CLAA Newsletter – Winter 2015

Cathedral Libraries and Archives Association Newsletter Winter 2015

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A WELCOME TO THE WINTER NEWSLETTER AND AN INVITATION TO THE TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE

This Winter issue of the Newsletter comes with good wishes from the Executive Committee for Christmasand the New Year. May I take this opportunity to say that I look forward to welcoming many of you to theTriennial Conference of the Association, to be held in Worcester from Wednesday 28th to Friday 30th

September 2016. Full details will be circulated very shortly, but in the meantime do reserve the dates forwhat I trust will be an interesting and informative time. In addition to the treasures of Worcester CathedralLibrary and Archive, Worcester also has the award-winning ‘Hive’, Europe’s first combined city and universitylibrary and archive. And nearby is the Hurd Library at Hartlebury Castle, recently saved from being sold offand now preserved for the future.

Peter Atkinson, Dean of Worcester

CATHEDRAL LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER, WINTER 2015

CLAA NEWS

CLAA GrantsAt the meeting of the CLAA Committee on18th March 2015, endorsed by the AGM of 23rd June2015, it was decided that the Association cancurrently afford to offer modest funding toenterprises that support the stated aims of theCLAA:

• To advance education by the promotion, preservation and protection of cathedral libraries and archives in the United Kingdomand Ireland

• The provision of appropriate access thereto

The CLAA therefore now invites applications fromfully paid up members of two years or morestanding for sterling grants in areas such as thefollowing:

• 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• Support for small projects such as the web-publication of unpublished catalogues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 the CLAA’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 in monitoring 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 the

Committee 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 CLAA websiteor by application to Dr Michael Stansfield, CLAATreasurer (Durham University Library, Palace Green,Durham DH1 3RN, or [email protected])to whom completed applications should besubmitted by, for this first round, 31st August 2016.Applications will then be considered at thesubsequent meeting of the committee. Successfulapplicants will be informed shortly thereafter.

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

Michael Stansfield, Treasurer

Remit of CLAAMany cathedral archives and libraries contain itemsother than archives, books and manuscripts.Increasingly too, cathedrals are employingcollections managers, many with museumsexpertise. The CLAA has always embraced thosewho work with ‘3D’ collections, and a more formalrecognition of this was discussed at the AGM inJune. There have been discussions about a possiblechange of name for the CLAA to reflect this. Thereis a bit of concern that the word ‘collections’ canhave two meanings in the cathedral context, andwe certainly do not want our Chapters to think thatwe have any claim on the contents of the collectionplate! A suggestion is the Association for CathedralLibraries, Archives, and Collections (ACLAC).

This issue will be raised again at the AGM in 2016.In the meantime, if members have any commentsor suggestions, please contact Judith Curthoys,[email protected].

Judith Curthoys

New Committee MembersNorman James has joined the CLAA committeeafter his retirement from The National Archives.From 2007-14 he was a member of the Archbishopof Canterbury’s Advisory Panel on Libraries andArchives and pressed the case for betteraccommodation to house Lambeth Palace Library.During 2009-10 he directed the UK-wide ReligiousArchives Survey and remains involved in theensuing action plan to improve the lot of thecollections which were mapped. He is now a trusteeof the Religious Archives Group. He continues toserve on the advisory panels on archives andlibraries at Exeter and Salisbury cathedrals havingpreviously performed a similar role at Canterbury.

Norman pursues research interests focussed onPope Leo the Great and is currently working onopponents and supporters of Augustine during themid-5th century in the context of Leo’s pontificateand contemporary controversies overpredestination. He also works intermittently on latemedieval parish clerks and, with Valerie James, hasco-edited the Bede Roll of the London Parish Clerks’Company. As light relief from these other tasks, heacts as the Company’s honorary archivist.

Norman James

I am the Assistant Archivist for St George’s Chapel,Windsor, where I have been working for two years.Immediately before that I was in Liverpool studyingfor a Masters in Archives and RecordsManagement, having previously been a trainee inthe Archives of Gonville & Caius College,Cambridge.

I started out as a student of early medieval Britainand England so working for a cathedral (well, RoyalPeculiar) has provided a fascinating education in thefield of ‘things that happened after Williamconquered’.

Although not strictly-speaking a cathedral, StGeorge’s is what might be considered the next bestthing and certainly shares many similarities in termsof the reasons for its foundation, its physical andorganisational structure and the types of records


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held in its Archives. I have enjoyed attending CLAAmeetings for the opportunity to meet people whowork in similar environments, facing similarchallenges and sharing similar privileges. I hopenow to provide useful service to the committee. (To

start with, I have taken over website administrationfrom Katie Flanagan for the next few months andso you may be seeing my fingerprints there.)

Kate McQuillian

NEWS FROM MEMBERS

Canterbury CathedralThe Canterbury Magna Carta commemorationspeaked in the Summer, and provided somesuccessful and enjoyable ways of sharing medievalhistory. The Magna Carta Family Trail held on 13th

June was awarded a prize for the best work on thecity’s history in 2015. The trail was initiated and co-ordinated by Cathedral Archives staff and wassupported by the Cathedral’s ‘Canterbury Journey’project; families could visit six heritage sites in thecity, meet costumed characters from the MagnaCarta story and carry out simple craft activities. TheArchives and Library took part in the Heritage OpenDays initiative in September. A display of earlymodern herbals complemented workshops led byan artist in which children could print from realdried herbs. There was also a free concert of musicof the Canterbury Catch Club, a gentlemen’ssinging club whose music is held in the Archives andLibrary.

