Wells Cathedral’s Chained Library preserves some of the most extraordinary works in the country. Books Unchained showcases a different volume each month, uncovering its origins, significance, and the stories it still holds.
New entries will appear below as they are published—check back as we turn the pages of this remarkable collection, one volume at a time.
Thursday 2 July 2026
Before modern zoology took shape, John Jonston’s Historia Naturalis (1657) sought to catalogue the known animal kingdom in one richly illustrated work. Featuring detailed engravings of creatures both real and mythical, it offers a fascinating glimpse into how 17th-century scholars understood, classified, and imagined the natural world.
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Monday 1 June 2026
Planning your summer break this year? Before you open a travel app, step back to the very beginnings of global exploration with Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (“Theatre of the World”) — the 16th century atlas that first gathered the world between two covers, transforming how people imagined far off places long before modern travel began.
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Thursday 6 May 2026
William Turner’s A New Herball, a landmark 16th‑century work, is the first comprehensive survey of English plants. Written in English to make botanical knowledge widely accessible, it combines detailed observations, practical uses, and illustrated plant descriptions.
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Thursday 2 April 2026
Catch a glimpse of medieval devotion: the fifteenth‑century German Book of Hours shows wonderful craftsmanship and illumination, and signs of use that hint at its owner’s daily spiritual routines.
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Thursday 5 March 2026, World Book Day
In honour of World Book Day, uncover the Paris Bible—a compact, 13th‑century creation that introduced the structure, script, and style shaping modern Bibles across the world.
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