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Cathedral Archives, Libraries & Collections Association Newsletter Winter 2017

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WELCOME FROM THE CHAIRMAN

I am very pleased to welcome you to the latest edition of our Association Newsletter, now trading under thenew and ever more inclusive name of the Cathedral Archives, Libraries and Collections Association (CALCA).We all hope that this slight re-christening of the Association gives due recognition to those whose particularcontribution to the work of cathedrals is in the arena of Collections, rather than purely Libraries or Archives.While pondering the significance of the name of the Association, the Executive Committee was aware thatnot all our member bodies are cathedrals, and we are delighted that non-cathedral bodies, who share manyof the characteristics of cathedral libraries, archives and collections, belong. However, we felt that to dropthe word ‘cathedral’ from our title would be to lose an important point of reference for who we are and whatwe do. There are other bodies that represent historic libraries in general, and religious libraries in general, butcathedrals do give us our particular focus. So welcome to a slightly re-branded Association, and to all theexcellent work reported in the pages that follow.

The Very Rev Peter Atkinson, Dean of Worcester

THE CATHEDRAL ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES & COLLECTIONS ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER, WINTER 2017

CALCA Day Conference 2018The Day Conference for 2018 will be held at ExeterCathedral on Tuesday 12th June on the theme of‘Unlocking the potential’. The cost will be £30 formembers and £40 for non-members, to includelunch. The day will commence at 11am, with toursin the morning for those who have stayed overnightor who arrive early. Further details will beannounced on the website in the New Year; in themeantime, please make a note in your diaries.

Editor

CALCA Day Conference 2017Awareness has been growing in cathedrals for theneed to manage objects as well as paper collections.Some cathedrals have accordingly appointedcollections managers, whilst others have made

wider collections care part of the remit of existingmembers of staff, often those already responsiblefor libraries or archives. The Cathedral Libraries andArchives Association has been discussing the needto reflect the changing environment within its nameand constitution. At the annual meeting on 19th

June 2017, the new name and constitution wasformally adopted. As well as reflecting within thename the higher profile of collections, the newconstitution commits to representation on thecommittee for each of the three areas of interest,whilst retaining connections with Chapters byhaving a Dean as Chair and a Canon withresponsibility for these areas of work as Vice-Chairof the Association. Following the adoption of thenew name and constitution, the existing committeehas been re-elected to oversee the shift to the newcommittee structure, which we hope to establish atthe next annual meeting in 2018.


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The AGM also heard from Janet Berry of theCathedrals Fabric Commission for England (CFCE)about work regarding inventories. The productionof an inventory of items of historical,archaeological, architectural and artistic significanceis a requisite upon all cathedrals. The guidelineswere last revised in 2001, so are now beingreconsidered in line with current museum basic,good and best practice and digital resourcepossibilities. It is also intended to make them moreaccessible to those working to apply them, peoplewho range from museum-trained professionalsthrough to willing volunteers and professionalstrained in parallel fields. Any changes to guidelineshave to be passed by Synod.

The annual meeting for 2017 was held atCanterbury Cathedral, where we were hosted bythe Archives and Library, and presentations werearound a theme of projects. Canterbury is currentlyinvolved in a multi-million pound project toundertake essential fabric maintenance, in particularrestoration work to the west towers and nave roof,in conjunction with collections development andinterpretation. The project director provided anoverview to the project, its aims, and the position sofar, including an insight into the aestheticrequirements for scaffolding – as the buildingremains open to visitors and worship during thebuilding work, there is a requirement to maintainthe building’s appearance as attractively as possible.

The Dean of Rochester treated us to a very openand honest assessment of undertaking HeritageLottery funded projects, in which he reflected onthe need to plan well in advance, to plan for theunexpected (having identified the optimal positionfor a new lift shaft, they were unable to proceedwhen archaeological work revealed someinternationally significant stonework), to buildleeway for the unexpected into both timings andfinance, and to consider sustainability of yourproject after the funding has come to an end.

York Minster is working with the New Citizenshipproject, a team which helped the National Trustrefocus their promotional message to ask how tomotivate visitors to participate more fully throughengaging with them as citizens rather than asconsumers. Using collections to engage visitors on apersonal level is a key aspect to enabling the widermission of the Minster.

Canon Christopher Irvine of Canterbury Cathedralspoke about the place of visual arts in cathedrals;how art in cathedrals can encourage people to lookat the art, then at themselves and the world. Therole of cathedrals may be to encourageconsideration of how that world could bereimagined through theological engagement withart.

Declan Kelly introduced the work so far towards thebuilding of a new Lambeth Palace Library. Muchcare has been taken in this project to anticipatesome of the problems to which the Dean ofRochester alluded: so archaeological investigationshave begun before building contracts have beenallocated, so that even if significant finds arediscovered their investigation can proceed withoutbuilders being paid to do nothing whilst awaitingthe result of the archaeological work. The architectsworking on Lambeth Palace have providedinnovative solutions to the contextual issues of thesite including a Grade 2 listed garden,environmental sensitivity, the conservationrequirements of the collection; and encompassingall of these essential details, the desire to produce abuilding worthy of the collections inside it and thewider locational context within which it stands.