For our annual Archives and Library lecture, wewere delighted to welcome Sheila Hingley back toCanterbury. The lecture, entitled ‘Restoration orRenaissance: cathedral libraries after 1660’, was amasterful and highly enjoyable journey to a numberof cathedral libraries.

The year of Magna Carta draws to a close;preparations are underway for markingShakespeare 400, working with other partners inthe city. We are also a partner in the CanterburyMedieval History Weekend at the beginning ofApril, which will include a number of talks andvisits.

As a very welcome development for our readingroom, members of the Canterbury branch of theKent Family History Society provide one-to-oneadvice on family history research during ourSaturday morning opening.

Now underway is the project to revise and digitisethe Manorial Documents Register for Kent. Becauseof the rich holdings of Kent manorial records in ourarchive, the Dean and Chapter is a partner in thisproject, alongside The National Archives and KentCounty Council. The digitised register will prove asignificant research asset.

We were delighted to be the first stop on the ‘GreatCathedral Libraries of England’ tour for students ofthe iSchool, University of Maryland (describedbelow). Also, we are very fortunate to be one of thecathedrals being studied for the AHRC—funded‘Pilgrimage and England’s Cathedrals’ project,based at the Centre for Pilgrimage Studies at theUniversity of York. The four cathedrals featuring inthe project are Canterbury, York, Durham andWestminster. Part of the project includes researchinto the archives, carried out by Dr John Jenkins. DrJenkins has already made some very significantdiscoveries, and he will be exploring these in theArchives and Library Lecture next year. For moredetails of the project, see http://www.pilgrimage-andcathedrals.ac.uk/

Cressida Williams, Archives and Library

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral is approaching the sharp end ofthe long process of refurbishing and creating newexhibition spaces in its claustral buildings. OpenTreasure will showcase the Cathedral’s extensivecollections of objects and tell the story of StCuthbert, Bede and life in the Cathedral over thecenturies. The Library is usually located in this samearea, and subsequently was required to relocate totemporary accommodation. It continues to offer areduced service throughout the period of thebuilding works. Planning has commenced to movethe collections back into their traditional spacesready for Open Treasure’s opening in Spring 2016.

As a result, the Library service will close betweenDecember and March while the move takes place.We are looking forward to a new Reading Roomand improved environmental conditions.

As part of HLF funding for Open Treasure, theLibrary team was expanded to include two newposts. Our Exhibitions Officer will oversee thedisplays and rolling exhibition programme in thenew spaces, and our Documentation Officer willcreate an electronic record of the Cathedral’sinventory. The Library also said goodbye to GabrielSewell, Head of Collections here for four years, andwe wish her every success.

Despite the disruptions, a number of Libraryprojects have continued over the last 12 months.The digitisation of the Cathedral’s Priory Library ofmanuscripts and early printed books hascommenced in earnest, in partnership with DurhamUniversity. We are also working with ProfessorAndrew Beeby and Professor Richard Gameson on

a project to apply spectroscopy processes to identifyand study pigments used in the illumination ofsome of our earliest manuscripts. ProfessorGameson also continues to catalogue the 308 titlesthat form the Priory Library collections.

Durham Cathedral holds three copies each of theMagna Carta and Forest Charter, and they havecommanded a lot of attention in 2015. The 1216engrossment of the Magna Carta and the 1217Forest Charter were displayed at Palace GreenLibrary’s summer exhibition ‘Magna Carta and theChanging Face of Revolt’, and the 1300engrossments are currently touring four venuesacross Canada over six months. Both exhibitionshave proved very popular. We aim to display all sixissues together for the first time in Summer 2017 inthe Cathedral’s new Collections Gallery, part ofthe Open Treasure exhibition space.

Lisa di Tommaso, Head of Collections


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Lisa Di Tommaso, Liz Branigan (Durham UniversityConservator) and Canon Rosalind Brown afterinstallation of the 1300 Magna Carta at theCanadian Museum of History, Ottawa.

An artist’s impression of the refurbished 14th-century Great Kitchen, which will house the relics of St Cuthbert.

Gloucester CathedralIn August, the family of Gloucester Cathedral wasshocked and saddened by the sad news of ChrisJeens’ death. Chris became the Cathedral’s Archivistafter his retirement from the post of Head ofHeritage and Cultural Services at WarwickshireCounty Council. It was a sudden loss to theCathedral and all who knew Chris. He will be verysorely missed. He was extremely talented and hard-working but also had a great sense of humour andshared it freely.

