshire, England. The only surviving part of the monastic grange is the gatehouse, which is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is one of only two surviving monastic manorial buildings in Cheshire, the other being Ince Manor. The rest of the building is listed at Grade II, as is its chapel.

The timeline of Cheshire history shows significant events in the history of the English county of Cheshire.

Stephen Stewart Smalley was Dean of Chester in the last part of the 20th century and the first year of the 21st: he is also an eminent Anglican scholar.

The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.

Donald Insall Associates is a firm of architects, designers and historic building consultants.

William Cowper was a British doctor and antiquarian.

<i>De laude Cestrie</i>

De laude Cestrie, also known as Liber Luciani de laude Cestrie, is a medieval English manuscript in Latin by Lucian of Chester, probably a monk at the Benedictine Abbey of St Werburgh in Chester. Believed to date from the end of the 12th century, it has been described as "the oldest extant piece of Cheshire writing," and, with its first-hand description of the medieval town of Chester, is one of the earliest examples of prose writing about an English urban centre. It is also notable for the earliest extended description of Chester's county palatine status, which Lucian writes "gives heed ... more to the sword of its prince than to the crown of the king." The original manuscript is held by the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Excerpts have been published in 1600, 1912 and 2008.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , p. 6.
  2. 1 2 3 UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 Nuttall 2009 , p. 7.
  4. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 7–8.
  5. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 9–10.
  6. ↑ Elrington, C. R.; Harris, B. E. (1980), Chester Cathedral, A History of the County of Chester, vol. 3, pp. 188–195, retrieved 22 October 2009
  7. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , p. 10.
  8. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 10–11.
  9. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , p. 11.
  10. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 11–12.
  11. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , p. 13.
  12. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 13–14.
  13. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , p. 15.
  14. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 17–19.
  15. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , pp. 19–20.
  16. ↑ Nuttall 2009 , p. 12.
  17. 1 2 Nuttall 2009 , p. 20.

Sources

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