Gudrun Warren, Norwich Cathedral (reproduced with permission from the

Bulletin of the Historic Libraries Forum)

Delegates on a tour of the ‘safety deck’ above the nave.


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CALCA GrantsIn 2015, it was decided that the Association couldafford to offer modest funding to enterprises thatsupport its stated aims.

CALCA now invites applications from fully paid upmembers of two years’ or more standing for grantsin areas such as the following:

• Help in defraying the costs of holding conferences and workshops

• Support for small projects such as the web publication of unpublished catalogues

• Assistance to members in undertaking essential travel as part of work in line with CALCA’s aims

• The provision of equipment, such as perhaps book supports, to facilitate access to collections

• Assistance with the necessary purchase of manuscripts and archives to benefit the CLAA community

• Carrying out conservation work on manuscripts and archives or providing equipment such as data loggers to help inmonitoring environments

Funds will not be made available towards the costof commercial publication but will be allocatedwhere they can be expected to provide the greatestbenefit to the greatest number of people. Often thiswill be achieved by making several small awards,rather than a few larger awards. Funding levels mayvary from year to year, but it is anticipated that theCommittee will make awards of not more than£250 each, and of not more than £500 in total eachyear.

Applications should comprise: a brief outline of theproject, conference or work; its overall cost; thegrant being sought; the names and addresses oftwo referees; details of the addressee for thecheque. Forms are available from the CALCAwebsite or by application to Dr Michael Stansfield,CALCA Treasurer (Durham University Library,Palace Green, Durham DH1 3RN, [email protected]) to whomcompleted applications should be submitted.Applications will then be considered at thesubsequent meeting of the committee. Applicantswill be informed shortly thereafter.

Successful applicants will be asked to submit forpublication in the CALCA newsletter a brief report(300-500 words) of the use to which the grant wasput.

Michael Stansfield, Hon Treasurer

NEWS FROM MEMBERS

Canterbury CathedralIt was a great pleasure to see so many of you herefor the Day Conference in June; we hope youenjoyed your time here and the programme of talksand visits.

Since the summer, Karen Brayshaw, our Librarian,has left the team to become Special Collections andArchives Manager at the University of Kent. Shehad joined the staff here in 2004. We work closelywith the University, so will very much be keeping intouch. Also, Canon Christopher Irvine, our CanonLibrarian, left the Cathedral at the end of October,to take up the post of parish priest for a benefice inEast Sussex, as a step towards retirement.

In October, we were delighted to hear that we havesecured Archive Service Accreditation. We are thesecond cathedral archive to receive accreditation,after Exeter Cathedral; we are indeed most gratefulto Canon Ann Barwood and her team for her adviceand support. If other cathedrals are considering anapplication, please do get in touch.

The physical works which form part of TheCanterbury Journey project continue apace, withthe scaffolding over the Nave roof now complete,and demolition complete on the site of the newCathedral Welcome Centre. Interpretation graphicshave been added to the hoardings. The project hasrecruited a Collections Management Intern, SophieKelly, who has just completed her PhD at the


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University of Kent. In November, the project teamworked with the Conservation Department to hosta two-day conference on Edward of Woodstock,the ‘Black Prince’, entitled ‘The Black Prince: man,mortality and myth’. The conference includedreports on assessment work on the achievementscarried out earlier in the year, including assessmentsof the ‘cap of maintenance’ and scanning of thehelm.

In July, the Cathedral hosted a ‘PilgrimageExperience Day’ organised by the Centre for theStudy of Christianity and Culture at the Universityof York as part of the ‘Pilgrimage and England’sCathedrals’ project. This included family-friendlyactivities exploring the nature of pilgrimage and ofprayer. The past six months have been busy withgroup visits to the Archives and Library. We weredelighted to welcome again the ‘Great CathedralLibraries of England’ study abroad trip by theUniversity of Maryland. We also welcomed for thethird time a group of students from the Universityof Saskatchewan in Canada came to Canterburywho came to work on coins from the BargraveCollection, guided by their course tutors Dr BrentNelson and Dr Tracene Harvey.

The Diocese of Canterbury has decided to acceptthe offer made by the Kent History and LibraryCentre to house the historic archive of the Diocese,as currently held here at the Cathedral. TheArchives and Library does not have sufficientstorage for this collection; we anticipate that it willmove from here in the spring.

Cressida Williams, Head of Archives and Library

Durham CathedralIt has been an exciting period for the Library andCollections team at Durham Cathedral as St.Cuthbert’s relics—including his Anglo-Saxonwooden coffin, maniple and stole, gold andjewelled pectoral cross and the original ‘SanctuaryRing’—went on permanent display in the GreatKitchen of Open Treasure on Saturday 29th July.Almost 13,000 visitors came to see the Treasuresduring their first six weeks, and we look forward towelcoming many more over the coming monthsand years.