In October, the Dean and Chapter appointed me tobe their new Cathedral Archivist and to takeforward the work of the Library and Archive. Itrained as an archivist at Liverpool University andthen worked as both an archivist and recordsmanager at Gloucestershire County Council, beforebecoming the first professional archivist at StEdmund Hall, University of Oxford. For the last twoyears I have been working full time for the Dioceseof Gloucester undertaking pastoral reorganisationand charitable land holding administration. Iworked alongside Chris for four months at the startof the year, and was married in the cathedral inMay. I am delighted to have this opportunity toreturn to archives and records management and tohelp build on the good work undertaken in the lastsix years at Gloucester.

Rebecca Phillips (nee Shorter), Archivist

Hereford CathedralFrom shoes and fossils to Magna Carta and Mappa Mundi!I joined the Cathedral Library in August 2015 as thesuccessor to Rosalind Caird as Archivist, this time ina full-time role. I made the move from deepestSomerset, where I previously ran the archive andcollections for the Alfred Gillett Trust. Who? AlfredGillett was a cousin of the founders of Quaker shoecompany C & J Clark Ltd and he was a well-knowncollector of ichthyosaur ‘sea dragon’ fossils found inthe locality—just as good as those from Lyme Regis,but not quite as famous...

I have worked in a wide range of repositories inSwansea, Exeter and Edinburgh: local authority,university and national. I particularly loved themedieval Syon Abbey manuscripts and the modernliterary collections at the University of Exeter. In

Somerset, I found myself working for the AlfredGillett Trust, set up as an independently fundedcharity of the Clark family with a remit ofsafeguarding and opening up the firm’s and family’sdiverse heritage collections. There I had the chanceto work with even broader types of collections,building up an encyclopaedic knowledge of thecomplexities of inter-married Quaker families in thelocality and getting to grips with managing objectcollections for the first time. As well as working withinternational scholars and local amateur geologistscoming to see the ichthyosaur fossils, I set up thebusiness archive for Clarks and helped oversee thebuilding of a new store and the conversion ofStreet’s manor house ‘The Grange’ into a new HQfor the Trust. Highlights at Clarks included seeingthe collections moved at last into our brand-newshiny and dust-free archive, as well as leaving justbefore the discovery of asbestos used as a 20th-century thermal material in the Trust’s enormoushistoric shoe collection!

When the chance came up to follow in RosalindCaird’s footsteps, I jumped at the chance. I’dpreviously used the Cathedral Archives for part ofmy Masters’ dissertation research on Herefordshireantiquarians and remembered the stunning newlibrary setting very well. My brother had workedenthusiastically on the archaeological dig for thenew library back in the 1990s and I vividlyremembered seeing the Mappa Mundi down in thecrypt and the chained library up in the MunimentRoom above the North Transept during my schooldays in the county. It’s been a true privilege to havethe opportunity to return home after 20 years awayand to work with such rich archive collections andlovely colleagues! My induction has beensomewhat interrupted by the chance to gotravelling with Magna Carta and the King’s Writ tothe USA and China (!), but I’m very much lookingforward to getting properly settled in on my return.

Dr Charlotte Berry, Archivist

A new patron saint for archivists?The current temporary exhibition at HerefordCathedral within the Mappa Mundi and ChainedLibrary Exhibition explores the fortunes of shrines ofthe saints in England, and particularly those of twosaints with Hereford connections: St ThomasCantilupe and St Thomas Becket.


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For the first time in over 450 years a tibia (lowerleg) bone of St Thomas of Hereford, once housedwithin the shrine in the Cathedral and now in a 19th-century reliquary, is back at the Cathedral courtesyof the British Jesuit Province, which has also lent areliquary in the form of a morse (a cope fastening)containing a small piece of St Thomas Becket’s skull.Both are on display in the ‘Glimpses of Glory’exhibition, along with the Cathedral’s fabulous 13th-century Limoges reliquary of St Thomas Becket,which for around 300 years stood on an altar in theCathedral and depicts in bright colours Becket’smartyrdom and entombment.

The stories of the shrines are told through uniquedocuments and rare books from the Cathedral’scollections. They include an eyewitness account ofBecket’s assassination, a list of his relics kept at StKatherine’s Hospital, Ledbury, and a Sarum breviaryin which his office has been defaced, following thedirective of Henry VIII. Documents from theCathedral Archives relating to Cantilupe’s shrineand cult include bishops’ indulgences to pilgrims,receipts of craftsmen working on the new LadyChapel shrine to which his bones were translated in1349, and Bishop Adam de Orleton’s official copyof the papal bull confirming his canonization in1320.

The final item in the exhibition is a bit different, butcontains an equally outstanding artefact. Just onevolume has survived from a huge 12th-centurypassional, a book containing accounts of the livesand acts of the saints which were read out on theirfeast days. This volume (P.7.6) covers feasts duringNovember and December and includes, for 13th

December, the sole surviving source for thebiography of an obscure female saint, Eadburg,with 10 miracle stories focused on her shrine andholy well at Lyminge in Kent. One of the stories tellshow the Archbishop of Canterbury, doubtlesswishing to strengthen his own position, burned lotsof so-called ‘superuacuas et inutiles terrariumcartulas’—redundant and useless land records—actually important documents recording ownershiprights. But, miraculously, one pertaining to StEadburg’s land holdings at Lyminge refused to burn!

