Canterbury Cathedral Library : a chronology

c. 750

Creation of the Canterbury Golden Gospels (Codex Aureus), stolen by the Vikings, returned to the Cathedral by Ealdorman Ælfred and his wife Werburg in the late ninth century. Now Stockholm, Royal Library, MS A.135.
[Ramsay 342; Brooks 18]

c. 800

Earliest surviving archival documents.
[Ramsay 342]

959–988

Archbishop Dunstan encouraged the establishment of a library at the Cathedral, modelled in part on Glastonbury where he had been Abbot.
[Ramsey 343–44]

c. 990

Establishment of the Canterbury Cathedral scriptorium under Archbishop Sigeric (990–94), previously Abbot of St Augustine's, Canterbury (975–90).
[Ramsay 344]

994

Archbishop Sigeric bequeathed his books to the library.
[Ramsay 344]

1011

Work of the Canterbury scriptorium interrupted by the Viking raid on Canterbury.
[Ramsay, 345]

1067

The cathedral and monastic buildings largely destroyed in the great fire which also destroyed much of the library collections.
[Ramsay 346]

c.1077

Completion of Lanfranc's new Priory church and monastic buildings, including the cloister as the main study area for the monks.
[Sparks 12]

c. 1170

A surviving fragmentary catalogue of the library suggests that it might have held between six and seven hundred books.
[Ramsay 351]

c. 1170–1200

The Slype (between the Chapter House and the north-west transept) was closed off in about 1160 and was subsequently converted for use as a book room.
[Sparks 16; Ramsay 350]

1304

Upper storey for the library in the Slype created by Prior Henry of Eastry (1285–1331) at the time of the rebuilding of the Chapter House.
[Sparks, 16]

About this time, Eastry had a catalogue of the library prepared, listing 1,830 volumes.
[de Hamel 263]

1317

The South Alley of the Cloister equipped with new study carrels by Prior Eastry.
[Sparks 15]

1331

Establishment of Canterbury College, Oxford; refounded in 1363 and constituted as a Benedictine monastic college c. 1370. The college library was stocked from the library at Christ Church Canterbury.
[de Hamel 264; Ramsay 362]

1337–1338

A list produced for the annual inspection of the library records missing books and books transferred to the library at Dover Priory.
[de Hamel 264]

1396

The old South cloister alley taken down and the books from the Cloister book cupboard put into store, probably in the slype.
[de Hamel 267; Sparks (personal comm.)]

1432

Archbishop Henry Chichele (c.1364–1443) gave money to build a new library over the Prior's Chapel and to buy books for it. This library was constructed at the same time as the Old Library at All Souls College, Oxford, founded by Chichele and King Henry VI in the 1430s. Construction was completed by about 1444.
[Sparks 36; de Hamel 269; Ramsay 364]

c. 1446

Henry Mere employed to copy two books for Prior Elham
[Parkes 1961]

1473

New carrels built in the South Cloister by Prior William Sellyng (1472–1494) who also had the South Cloister glazed.
[Sparks 15; Ramsay 372]

1474–1478

Prior Sellyng employed the Dutch scribe Theodoric Werken to copy books for the Library.
[Parkes 110]

1492–1496

Prior Sellyng and Prior Thomas Goldstone II (1495–1517) employed the Norman scribe Jacques Neell to copy books for the Library.
[Parkes 111]

1500–1530

By the time of the Reformation, some quantity of the library stock in Canterbury had been transferred to Canterbury College, Oxford [de Hamel 266–267] but probably not as much as half.
[Sparks (personal comm.)