The ‘Open Treasure’ temporary exhibitionscontinue to receive positive feedback. Magna Cartaand the Forest Charter—where Durham’s three

issues of Magna Carta (dating from 1216, 1225 and1300) were displayed together, alongside its threeissues of the Forest Charter—received almost19,000 visitors. Our current exhibition, ‘Making AJoyful Noise! Music at Durham Cathedral’, tells thestory of music in the Cathedral through its beautifulmanuscript and printed music collections, and willrun until 19th November; ‘Saintly Sisters’ will thenrun from 28th November 2017 until 17th February2018, followed by ‘The Tudors’.

Readers continue to make good use of the recently-opened Barker Reading Room to consult ourcollections of music, antiquarian works, and earlyprinted books. The Barker Reading Room is open byappointment only, Tuesday-Thursday, 10.00am-1.00pm and 2.00pm-4.30pm. Durham Cathedral’smanuscript and incunabula collections continue tobe held at Palace Green Library and administered bythe staff there, though appointments to view thesestill come through Durham Cathedral Library staff.Readers are welcome to contact us on 01913862489, or at [email protected], ifthey wish to make an appointment.

In partnership with Durham University, workcontinues apace on the ‘Durham Priory LibraryReconstructed’ project, which aims to digitise andmake available online all of Durham’s pre-Reformation manuscripts and printed works. Todate, over 100 items have been digitised, and over50 of the Cathedral’s medieval manuscripts are nowavailable online, fully digitised and viewable toresearchers worldwide.

The second round of the Adopt-a-Book programmewill be launched in October: the first round provedhighly successful, with 48 of the 68 available titlesbeing adopted, and over £13,000 raised to assistwith conservation costs of the early printed bookcollections. It is hoped to have a similar success withthe second round.

We continue to welcome special interest groups toview our collections, and have held three public‘Treasures of Durham Cathedral Library’ events sofar this year, covering the themes of ‘Music’,‘Letters and Learning’, and the Reformation. Ournext public Treasures of Durham Cathedral Libraryevent will be on Saturday 9th December, and willcover the theme of Christmas.

Sarah-Jane Raymond, Assistant Librarian

Gloucester CathedralPreservation Pilgrims: a journey into conservationat Gloucester CathedralOne of the key aspects of Gloucester Cathedral’smajor HLF funded initiative, Project Pilgrim, iscommunity engagement to keep the cathedral andits heritage both alive and relevant. It was with thisvery much in mind that two half day courses with acollections care focus were developed during thesummer. These enabled the public not only toappreciate the rich history and the diversemateriality of the cathedral’s library and archivecollections at close hand but also apply some of themethods demonstrated in caring for their ownvalued possessions.

The aim of the sessions were to provide an insightinto the conservation initiatives and solutions inplace for the care of the library and archivecollections at Gloucester with a secondcomplementary and more practical session gearedat equipping participants with the knowledge andtools to provide basic care for their own books,archives, records and family heirlooms. Bothworkshops were developed by CALCA memberVictoria Stevens ACR, an accredited Library andArchive Conservator working in private practicefrom her own studio in Reading, in collaborationwith the Rebecca Phillips, Librarian and Archivist atthe Cathedral, and Helen Jeffrey, CommunityEngagement Manager for Project Pilgrim.

Participants enjoying Gloucester Cathedral Library

The first workshop, ‘Context and Conservation: thehistoric collections at Gloucester Cathedral’, washeld on 10th June and was a great example of theclose partnership between archives and

conservation, with Rebecca and Victoria acting likea heritage tag team. Following a brief tour of thelibrary, the session started with an overview of thepurpose of conservation and the role ofpreservation in caring for the long-term future ofthe collections. Using two case studies, Victoriahighlighted different approaches to achieve thesame end purpose, stabilising objects for future useand storage, and showed the various decision-making processes that conservators go through ineach example.

Detailing the Cathedral’s long history: 1541 Grant of Arms and the Chronicles of Repairfrom the 1950s


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This introduction was followed by a lively roundtable discussion with Rebecca providing the contextto the very thoughtful selection of objects chosenfor the session, including their history, provenanceand significance within the library and archivecollections. Victoria followed this up with ananalysis of these same items in terms of theirconservation potential, detailing the approach thatcould be taken to care for them for future

generations. This included an overview of inherentissues such as damage and poor quality materials,the use of previous unsuitable conservationsolutions, possible treatment approaches, theirongoing use as working documents for legal andresearch purposes and the role of good handlingand storage, often in challenging historicalenvironments.


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Iron gall ink corrosion and water damage to library and archive items, including evidence of historicalrepairs and an extreme, but innovative, storage solution

The group was able to view at close hand animpressive, roughly chronological, selection of thetreasures and key items in the Cathedral’s Libraryand Archive, some of which have been previouslyand innovatively reformatted or conserved, and allof which reflected the Cathedral’s long history, dailyactivity and place within the community. The‘Chronicles of Repair’, detailing a major cathedralmaintenance programme in the 1950s, wasparticularly gripping and engaging for the group,some of whom were able to identify the people inthe images and provide even more context to theobject.