The medieval world in which the power of thesaints, their shrines and their relics was pervasive is

explored in ‘Glimpses of Glory: shrines of the saints yesterday and today’, until 2nd January 2016.Normal admission charges apply.

Dr Rosemary Firman, Librarian

Lambeth Palace Library

A BBC series for Spring 2016 provisionally titled‘The Hairy Builder’ spent time at Lambeth Palacerecently, filming the restoration of the Great Hall,and took some time to look at the library and someof its treasures. As well as the Hairy Builder himself,the crew captured the restored weather vane beingplaced back on top of the now completed Hall. Thetemperature and humidity are now beingmonitored prior to the Hall’s books being returnedfrom storage later this year.


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Also making good progress is the ground floor stackconversion which previously housed approximately1200 linear metres of printed books in less thanideal conditions. It is now about to be fitted outwith closer to 2000 linear metres of rolling stackand has temperature and humidity controls and afire suppressant system which will be a majorimprovement in storage conditions for a significantproportion of the stock. The aim is for this projectto be completed before the year end.

The archive of the deaconess Community of StAndrew, which originated in 1861, has beencatalogued (ref: CSA) and is now available forresearch at Lambeth Palace Library:https://lambethpalacelibrary.wordpress.com/2015/09/23/community-of-st-andrew-cataloguing-completed

Declan Kelly

Liverpool CathedralIn 2014 we applied for HLF funding for a WorldWar I Centenary project to commemorate theLiverpool Nurses Memorial in the Lady Chapel. Thegrant allowed us to prepare an exhibition on thepart that the nursing associations played in WW1both here and abroad, and to promote a talk withLiverpool University Continuing EducationDepartment, given by Professor Karen Hunt fromthe University of Keele.

Using the grant we were also able to have ourbooks of the Roll of Honour restored, digitised, anddisplayed on iPads for visitors to turn the pages.The illumination is by John Buchanan who was bornwith no hands and lived in the National Children’sHome from the age of 9. Our ongoing work will seeus working with a local Cadet unit for next year’sexhibition researching links with their HQ and theCathedral Company.

When the archivists started to research the namesof the nurses listed in the Roll of Honour and theirconnection with Liverpool, they discovered thatthey hailed from all over the British Isles. The nursesworked all over the battle front, some as far awayas Iraq and India whilst others worked locally.

The memorial to the Liverpool Nurses who gavetheir lives in the Great War was unveiled by LadyCowdray during the Annual Nurses Service on 12thMay 1929. The names of 20 nurses commemoratedare: Grace Glen Ainsworth, Alice Mary Blacklock,Mabel Briscall, Mabel Olive Craggs, Margaret EDuckers, Elizabeth Elliott, Laura Marion Gailey,Mabel Gash, Elizabeth S Gurney, DorothyHawthornthwaite, Elsie Jane Hewitt, ElizabethHughes, Florence Jones, Mary Bertha Marshall, Christian McCombie, Catherine Cook Miller, HelenaMay Rowlands, Ethel Constance Russell, EthelSaxon, Emilie Weatherilt.

The bas relief is the work of Mr David Evans, ayoung Lancashire sculptor who had won the Prix deRome in 1924. His style differs from that of othermemorials in the Cathedral. The rectangularsculptured panel set in a sandstone frameworkconstitutes the memorial to all Nurses of the districtwho fell in the War. The imagery shows war purgedfrom horror without being sentimental. The panel


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© IWM

has stiff drapery, flat surfaces and an absence ofwhat is called modelling in the faces and hands. Thesculptor achieves his effect with his technical ability.

The central panel depicts a nurse binding the headof a wounded soldier. The soldier is Everyman andthe bending figure of the woman displays the spiritof the nursing profession. The committeequestioned the accuracy of the soldier’s uniformbefore passing the final sketches. The CathedralCommittee Minute books from 1928 record ‘on theproposition of the Chairman, it was resolved thatthe cost be defrayed out of the funds in the handsof the Committee for the memorial to Soldiers andSailors when received’. The cost was estimated tobe £320.

During our research we learnt that there werememorials set up to nurses from WW1 in England,Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Some of our nurseswere commemorated on these as well as on ourmemorial. The memorial at York Minster includedseveral names of our nurses and it was good to visitthe Archives to do some research. Through ourcontacts we asked people all over the country tofind images for our exhibition. This included an ex-chorister in Edinburgh and a colleague who was onholiday in Scotland. We also made several tripsourselves round wet and muddy graveyards. Via theinternet we made links with other people who wereresearching our nurses and shared information.

All the nurses commemorated had a connectionwith Liverpool through birth, training at one of thelocal hospitals (1st Western General or the RoyalLiverpool Hospital), or through becoming a patientthemselves.

Canon Val Jackson, Archivist

Oxford, Christ ChurchIt is with sadness that Christ Church, Oxford, has toreport the death of its Librarian, Janet McMullin, inSeptember this year. Janet had been Librarian for 25years caring for both the modern working libraryand for Christ Church’s extraordinary collection ofantiquarian books and manuscripts. She wasastonishingly brave in the face of ever-progressingMS. Her good humour and deep knowledge(particularly of the ‘Alice in Wonderland’collections) will be much missed.