1508

A list compiled recording books in the Upper (Chichele) Library. It was drawn up by Dom William Ingram, warden of the Martyrdom, possibly as a survey of books needing repair.
[Sparks 37; de Hamel 269; Ramsay 364–365]

1535

The Upper Library was not affected by a fire in the Prior's New Lodgings (now the Deanery). The books therefore remained accessible.
[Sparks (personal comm.); de Hamel 273]

1540–1550

A number of manuscripts from Canterbury Cathedral found their way into Archbishop Cranmer's library.
[Selwyn 285]

8 April 1541

The New Foundation.
The Chichele Library above the chapel continued in existence to hold the Dean and Chapter's books and manuscripts.
[Sparks 120]

1541

Dissolution of Canterbury College, Oxford, with the resultant loss of Canterbury Cathedral books in its library.
[(Sparks (personal comm.); de Hamel 267]

1545

The buildings of Canterbury College had passed to the Dean and Chapter in 1541 and were transferred to the King in 1545 as part of the foundation of Christ Church College.
[(Sparks (personal comm.); de Hamel 267]

1550–c.1620

Many manuscripts from the old monastic library given away to or otherwise acquired by influential collectors, including archbishops.

1550/51

Purchase of editions of texts of patristic theology and Erasmus for the Library, in response to Archbishop Cranmer's enquiry about compliance with the Injunctions of 1547.
[Ramsay 374]

1551

List of newly acquired books in Christ Church Letters, vol. II, item 212.

1568

Archbishop Matthew Parker empowered to gather together old manuscripts, including a number from Canterbury (now mainly in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge).
[de Hamel 271]

c. 1570

Book losses had taken place from all over the Cathedral and former monastic buildings, but hardly any from the Upper (Chichele) Library. By 1600, few books remained in the Upper Library.

1620s

New initiative to encourage the development of a cathedral library, especially under Isaac Bargrave (Dean 1625–1643).
[Sparks 121]

1628

The first surviving Benefactors' book was started.
[Ramsay 378]

Two desks to be fitted for new books.
[Sparks, personal communication]

1633

Gift of 25 books by Archbishop George Abbot.
[Ramsay 379]

1634

An inventory of the Cathedral's movable objects was made under the supervision of Canon Meric_Casaubon] on the occasion of Archbishop Laud's Visitation. The inventory of the Library (Catalogus librorum qui sunt in Bibliotheca Ecclesiae Cantuariensis) recorded 31 printed items and 27 manuscripts (about 90 volumes in all). A transcription of this list was published by J.W. Legg
[Legg and Hope 263–265].

1638

A catalogue of the printed books was made, dated 4 December 1638: Catalogus Librorum Typis excusorum qui erant in Bibliotheca Pub. Ecclesiæ Christi Cant.
[CCA-DCc-LA/1/4].

1649

Under the Act for Abolishing of Deans, the Cathedral's archives were sent to London.

1650

An order followed the next year (6 March 1649/1650 n.s.) "that Captne Sherman doe make a catalogue of all the Bookes in the liberarie at Canterburie" [CCA-DCc-LA/1/5] and send them to Gurney House, London, where the trustees for Deans' and Chapters' property had their offices.
The catalogue is CCA-DCc-LA/1/6. The books were transported to London in May 1651.
[Ramsay 382; Woodruff and Danks 388; Lords Journals, VIII. 583; Sparks and Brayshaw 10]

1651

The Parliamentary government planned to gather all cathedral libraries into a central repository at the Charterhouse in London to form a new national library.
[Ramsay 382]

1650s

The Chichele Library and the chapel beneath it were demolished. Twelve manuscripts remained in the Upper Library at this date; these are still in the Dean and Chapter collections.
[Sparks, 120; de Hamel 274; Ramsay 382]

1660

Restoration of the monarchy and the Church of England. Return of the Dean and Chapter to Canterbury.
[Ramsay 383]

1661

The Library's books were brought back from London by Canon Castillion.
[Sparks and Brayshaw 10]

1664

Construction of new library on the site of the old Dean's Chapel and Chichele Library, partly funded by Archbishop William Juxon.
[Ramsay 383]

c. 1666

A bequest of £500 from the will of John Warner, Bishop of Rochester, for the purchase of books and cases (died 14 October 1666).

The Benefactors' Book records gifts by John and William Somner and states that John Somner had supervised the building work.