Some of the participants learning about the historyof one of the Cathedral’s cartularies

The second session, ‘Preserving Your Past: Caringfor your own Library and Archive Collections’, washeld on 1st July. This workshop focused much moreon the participants’ own collections, and provided avery practical guide to caring for a variety ofpersonal records, including books andcorrespondence collections. Although the focus wasprimarily on written records and visual items such asphotographs, prints and works of art on paper, italso touched upon other items people may wish topreserve in the long-term, such as textiles, ceramicsand metal objects.

The calm before the storm: the collections carecourse set up

The session was based around preservationapproaches to collections care, and includedstorage, housing and environmental adviceincluding light exposure. The group, made up ofmembers of the public and volunteers and stafffrom local museums, was very engaged with thesession and keen to learn what they needed to doto keep their books, personal papers and importantitems of family memorabilia safe. To helpparticipants implement the advice given, eachmember of the group was given a conservation‘goody bag’ to take home, including a key advicesheet, samples of some of the products mentionedand a list of suppliers.

Parchment and leather: participants appreciatingdifferent skin materials and how they react toenvironment


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The workshops were an effective and dynamic wayfor the community to engage and appreciate boththe Cathedral’s heritage and their own. Being ableto interact closely with the collections held at theCathedral and have both their provenance andmateriality interpreted was interesting andenjoyable for all, with new insights being providedby the group and the presenters.

One of the participants from the second coursecommented on their feedback form: ‘It made methink about handling my own objects in a moreprofessional way, but still use them’. Whatever thesignificance or date of the collection or object, thiscomment captures the purpose of archives andconservation very well: use and enjoyment. It wasgreat to think that everyone left the sessions with abetter understanding of the wide range ofinterventions that can be undertaken to care formaterial heritage, whether it is in importantcollections such as at Gloucester or their owntreasured possessions.

Victoria Stevens, ACR ([email protected])

Guildford Cathedral This year has been a really exciting time for thearchive collection at Guildford Cathedral. Followingsupport from the Heritage Lottery Fund and as partof the ‘People’s Cathedral’ Project, funds wereassigned to catalogue the archive to professionalstandards and to digitise key aspects of ourremarkable collection which dates back to the1920’s and the beginning of the Cathedral.

Cataloguing the collection to recognisedprofessional standards was an important part of theproject as it means the archive can now easily becross referenced by researchers and members of thepublic at a regional, national and even internationallevel. The project has been driven by a dedicatedband of volunteers who have been trained by aprofessional archivist and are actively extending ourcatalogue listing on a weekly basis. They havecatalogued over 3,000 items and digitised over1,000 images, an incredible feat and achievementfor the project. The catalogue is accessible online athttp://archive.guildford-cathedral.org/ andfeatures an exhibitions section where we highlightkey aspects of our collection. This has proved

incredibly important as with limited space withinthe Cathedral to display archival items: this featureenables us to showcase exciting elements of ourcollection. It also means that people living allaround the globe can enjoy and explore ourcollection.

Louise Kenyon, The People’s Cathedral Outreachand Engagement Officer

Lambeth Palace Library With planning permission granted, the enablingworks are underway to prepare the site forconstruction which will be starting in March 2018.Enabling works include moving the pond atLambeth with 30th October scheduled as themoving pond life day. Final archaeologicalinvestigations in August found nothing ofsignificance, clearing the way for construction tostart as planned in 2018 with Archbishop Justinscheduled to preside over the ground breakingceremony. Meanwhile in the Library and RecordCentre the boxing of vulnerable items continues ata rapid pace with c7,000 items individually boxedalready out of an estimated total of over 36,000.

Material relating to the history of ecumenicalrelations has been made available in a project tocatalogue the archive of the Council on ForeignRelations (CFR), due for completion in 2017. TheCFR is often described as the ‘foreign office’ of the


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Archbishop of Canterbury. Its terms of referencewere the ‘survey and promotion of the Relations ofthe Church of England with Foreign Churches’, thatis Churches outside the Anglican Communion, andits inaugural meeting was held on 2nd February1933. It formalised the work already being carriedout by Canon John Douglas, its first HonoraryGeneral Secretary. Its records form a rich source forinter-church relations during the middle decades ofthe 20th century, shedding light not only on religiousmatters but on international political developmentsas well. In 1981 Archbishop Runcie broughtecumenical relations within the administrativestructures and staffing of Lambeth Palace, whichcontinued the work of CFR. The work of CFR, andconsequently its records, were organised in sectionsrelating to the Ancient Oriental, Orthodox, RomanCatholic, Lutheran and Reformed, and Old CatholicChurches. The records are complemented by otherextensive sources within the Library’s collectionswhich document both the earlier and contemporaryhistory of ecumenical relations.