Judith Curthoys, Archivist

Representative Church Body Library, DublinThe seventh volume in the RCB Library’s ‘Texts andCalendars’ series, Preaching in Belfast, 1747–72: aselection of the sermons of James Saurin, has beenlaunched in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, by theBishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd John McDowell,who is a member of the RCB’s Library and ArchivesCommittee. The volume has been edited byProfessor Raymond Gillespie from NUI Maynoothand Roibeard O Gallachoir, a graduate of the MA inHistorical Archives in Maynooth who is shortly tojoin the staff of the RCB Library.

James Saurin, a descendant of a prominentHuguenot family, was appointed as vicar of Belfastin 1747, and one of his first acts was to write aseries of sermons which he preached to hiscongregation over his long tenure as vicar. Some 55of these sermons were recently discovered in StAnne’s Cathedral, having been preserved and usedby Saurin’s son and grandson for their preaching.This edition includes 20 of these sermons. Theyprovide a vivid insight into the mind of a Church ofIreland clergyman in the rapidly changing town ofBelfast in the middle of the 18th century andilluminate many of the key issues of the world ofprovincial Ireland.


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To learn more about this book, visit the Four CourtsPress website atwww.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2015/preaching-in-belfast

Raymond Refaussé, Librarian and Archivist

St Edmundsbury Cathedral Ancient LibraryThe major undertaking in the last year has been a‘Collection Review’ with a report written by JuliaFoster (Library and Archive Surveys). This enabledus to look in detail at 493 early printed books manyof which have been in the library since itsfoundation in 1595. As well as establishingpreservation priorities and points of action forimproving policy documentation and environmentalconditions, we now have a much more detailedknowledge of provenance, pastedowns, marginaliaand bindings.

It has been good to exhibit more books in theTreasury this year, after the Cathedral’s centenarylast year, when we inevitably focused ondocuments and people, and our ‘early’ MagnaCarta exhibition to coincide with Roger ofWendover’s account of the barons meeting in Buryon St Edmund’s Day 1214.

Two of our exhibitions have featured books withLatin tags. Henry Blagge, son of a courtier of HenryVIII, came to Suffolk when his widowed mother,Dorothy, returned for her third marriage. Henrymarried his new step-sister and gave a number ofbooks, including a Koran (Basle, 1543), in all ofwhich he wrote ‘Non mihi sed omnibus’.

Our present exhibition is of books which previouslybelonged to Dr John White (1570-1615) whobecame rector of Barsham in Suffolk in 1609, afterserving in Eccles and Manchester. They all have hismotto ‘Si non hodie quando’. Some volumes werepurchased shortly after his death and one wasdonated in the 1650s. Similarly inscribed books arein Cambridge University Library and in Chetham’sLibrary. It would be interesting to know of others.

Stephen Dart, Assistant Librarian

Salisbury CathedralVolunteer Voice is our oral history project involvingthe Cathedral’s volunteers and the archive,launched in the summer, and which we arecurrently in the midst of. Salisbury is fortunate tohave a large and active volunteer base of over 700who help out in many different ways from guidingto gardening, dusting to flower arranging and fromworking in the shop to assisting with school visits.Funded by HLF as part of our Magna Cartaanniversary celebrations, the aims of this project aretwofold. Firstly, the Cathedral archives contain avast quantity of information and material formingthe official records of the Cathedral eg minutes,finance records, records of property ownership etc.,but very little representing other groups anddimensions of the Cathedral’s life. We wanted toincrease representation in the archive of one ofthese groups— the Cathedral’s volunteers—byrecording their thoughts and experiences aboutvolunteering at the Cathedral. Secondly we sawVolunteer Voice as a means for Cathedralvolunteers to directly engage with the archive byparticipating in the recording, transcribing andprocessing of the interviews as well as ensuringtheir own words are preserved in the archive.

We have therefore, from the current volunteers,recruited interviewers, transcribers and dataprocessors and alongside this, volunteers willingthemselves to be interviewed. We hope to gather50 interviews each around 30 minutes in length, totranscribe many of these and to take audio clipsfrom the recordings to be used on the Cathedral’swebsite and hopefully in other ways in the future.

At the time of writing over 20 interviews havealready taken place and our transcribers and dataprocessors are now busy working on them. We arelooking forward to finding out a lot more about ourvolunteers and to hear their stories as the projectprogresses.

I would be very interested to hear from any othercathedrals who have undertaken or are planningany similar projects. The project is leading to otherbenefits for the archive including the potentialdeposit of the records of specific volunteer groupsand the opportunity to interview in greater depthand length long-serving volunteers involved inflower-arranging and embroidery.


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I am also pleased to report that we have recentlybeen able to employ a part-time archivist, HelenSumping, for the coming year specifically toconcentrate on cataloguing.