1667

Probably date of the gift of several medieval manuscripts by William Kingsley (d. 1701), who may have inherited them from his grandfather, Archdeacon William Kingsley.

1668

Payments made to two London booksellers, John Crooke (£91–17–0) and Cornelius Bee (£151–6–6) for "books sent to Canterbury for the use of the Library, and by the order & appointment of Dr Aucher" (John Aucher, canon of the 6th prebend, 1660-1701).
[CCA-DCc-LA/1/7 and 8]

1668/9

Appointment of a Library Keeper: Elias Robinson, a minor canon.
[Ramsay 383]

1669

Purchase of William Somner's library.
[Ramsay 383]

1670

Many documents damaged or destroyed in the Audit House fire.
[Ramsay 383]

1672

Rules drawn up for the use of the Library.
[Beazeley 55; Ramsay 385]

1677

Chains removed from some books in the Library.
[Ramsay 386; BlogDJShaw]

1680

Bequest of John Bargrave's collections.
[Ramsay 386]

1693

John Gostling, a minor canon, was paid ten guineas 'for writing the Statutes and the Catalogue of the Bookes in the Library'.
[Ramsay 387]

1697

Publication of Edward Bernard's Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliae et Hiberniae, in unum collecti, Oxford, 1697. The work contains a list of the Cathedral's manuscripts (vol. 2, pp. 223 and 389) and a list of 'Mr. Somner's Posthumous Manuscripts, now in the Library of Christ-Church Canterbury' (p. 389).

The Cathedral Library's copy has a contemporary note of purchase with a reference to the relevant pages:

Liber. Eccl[es]iæ. Christi. Cantuar. Empt. Sumptu Eccl[es]iæ. pr. £1-3s-0d.
Libri Mss Eccl: Xti Cantuar. vid. tom. II. part. 1, pag. 223 & 389.

Canterbury Cathedral Library bookplate, 1709

1709

A library bookplate was engraved. It was pasted into 2,400 books.
[Ramsay 386]

1714

Bequest of Stephen Hunt's library.
[Ramsay 387]

c. 1720

A handwritten catalogue of the printed books was prepared and maintained by Canon David Wilkins, previously the Archbishop's librarian at Lambeth.
[Ramsay 388; CCA-DCc-LA/2/5]

1733/4

The Treasurer's Book shows a payment 'to Wm. Flackton for binding Library-Books £1.3.6'. William Flackton was a Canterbury bookseller.
[CCA/DCc/TB/68, f.78]

c. 1735

Samuel Norris, the Cathedral Auditor, prepared a catalogue of the medieval charters.
[Ramsay 388]

1743

A catalogue of the Cathedral Library was drawn up by the Revd Dr Robert Eyre and Samuel Norris, the Cathedral Auditor. It listed c. 5,000 titles. The Chapter had 100 copies printed in Canterbury by James Abree:

Catalogus librorum bibliothecae ecclesiae Christi Cantuariensis. Cantuariae: typis Jacobi Abree, 1743.
[ 1743 printed catalogue; Ramsay 388; Shaw & Gray 30; the Cathedral Library has a copy from the Elham Parish Library (Elham 1315*)]

1776

Dr Osmund Beauvoir, Six Preacher and headmaster of the King's School, compiled a catalogue of the medieval seals from the Treasury.
[Ramsay 389]

1793

A catalogue of the literary manuscripts was published by H.J. Todd, a minor canon, as an appendix to his Some account of the Deans of Canterbury; : from ... Henry the Eighth, to the present time. ... added a catalogue of the manuscripts in the Church library. Canterbury: printed and sold by Simmons, Kirkby and Jones; sold also by Flackton, Marrable and Claris; and Bristow, Canterbury; and by T. Cadell, London, 1793.
[Ramsay 390]

1797

H.J. Todd, referred to as the 'Librarian', rearranged the books and started a new catalogue, based partly on a listing of the printed books made by David Wilkins (prebendary, 1720–1745).
[Ramsay 388–90]