Sixteenth centenary of Council of Nicaeacelebrations, 1925: group photograph at LambethPalace (Douglas 77/266)

Other newly-catalogued collections includeadditional papers relating to the 1968 LambethConference under Archbishop Ramsey, the lastLambeth Conference organised from LambethPalace before administration passed to the AnglicanConsultative Council. The Friends of the Librarypurchased a set of early 18th-century catalogues ofparochial libraries in Middlesex. Other newaccessions included further records of LordWharton’s Charity, which funded the purchase ofBibles and other books. New additions to the imagedatabase include a 14th-century breviary andanother breviary of Abbotsbury Abbey, plus

an annotated copy of Cicero published in 1466.Further blog posts included a glimpse of life atLambeth Palace. New publications appeared whichrelate to the Library’s holdings, including an articleon the fate of Archbishop Sheldon’s booksfollowing his death in 1677.

Declan Kelly

Lichfield CathedralWork commenced in June 2017 to reverse seriouswater penetration and weathering to the ChapterHouse roof. The cathedral library which is locatedon the upper floor of the Chapter House was closedin March this year and we began the enormous taskof moving the entire library collection into securestorage in a former salt mine in Cheshire. Thenaturally dry and stable environment in the mine isperfect for long term storage. With a team of 18volunteers putting in over 400 hours, we wrappedand packed the whole collection in three months.We expect the library to return following thesuccessful conclusion of the roof restoration in mid-2018.

Clare Townsend, Library Manager


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Lincoln CathedralIn 2016 Lincoln Cathedral’s Artist-in-Residence wasthe very talented Toni Watts, one of a very smallnumber of artists working in and teaching the art ofIllumination. Throughout her year in residence Toniworked closely with the Library using themanuscript collection as inspiration for many of herworks. Such was the success of Toni’s year with theCathedral that she has continued in the officialvoluntary role of ‘Cathedral Illuminator’.

Toni now works in the Wren library most weeksduring normal opening hours giving visitors theopportunity to see how she creates her beautiful,intricate paintings using the same techniques asthose employed by medieval artists andilluminators. She has given demonstrations forlibrary volunteers showing how she makes herpaints from natural resources such as plants andminerals and this summer she has run two verysuccessful Illumination Workshops in the Library.

Each workshop started with an introduction tosome of the Cathedral's own illuminatedmanuscripts by Cathedral Librarian Julie Taylor.Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to be able totouch and turn the pages of these wonderful items,normally only viewed behind glass. How often doyou get the chance to touch a book that is olderthan the Cathedral or turn the pages of a beautifulilluminated 15th-century psalter?

Inspired by the manuscripts they had seen, thegroup then began the practical part of theworkshop, starting with the application of gold leaf.Toni demonstrated four different techniques usingAcrylic Gold Size, Garlic (a smell not normallypresent in the Wren Library!), Improved Gold Bodyand finally Manuscript Gesso, the method used bymedieval illuminators. Everyone produced a testpiece using all four techniques. The generalconsensus was that using manuscript gesso was byfar the most difficult technique.

Having learnt the rudiments of gilding, everybodychose a larger image to work on during theafternoon. Some chose to use copies of illuminatedletters from the Cathedral’s own manuscripts, someinvented their own designs. The images were eithertraced and transferred on to watercolour paperusing dry pigment or drawn freehand. They werethen gilded, many people choosing to use transfer

gold (gold leaf backed on to tissue paper for ease ofhandling) rather than battling with the very flightyloose leaves of gold. Painting was the final step incompleting the designs. Toni brought some modernpaints with her—watercolour and gouache —butthe group was also able to try making their ownpaint from dry pigment and glair (egg white) as themedieval illuminators would have done. The daywas enjoyed by all. It was a great insight into theworld of medieval manuscript illumination andeverybody left with a greater appreciation of thepatience and skill of those who originally createdthose beautiful books.

Due to of the success of the workshop furthersimilar sessions may be run in the library next year.These will be advertised on the Cathedral websitewww.lincolncathedral.com but can be booked andpaid for via Toni's website www.toniwattsartstudio.comThe money raised goes towards the preservation ofthe library and its collections.

Julie Taylor, Librarian


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St Davids Cathedral The last six months have been busy ones for theonly cathedral library in situ in Wales. We haveembarked on a three-year developmentprogramme to help us catch up on several years ofunder-activity. The eclectic collection comprisesover 7,000 books from the 16th century onwardsplus an extensive local photographic collection.Everything older disappeared at the Reformationand during the Commonwealth.

