The
Cathedral Library, which was built in the mid-fifteenth
century over the East Cloister, houses the book collection
of the Chapter in two areas: the Old Library and the
Reading Room. The earliest records of the Cathedral
are housed in the Muniment Room at the southern end
of the Library. The Library can be viewed by the public
at appointed times in the summer season, when there
is a small exhibition of books and documents.
The
Old Library houses
books published before 1800 collected by the canons
in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and reflects
their wide-ranging intellectual interests; the medieval
collection of books was lost at the time of the Reformation.
The core of the collection is theology, but science,
medicine, history, exploration and languages are also
well-represented.
The
pre-1701 holdings are shown in The cathedral libraries
catalogue, by David J[ames] Shaw … [et al] London:
British Library: Bibliographical Society, 1998. 2v.
in 3. V.1
Books printed in the British Isles and British America
and English books printed elsewhere, by Margaret McLeod
…[et al] 1984. ISBN 0712300384. V. 2
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Books
printed on the continent of Europe before 1701…
Part I. A-K, Part II L-Z and indexes. ISBN 0712345930
(Part I), 0712345949 (Part II), 0712306544 (set).
Volume
2 is available on line at
www.clci.co.uk. Scholars are welcome but must
make their requirements known and book an appointment
in advance with the Rare Books Librarian, by letter
or by telephone (for contact details see below), or
by email to
library@wellscathedral.uk.net |
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