1802

H.J. Todd's new catalogue of the printed books and manuscripts was printed in 160 copies: Catalogue of the books, both manuscript and printed, which are preserved in the library of Christ Church, Canterbury, [London] Bye and Law, 1802.
[Ramsay 390]

1804

C.R. Bunce started his catalogue of the archives.
[Ramsay 391]

1828

A report on the Library was prepared by Canons Pellew, Russell and Spry. There were 4,257 books in the Library; 324 were selected for disposal as duplicates or unwanted. Dr Spry marked up a copy of Todd's catalogue with books to be sold.

The Library was refurbished.
[Ramsay 392–393]

c. 1830

The Librarian, Dr J.H. Spry, had the books rearranged by subject, requiring a new shelfmark system.
[Ramsay 394]

1832

Construction of a gallery within the Library.
[Sparks and Brayshaw 13]

1838

Construction of new roof for the Library.

1848

Description of the Library in Beriah Botfield, Notes on Cathedral Libraries of England (1849) p. 5.

1853

The lower storey of the old Cheker used for extra Library space.

1867–1868

Construction of the New Library on the Dormitory site, designed by H.G. Austin, the Surveyor, housing over 5,000 books.
[Sparks 2007, 106, 123; Ramsay 395]

The old Library is empty.
[Sparks 122]

1869

New catalogue prepared by Canon J.C. Robertson.
[Sparks and Brayshaw 14]

1877–1878

The old library was repaired with a new roof with gothick cast-iron supports. It was brought back into use with new additional shelving.
[Ramsay 395; CCA Fabric 53/2]

1887

Archdeacon Benjamin Harrison's library (over 11,000 volumes) given to the Cathedral by his widow Isabella. The old library was refurbished to house them, now renamed the Howley-Harrison Library.
[Ramsay 398]

1896

Bishop G. R. Eden, the Canon Librarian, drew up new rules for the use of the Library and had the books re-arranged by John Macfarlane of the British Museum Library.
[Ramsay 399]

1911

Publication of C.E. Woodruff's catalogue of the literary manuscripts: A Catalogue of the Manuscript Books (which are preserved in Study X.Y.Z. and in the Howley-Harrison Collection) in the Library of Christ Church, Canterbury,Canterbury, Cross & Jackman, 1911.
[Ramsay 402]

1 June 1942

Destruction of the New Library by bombing.
[Ramsay 404]

1954

New Library rebuilt on the site of the bombed building, with grants from the Pilgrim Trust and the War Damages Commission. Plans by J.L. Denman.
[Sparks 109; Ramsay 405]

1964–66

Construction of the Wolfson Library and Cheker.
[Ramsay 405]

1978

Agreement between the Dean and Chapter and the University of Kent for the appointment of a Keeper of Printed Books employed by the University.

1979–1981

A computer-based catalogue of the Library's books printed before 1801 was directed by David Shaw (on behalf of the Bibliographical Society) and Will Simpson (the University Librarian). The project was funded by a grant from the British Library. The detailed cataloguing was mostly done by Miss Karen James and Mrs Margaret Brown.

1985–1998

Publication of the Cathedral Libraries Catalogue by a team based in Canterbury:

The Cathedral Libraries Catalogue. Books printed before 1701 in the libraries of the Anglican cathedrals of England and Wales. By Margaret S.G. McLeod (née Hands) and others. Edited and completed by Karen I. James and David J. Shaw (Editor-in-Chief).
Volume One: Books printed in the British Isles and British America and English books printed elsewhere. London, The British Library / The Bibliographical Society, 1985.
Volume Two: Books printed on the Continent of Europe before 1701 in the libraries of the Anglican Cathedrals of England and Wales. London, The British Library and the Bibliographical Society, 1998, 2 vols.

1989

A new agreement made with the University of Kent for support in running the Library.