The Friends of St Davids Cathedral have generouslyagreed to a helpful grant for three years which willpump-prime several lines of work. The regular bookconservation and rebinding work has been revived.The Library is now open to the public regularlyagain. Researchers on a range of subjects areassisted by the Library team. The books in theLibrary display cases in the Cathedral Treasury arenow changed at intervals to increase public accessto the collection. Dr Johnson’s Dictionary was ondisplay prior to going off for restoration. Currentlyon display is the Bible and Prayer Book whichbelonged to Admiral Lord Nelson and, after hisdeath at Trafalgar, was given by his elder brother,the Duke of Bronte, to St Katharine’s Church inMilford Haven. The Cathedral Library has helped StKatharine’s with the restoration of the Bible andPrayer Book and they will return to St Katharine’safter the display period in St Davids. Over theNovember half-term week the pages on display willbe the Gunpowder Plot service used from 1674 to1859. Over Christmas the intention is to display theChristmas story in a range of Bibles in the CathedralLibrary collection including a 1620 Bible in Welsh, a‘Breeches’ Bible in English and Martin Luther’stranslation of the Bible into German.

The other major proposed development now beingaddressed is the lack of sufficient space for thecollection. The Cathedral Architect has identifiedspace for additional shelving on the main floor ofthe Library and in the Gallery, to be designed inkeeping with the style of the original limed oakshelving, as well as Library working space elsewherein the Cathedral. It is intended to seek additionaltrust funding to complete this extensive work.

There have been record numbers of visitors to theCathedral over the summer of 2017 with manyclimbing the medieval spiral stone stairs to theLibrary. As well as Wales and England this hasincluded visitors from Ireland, Belgium, Canada,

France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,Switzerland, Sweden, Lebanon and many from theUSA. This all helps with the income into the Libraryfor the Development Programme.

Mari James, Development Officer

St Davids Cathedral Library banner displayed innorth aisle at foot of Library stairs when the Libraryis open to the public.

Some of the Reformation theology books in theLibrary South Bay.


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St Edmundsbury Cathedral At last we have a precise date for the founding ofthe Library of St James’ Church, nowSt Edmundsbury Cathedral. The date, 20th July1595, is given in a 1716 catalogue which is in theNorfolk Record Office. That day was a Sunday andthe catalogue states that the Library was ‘grantedby the publick consent of the inhabitants of theParish’. So it is likely that the launch of this majorundertaking took place at the vestry meeting aftera service.

The catalogue also states that books weresubscribed by ‘neighbouring Gentlemen,Inhabitants and Clergy’. Donors’ plates in the booksgive us their names and include Miles Mosse, thepreacher, who we think promoted the library as aresource for the combination lectures held eachMonday. Even more significantly, this catalogueidentifies Thomas Bright as one of thechurchwardens in July 1595. He was a leadingtownsman of Bury, who was described as aldermanin 1599 and was instrumental in obtaining theborough’s charter in 1606. We knew that he hademployed Miles Mosse as a tutor for his son,Walter, but this is the first evidence that such aninfluential man as Bright was involved inestablishing the library.

An earlier inventory from 13th October 1599, nowin the Bury Record Office, lists the books as theywere stored in a room to the north of the chancel.Ten classes of books of the ‘Church Fathers’ were

on the ‘right’ and ten classes of ‘ContinentalReformers’ were ‘as you come in on the left hand’.There were a further three classes unspecified.

Just under a half of the 162 books that remain fromthe 200 or so mentioned in this inventory havechain marks. Recent analysis shows that 78% ofthose on the right were chained, 49% of those onthe left and 15% of the other three classes. In nineof the 23 classes all the books have chain marks.The chain marks are at the foot of the front boardnear the spine. The volume of Beza, illustrated, is aclear example. David Pearson has identified thewhite vellum binding as late 16th-century and fromCambridge. The earliest book with a chain mark is aJohn of Damascus printed in Cologne in 1546. Onlytwo of the 300 books given after 1597 have chainmarks and these are in the normal position on thefore-edge of the board. Most of the chained booksalso have fore-edge lettering. The earliest is theJohn of Damascus (1546) and the latest is a volumeof Calvin given by Sir Robert Jermyn in 1595, thesame year that it was printed.

It is good to have a foundation date for this earlyparish library and to know how the books wereordered in the classes in 1599 but, as always, thereare more questions to be answered. Is this typechain mark unique to Bury and, given their positionand the fore-edge lettering, how were the booksstored on the shelves?

Stephen Dart, Librarian


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Wells Cathedral The Wells Cathedral Librarian, Kevin Spears,recently published a book for the library'svolunteers and visitors: An Illustrated History of theBooks in the Chained Library of Wells Cathedral,Somerset (Cechel Books, Glastonbury, 2016. 157p.,illus., ISBN 9781526206572 £19-99 pbk).

The book is intended not so much as a history ofthe Cathedral's Library, but as a brief history of thebook. It has 19 chapters covering the developmentof library furniture, manuscripts, paper production,introduction of print, printers' marks, the booktrade, literacy, illustrations, book reviews,bookbinding, copyright and censorship. Forcathedral libraries there are chapters on ‘Why doesthe cathedral have a library?’, ‘The contents ofother cathedral libraries’ (based on the research byProfessor Paul Kaufman in the 1960s), andchapters on ‘A sequence of Bibles’ and one on theBook of Common Prayer.