Emily Naish, Cathedral Archivist

Worcester CathedralThe Cathedral Library and Archive returned to itsnormal location in the course of July and Augustafter the medieval ceiling was repaired. TheCathedral’s service team and Library staff broughtthe boxes back up via a hoist to the Library situatedin the triforium. For practical reasons the archiveswere returned first, and then the books a weeklater. Whilst the packing process took five months,the majority of the unpacking was done in fiveweeks. We were again greatly assisted by theLibrary volunteers who came and helped beyondtheir normal times and allowed the Library toreopen ready for the August tourist season. I wouldbe happy to answer any questions about the moveif any other cathedral libraries or archives have todo something similar.

However, there is still some conservation work to bedone. Although nothing was damaged in the move,items such as the Cathedral’s royal charters arehaving to be flattened again, having been rolled upfor the duration of the ceiling repairs. They willeventually be put back in their display cases in a fewmonths. The move has also made us aware of theneed for more shelving and better lighting.Hopefully these are projects we can look at in thefuture.

Tom Hopkins the Library Assistant and HeritageLottery Fund ‘Skills For the Future’ traineecompletes his time with us in late October. Hisexhibition in the Dean’s Chapel on the NuremburgChronicle and medieval incunabula was verysuccessful. He also worked on a joint project withthe six other heritage trainees in Worcestershire ona temporary ‘pop-up’ exhibition. This involvedhiring a shop during the Worcester Festival whichstaged an exhibition about the local heritagevenues, as well as free activities for families. Thetrainees also gathered data from visitors to the shopabout which places they had visited locally, andprovided information about the different places ofinterest. His final display will be about fragments ofmanuscripts and documents found in the bindings

of the collection. Tom has also managed theLibrary’s social media, and worked with the Libraryvolunteers to promote the blog, which is aimed atvisitors and the general public. He has gained a jobat Guildford Museum managing a team ofvolunteers as they catalogue and research 1,000objects from the museum’s collections to be putonto a website as part of an access to collectionsproject.

Since reopening, the Library staff and volunteershave been busy with an increasing number ofacademic researchers, and greater numbers ofenquiries from the public than ever before. We havealso had a number of visitors interested in seeingthe King John relics, and University of Worcester Artand Design students drawing images from theilluminated manuscripts and maps for two of theirmodules. Over the course of the summer therewere a number of work experience students andpupils from various local schools who greatlyassisted in both the unpacking process and inhelping with research and blogs.

David Morrison, Cathedral Librarian

York MinsterAs in the previous newsletter, news from theCollections Team (Archives, Library and Museum)at York Minster is reported under the four headingsinto which our Forward Plan is divided: CollectionsDevelopment, Collections Information, CollectionsAccess and Collections Care & Conservation.

Collections Development: Work continued on ourCollection Review and Profiling project, which willenable us to develop a coherent, relevant andsustainable collection for our users and potentialusers. The team gathered information on thequantity, quality and usage of the collection, andidentified additional work required to fill gaps in ourknowledge. Plans for this work are being preparedand will be submitted for approval in December.Following the submission of our Arts CouncilEngland (ACE) Return in February, an AccreditationAdvisor made a Verification Visit to see that wemeet ACE’s standards. The findings of the visit willbe taken to the Assessment Panel in November.Work on the mid-term review of the Minster LibraryPartnership Agreement between the Chapter andthe University of York was concluded. Theagreement, which is in place until 2020, provides


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the Chapter with its library staff and cataloguesystem to deliver a first-class library service. AMemorandum of Understanding which explains theintent of the original agreement was developed andwill be submitted to the November meeting of theMinster Library Board.

Collections Information: A new Data ProtectionPolicy for the Minster was drafted and, following aperiod of consultation, approved subject toamendments. The policy will be rolled out inNovember. Work continued on the CathedralInventory with volunteer assistants helping toprepare collection information for inputting to Calmand undertaking the inputting. We have also begunto engage specialists to assist with the assessmentof the significance of collection items. A review ofloan agreements with the 181 parishes which haveitems on deposit at the Minster is now underway.Work is currently focussing on parish libraries,magazines and plate.

Collections Access: Our ‘Collections Unlocked’series of adult learning sessions for 2014/15concluded with ‘Praying for Victory? The Legacy ofWar’. This session used objects and texts to explorehow faith is expressed in times of war and includedletters from the Givenchy campaign sent home byarmy chaplain Eric Milner-White, later dean of York.Continuing to build our relationship with the armyregiments based in York, ‘Collections Unlocked’sessions were also delivered as part of ArmyDevelopment Days at the Minster, and twobespoke ‘Hidden Old Palace’ tours were deliveredto non-serving partners as part of an Army FamilyDay. (The Old Palace houses the Library and

Archives, and is the ‘headquarters’ of theCollections Team.) In addition we welcomed 2,857people to the Old Palace in the second and thirdquarters of 2015, retrieving 1,377 items for use bythe public and staff, and lending 861 items from theLibrary.

Collections Care & Conservation: Work continuedon our storage audit, which is assessing each of our34 stores for capacity, environment, fittingssuitability and accessibility, in order to helpdetermine what is best stored where. An analysis ofthe data gathered so far resulted in arecommendation for temporary measures toimprove collection storage while the developmentof a core collection, through the Collection Reviewand Profiling project, takes place. Theimplementation of these measures is to be plannedand timetabled alongside activity to create aCollections Care & Conservation Policy in thesecond quarter of 2016.