1994

Publication of the catalogue of the Mendham Collection:

Catalogue of the Law Society's Mendham Collection, lent to the University of Kent at Canterbury and housed in Canterbury Cathedral Library. Completed and edited by Sheila Hingley and David Shaw from the catalogue of Helen Carron and others. The Law Society, London, 1994.

1995

Completion of refurbishing and redecoration of the Howley-Harrison Library.
[Sparks 125, 126]

1998

Publication of the microfiche catalogue of books printed before 1801:

David Shaw and Sheila Hingley (and others), Canterbury Cathedral Library: Catalogue of pre-1801 printed books. Adam Matthew Publications, Marlborough, 1998. 24 pp + 17 microfiches.

2008

Publication by the Bibliographical Society of Professor Richard Gameson's catalogue of the manuscripts surviving in the Cathedral Library datable up to the year 1200.

Richard Gameson, The Earliest Books of Canterbury Cathedral: Manuscripts and fragments to c. 1200. London: The Bibliographical Society and The British Library, in association with the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, 2008.

2009–2010

Closure of the Howley-Harrison and Woolfson Libraries during building work to replace the roof and insulate the buildings.

2011

Reopening of the Howley-Harrison and Woolfson Libraries.

The opening was marked by a lecture by Dr David Starkey.

2012

Termination of agreement with Kent County Archives and opening of the new History Centre in Maidstone.

Closure of the Archives for building work (February).

2013

Re-opening of the Reading Room (February). The Albert Reckitt Charitable Trust donated £500,000 towards the cost of the work, and the reading room will now be known as the Reckitt Reading Room.

Bibliography

Beazeley: M. Beazeley, 'History of the Chapter Library of Canterbury. Cathedral', Trans. Bibliog. Soc. (1904-6), 1907, viii.

Brooks: Nicholas Brooks, 'The Anglo-Saxon Cathedral Community, 597–1070'. In: A History of Canterbury Cathedral, ed. P. Collinson, N. Ramsay, M. Sparks. (OUP 1995, revised edition 2002) 1–37.

de Hamel: Christopher de Hamel, 'The dispersal of the library of Christ Church, Canterbury, from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century'. In: Books and Collectors, 1200–1700. Essays presented to Andrew Watson. Edited by James P. Carley and Colin G.C. Tite. (The British Library, 1997) 263–279.

Legg and Hope: J. Wickham Legg and W.H. St. John Hope, Inventories of Christchurch Canterbury. (Westminster: Constable, 1902).

Parkes: M.B. Parkes, 'Archaizing hands in English Manuscripts'. In: Books and Collectors, 1200–1700. Essays presented to Andrew Watson. Edited by James P. Carley and Colin G.C. Tite. (The British Library, 1997) 101–141.

Ramsay: Nigel Ramsay, 'The Cathedral Archives and Library'. In: A History of Canterbury Cathedral, ed. P. Collinson, N. Ramsay, M. Sparks. (OUP 1995, revised edition 2002) 341–407.

Selwyn: David G. Selwyn, 'Thomas Cranmer and the dispersal of medieval libraries: the provenance of some of his medieval manuscripts and books'. In: Books and Collectors, 1200–1700. Essays presented to Andrew Watson. Edited by James P. Carley and Colin G.C. Tite. (The British Library, 1997) 281–94.

Shaw & Gray: David Shaw & Sarah Gray, 'James Abree (1691?–1763): Canterbury's first "modern" printer'. In: The Reach of print : Making, selling and reading books, ed. P. Isaac and B. McKay. (Winchester, St Paul's Bibliographies, 1998) 21–36.

Sparks: Margaret Sparks, Canterbury Cathedral Precincts: A historical survey (Canterbury: Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, 2007).

Sparks and Brayshaw: Margaret Sparks and Karen Brayshaw, A History of the Library of Canterbury Cathedral. (Canterbury: Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, 2011).

Woodruff and Danks: C. Eveleigh Woodruff and William Danks, Memorials of the Cathedral and Priory of Christ in Canterbury (London: Chapman & Hall, , 1912).