To make it more readable, the chapters are all inquestion and answer format giving manageablechunks to absorb and to make it easier to find topicsof interest. It has over 120 illustrations, mostly incolour. Each chapter has a list of references forfurther reading and the book is indexed.

Reviewing the book for the CILIP Rare Books andSpecial Collections Newsletter earlier in the year,Karen Brayshaw of Canterbury Cathedral librarysaid: ‘This little book is beautifully designed andeasy to read. It will be enjoyed by anyone interestedin the history and development of the printed bookas well as those connected with Wells Cathedral orany other cathedral library. It is full of backgroundinformation offering the reader encouragement tofurther investigate our shared heritage through theprinted word and I recommend you secure yourcopy of this limited edition before stocks run out.’

The initial print run of 200 has already sold out, thebook proving popular with visitors as well asvolunteers. However, a further 200 have now beenprinted and can be purchased from the Shop atWells Cathedral or via Amazon.co.uk (thanks to afriendly second-hand bookseller in Glastonbury).

Kevin Spears, Librarian

Worcester CathedralMaps and plans are items that always attractinterest from both researchers and visitors. Whenthe conservators recommended the Cathedral begina project to improve the condition of this part of thearchive, approval was given. Since the summer theconservators have started to flatten out a first batchof these maps and plans.

The maps are from the 18th and 19th centuries,whilst the majority of the plans date to the 20th

century. Previous to this project the Cathedral’smaps were rolled up. Prior to them being flattenedthe maps are being cleaned. This involves gentlybrushing the map’s surface with a latex spongewhile avoiding all pencil media. After cleaning theyare lightly humidified prior to being flattened. Themaps are placed between blotters. Once pressedthey will be stored flat, in special archival folders,and then stored in the existing map chests.


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The conservators have also continued to repairmanuscripts and archive registers as part of a grantand a bequest. Alongside their work, some of thevolunteers have also been making good progress iscleaning and wrapping hundreds of leases that arestored in the cathedral archives. The leases mostlydate back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

The library had a very busy Heritage Open Day inearly September this year with 183 visitors. Theywere from all over the world including China,Russia, Canada, America, Portugal, Brazil, theNetherlands, Poland and Germany. The support ofthe many volunteers who came in to help all daywas invaluable. The Cathedral also staged its‘Discover Something Different’ tours during twoweeks of August. For these two weeks visitors cancome on daily tours. This is run in conjunction withthe Worcester Festival. It is always fun to designnew tours, and there was the opportunity for thisduring the Three Choirs Festival with Library toursbased on the music collection. Earlier in the year itwas possible to design a tour of the medical booksfor a group of visiting surgeons.

Over the last year and a half, the Library’s staff andvolunteers have been putting together a freeexhibition about constructing the Cathedral. Thiswas shown in August for nearly three weeks in theCathedral’s nave. It was a very popular subject, andenabled us to work with the operational,archaeology, stone masons and educationdepartments. This was the second library exhibitionwe have undertaken, and learning from ourprevious effort, the amount of text per board waslimited and greater effort was made to matchspecific text and pictures in each section. Therewere also many more library volunteers whowanted to get involved, sometimes using their ownexperience as archaeologists, engineers, or teachersto bring additional knowledge to the process.Subsequently, we have found that cathedral guidesand others have requested the text of the exhibitionfor their guided tours. The Librarian was also verygrateful to those volunteers who made models orloaned items for the display cases, and to the localGeopark who also brought in a complementarygeological exhibition in the nearby Dean’s Chapel.

David Morrison, Cathedral Librarian

York MinsterOver the summer we have joined the Collectionsteam (artefacts, library and archives) with theLearning team to create a behemoth of knowledgesharing which shall be known as the Collections andLearning team! Vicky Harrison is now leading us inher new role as Assistant Director of Collections andLearning. This move acknowledges our belief thatthere is much overlap between our roles, andenables us to work together more closely.

We have also welcomed James Stevenson to ourteam as Interim Archivist, whilst Peter Young is onsecondment. James shall particularly be focusing ongaining archives accreditation for York Minster.Previously he has worked at Lincolnshire Archives.

Collections DevelopmentOn 12th September, York Minster held its firstCollections Study Day, attended by 45 academics,volunteers and staff members. During four sessionsthemed around ‘The Built Minster’, ‘The WrittenMinster’, ‘The Tangible Minster’ and ‘The LivingMinster’, participants gained a flavour of theobjects and stories locked up within our historiccollections, library and archives. Ten speakers,including our own Research Associates, sharedrecent research with the audience and posedquestions to inspire greater collaboration betweenYork Minster and universities.

Collections InformationThe Librarians have continued to work on profilingparts of the library loan collection, with particularfocus on identifying early 20th-century bequests,and also in creating suitable methodologies foranalysing data from catalogue description andusage statistics. This work will help establish criteriafor significance assessments that will be expandedto cover wider areas of the library collection.

Working with heritage consultant Ben Stoker wehave conducted significance assessments of ourfurnishings collection. Each object was scored on itlocal, national, aesthetic and rarity values giving it atotal score out of 16. This has helped us to identify‘outstanding’ objects in our collection.