There are two changes to staff at directorial level toreport. Richard Butterfield, previously KirkleesCouncil’s Museums & Galleries Manager, has takenup the new position of Director of Learning andParticipation at the Minster. Richard takes overdirect responsibility for the Collections Team fromthe Canon Chancellor. At the University of York,Heidi Krauss Fraser has succeeded Stephen Town asDirector of Information. Like Stephen, Heidi will beresponsible for the maintenance of the LibraryPartnership Agreement with the Chapter.

Peter Young, Minster Archivist


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OTHER NEWS

Great Cathedral Libraries of EnglandFrom Canterbury to Hereford, with visits toRochester, Westminster Abbey, Wells, and Exeter inbetween—this was a remarkable journey taken bytwo instructors and seven Library and InformationStudies graduate students as part of GreatCathedral Libraries of England, an internationaleducation course offered by College of InformationStudies (iSchool), University of Maryland, in theUnited States in June 2015. We visited the libraries

and archives of six English cathedrals, learningabout their history and development, viewinghistorical and artistic treasures, discussing topics ofprofessional interest with the staff, and participatingin the contemporary life of the cathedral. Along theway, we established new professional networks;developed skills in traveling through the UK bytrain, coach, and local bus; enjoyed local fare inpubs, tea rooms, cafés, and restaurants; learned tolook left when crossing the streets; and were

pleasantly surprised to enjoy the warmest weatherthat the area had experienced in some years.

While there are many cathedrals in the US (85Episcopal cathedrals and 193 Roman Catholiccathedrals, according to Wikipedia), they are not asprominent on the American geographic and culturallandscapes and the structures are smaller and lessimposing. With a few exceptions, the cathedrals donot attract tourists interested in their historical orarchitectural significance. The National Cathedral inWashington, DC, is perhaps the best knowncathedral because it is often the site of televisedevents of national interest. Before our visit, most ofus recognised the names of more English cathedralsthan American cathedrals. However, our knowledgeof English cathedrals and their libraries and archivesdid not extend very far beyond name recognitionassociated with their role in history, art, and currentevents and information gained from assignedcourse readings.

Fortunately, we had arranged with David Shaw,Chair of the Canterbury Archeological Trust andnoted bibliographer, to provide a lecture shortlyafter our arrival in Canterbury on the history anddevelopment of cathedral libraries and archives.The historical framework that he set forth preparedus well for the remainder of our visits. As a result of what we learned from David, throughout ourjourney, students asked about founders of thelibrary, initial collections, local effects of thedissolution of the monasteries, the fate of thelibrary during the Cromwellian era, and the rolesthat the Dean and Chapter had played in thelibrary’s development at each of the cathedrals.

The itinerary for our 12-day course began inCanterbury, home-base for visits to CanterburyCathedral and Rochester Cathedral. A typicalpattern for a cathedral visit began with a sessionduring which the staff talked about the history ofthe cathedral, the development of the library andarchives, the collections, and special features oftheir particular service and about public outreach,conservation and preservation, digitisation, disasterplanning, staffing, administration, cataloguing, andother topics of professional interest. We toured thelibrary facilities and enjoyed exhibits, some of whichhad been put together just for our group! Afterlunch, which usually was at the cathedral café, we

toured the cathedral on our own. Several of usstayed for Evensong whenever the train or busschedule allowed.

After four days in Canterbury, we moved to Londonfor three days. While in London, we visitedWestminster Abbey and had the only unscheduledday during which we each explored London on ourown. We then moved to Bristol, our last home-base, from where we travelled to Wells Cathedral,Exeter Cathedral, and Hereford Cathedral forprofessional visits and to Bath as tourists, where wewandered through the medieval streets, made anunscheduled stop at Bath Abbey, and enjoyed tea.

The 800th Anniversary celebration of Magna Cartabecame a theme for our visit. Celebration of MagnaCarta, whose principles are embodied in the USConstitution and Bill of Rights, was underway in theUS as we left for England. At Canterbury, welearned about the copy of the 1215 document thatis now acknowledged to have been issued originallyto the cathedral. A focus on the Magna Cartacontinued during visits to Rochester Cathedral,where we saw Rochester Castle and heard the storyof the siege of 1215, and at Hereford Cathedral,where we viewed a copy of the 1217 Magna Carta. We had a spectacular time during our visits to thecathedral libraries, and it is impossible to capture allthat we learned in this brief account; however, youmay read much more about our daily adventures onthe class blog (http://blog.umd.edu/inst729-cathedrals/ ).

In the limited space remaining, we’d like to offerjust a sampling of the experiences that made ourvisit so memorable. These musings are notprofound or ground-breaking in any way, but weoffer them in the hope they will convey an inklingof our rich and varied experiences.

Canterbury Cathedral: we were thrilled to finallymeet David Shaw and Cressida Williams in person!Without these individuals, the trip would not havebeen possible! After a year of planning, emails, andtelephone calls, it was very nice to meet them face-to-face. We had a lovely time in Canterbury,touring the Cathedral, attending Evensong, visitingthe shops, and acclimating ourselves for our Englishadventure.