Collections AccessCollections access has received a huge boost withthe launch of our online collections catalogue(www.calmview.eu/yorkminster). You can now


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browse our plate and monuments collectionsonline, where you will find photos and informationabout each object. We are uploading theinformation in phases, and shall soon be adding ourfurnishings. A lot of this work has been completedby collections volunteers, who have photographedobjects and typed up paper records. CollectionsAssistant Becca McGrath has diligently uploadedhundreds of photographs into our database, alsoensuring that records are properly formatted. Thishas resulted in a really rich resource for anyone whois interested in seeing the fascinating and beautifulobjects within York Minster’s collection.

Over the summer we hosted two Museum Studiesplacement students, Mollie and Sarah, from theUniversity of Leicester. During the eight weeks theyspent with us Mollie and Sarah photographedobjects for our collections database and performedsome really valuable and in-depth work analysingthe visitor journey. They looked at how successfulour Pilgrimage exhibition is, and suggestedimprovements to make it more engaging. Severaluniversities offer similar placement schemes, andthey are keen to work with cathedrals who offersuch diverse experiences and collections. We havebegun arranging next year’s placements with Leedsalready, and are hopeful that we can host studentsfrom Leicester again also.

Collections, library and archive objects from YorkMinster can now be viewed as part of CambridgeUniversity Library’s online exhibition,‘Remembering the Reformation’. Themes including‘Memory’, ‘Collected Lives’ and ‘Events’ areexplored using objects. Adapted and contestedobjects such as our slashed missal are discussed, as

well as survivals such as the St William window,which depicts his shrine as a place of healing.(https://exhibitions.lib.cam.ac.uk/reformation/case/introduction/ )

In late September York Minster hosted theCathedrals Plus conference for learning and visitorfocused staff. During the three days, delegatesheard different perspectives on volunteermanagement, religious education and pilgrimage incathedrals and also made learning visits to the BarConvent and other attractions in York. OurCollections Engagement and CollectionsDevelopment Officers Kirsty Mitchell and RachaelBowers spoke on ‘Building Resilience throughCollections Access’, sharing the work of the ArtsCouncil England funded project and the things theyhave learnt.

Collections Care and ConservationTwice a year we have ‘Collections DevelopmentWeek’, when we close the Library and tackle thebig jobs we have been putting off! In August it wasthe turn of our Church House attic store, wherepaintings, furniture, models and photographs hadbeen languishing in a rather unloved state. With theassistance of two placement students, we re-ordered the storeroom, identifying unknownobjects and adding a shelf numbering system so wecould record object locations more accurately. Wealso re-packed some boxes, and added bettersupport to objects. This has resulted in a better levelof collections care for our objects, and they are alsomore accessible.

Rachael Bowers, Collections Development Officer


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OTHER NEWS

General Data Protection Regulations

With the new Data Protection Law (GDPR) cominginto effect in May 2018, the Church of England hasproduced a range of guidance and information forparishes to use. This material may be of interest tocathedrals: it is available athttp://www.parishresources.org.uk/gdpr/

The guidelines should be of help as a clear andtargeted source of information.

Editor


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COMMITTEE CONTACTS

Chairman: The Very Rev Peter Atkinson, Dean of Worcester

Vice-ChairmanCanon Ann Barwood, Lay Canon and Canon Librarian of Exeter Cathedral

Treasurer: Dr Michael Stansfield, Durham University Library.Email [email protected]

Honorary SecretaryMs Judith Curthoys, The Archives, Christ Church Oxford. Email [email protected]

Assistant SecretaryMrs Katie Flanagan, Brunel University.Email [email protected]

Committee Members:Dr Claire Breay, British Library. Email [email protected]

Ms Vicky Harrison, York Minster. Email [email protected]

Dr Norman James, formerly The National Archives. Email [email protected]

Ms Kate McQuillian, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Email [email protected]

Mrs Cressida Williams, Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library.Email [email protected]

We aim to produce two issues of this letter each year, in summer and winter. Any contributions shouldbe sent to the Editor, Mrs Cressida Williams, either by email to [email protected] or by post to her at Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library, The Precincts, CanterburyCT1 2EH, to reach her by 31st October for the winter issue, or 30th April for the summer issue. She wouldalso welcome comments or suggestions for content.

THE CATHEDRAL LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES ASSOCIATION

The Cathedral Archives, Libraries and CollectionsAssociation is for anyone responsible for andworking with historic collections—books, archivesand objects—in the cathedrals and relatedorganisations of Great Britain and Ireland to providefor the development of best practice in and theexchange of information about all aspects of thecare, development and promotion of those collections, to secure their continuing educational

role within the wider mission of their governingbodies.

For our webpages, see http://cathedrallibrariesan-darchives.wordpress.com/

Enquiries about membership should be directed tothe Honorary Secretary or Treasurer.

the cathedral archives, libraries & collections ... · east sussex, as a step towards...

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