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Rochester Cathedral: the graciousness of MichelleLees and the volunteers at Rochester Cathedral washeart-warming. We were impressed by theirwillingness to tell us about the history of theCathedral Library and its ongoing renovation. Wealso were amazed to see the damage done to abook by an actual ‘bookworm’. (See photos on theblog site.)

Westminster Abbey: we had a wonderful discussionof professional topics with Tony Trowles and werefascinated to learn about his integral role in the lifeof the Abbey in addition to his responsibilities forthe Library. The opportunity to spend the entire dayvisiting the Abbey, beginning with a walk throughthe nave before the official opening time andconcluding with Evensong, was a particular gift.

Wells Cathedral: a regional bus took us to the smallcity of Wells where Kevin Spears lead us throughthe narrow sunlit walkway of the Chained Library.Although most of us had read about chainedlibraries, it was interesting to see how the systemreally worked and to learn about the rationalebehind the practice. Because Wells Cathedral is thesite for numerous television and movie sets, itseemed familiar, although most of us had neverbefore seen it in person.

Exeter Cathedral: we were impressed by theinterpretation centre and the outreach effortsdescribed by Ann Barwood, Canon Librarian atExeter Cathedral. Our visit to the Exeter Libraryenabled us to consider the differences inherent inhousing collections in modern facilities as comparedto the authenticity of viewing materials in historicalsettings. We appreciated the insights about theLibrary’s history provided by staff members, EllieJones, Peter Thomas and Stuart Macwilliam.

Hereford Cathedral: outreach to the communitywas a continuing theme during our visit to theHereford Cathedral library. We were pleased tohave the opportunity to view the exhibit thatfocused on the Library’s 1217 Magna Carta and tosee an original seal from Elizabeth I. Seeing theHereford Gospel from the 800s was a special treat.Rosemary Firman and Rosalind Caird were sogracious in providing us with information about theLibrary’s history, its significant collection of chainedbooks, and it commitment to making the collectionrelevant to the community.

Group visits to historical and cultural sites and freetime for exploring on our own rounded out theitinerary. In Canterbury, we saw the city from a punton the Stour, toured the oldest parts of the city withan expert guide, visited the Beaney Museum andLibrary, and peeked at the remains of Roman bathsunderneath a bookstore. In London, we attended alunchtime talk at the British Museum on thechallenges of preserving artefacts from Sutton Hooand were overwhelmed by the museum itself. Onour free day in London, we spread out over the city.Some of us saw pop-up drama at Hampton CourtPalace, while others wandered through the Victoria& Albert Museum, enjoyed a play at the Globe onthe South Bank, explored significant sites in theBritish publishing and book trade industries, orlearned about London by riding the Tube andtalking with local people. We spent a very warmday in Bath, touring the Roman Baths, visitingmuseums, and having tea at the Pump Room—from an American perspective the quintessentialEnglish experience. In Bristol, we saw the CliftonSuspension Bridge at night and walked through thelovely Temple Gardens every day. The rail trip fromBristol to Hereford took us through a corner ofWales, a first visit for many of us, and we enjoyedhearing the station stops announced in Welsh aswell as English. We learned at least a little aboutevery cathedral town that we visited by exploringbeyond the cathedral itself, shopping, and relaxingin a local pub or restaurant. We found a favouritecoffee shop in Canterbury and Indian corner cafénear the British Museum. We cheered for theEnglish national team during the Women’s WorldCup and were disappointed when their journeyended.

We are deeply indebted to the staff of the librariesand archives who invited us and welcomed us withgenerous hospitality: Cressida Williams, KarenBrayshaw and staff at Canterbury Cathedral; DeanPhilip Hesketh, Michelle Lees, and volunteers atRochester Cathedral; Tony Trowles and staff atWestminster Abbey; Kevin Spears and volunteers atWells Cathedral; Ann Barwood and staff at ExeterCathedral; and Rosemary Firman and RosalindCaird (now retired) at Hereford Cathedral. Specialthanks to David Shaw who, in sharing his extensiveknowledge of the history of cathedral libraries andarchives with us, gave us an orientation thatprepared us well for the rest of our visits. CressidaWilliams receives a very special thanks for sending


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out our initial inquiry about the feasibility of thecourse to the CLAA membership; when she passedalong the inquiry, she made our incredible journeypossible.

We are planning to offer our Cathedral Librariescourse again in summer 2016 and enable additionalgraduate students from the US the opportunity to

have extraordinary access to the priceless treasuresheld in England’s cathedral libraries and to learnfrom the dedicated staff who preserve this historyand make it accessible to today’s generations. Wewelcome invitations from libraries and archives.

Diane L. Barlow, iSchool, University of Maryland


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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](maternity leave 2015-16)

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

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,Canterbury CT1 2EH, to reach her by 31st October for the winter issue, or 30th April for the summerissue. She would also welcome comments or suggestions for content.

THE CATHEDRAL LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES ASSOCIATION

The aims of the Cathedral Libraries and Archives Association are:

• To advance education by the promotion, preservation and protection of cathedral libraries and archives in the United Kingdomand Ireland

• The provision of appropriate access thereto

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

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