In 2014 the Appointment of a Special Collections Librarian (SCL) at the University of Lincoln was a new post designed with the intent of opening up Lincoln Cathedral Library as a resource for students and academics. This continuing collaboration has built on the existing relationship to enhance teaching and learning in the Wren Library, Cathedral Reading Room and Exchequer Gate.
The SCL currently works in Exchequer Gate on Mondays and Tuesdays and can facilitate group visits (maximum 10), teaching sessions and individual study for University of Lincoln staff and students throughout the week.
Please email the Special Collections Librarian to organise a visit.
Image: Exchequer Gate at Lincoln Cathedral
Access to rare books and manuscripts must be accompanied by an academic referral, as handling is restricted to academic research due to their fragility.
For students and staff of the University of Lincoln access can also be arranged via the Special Collections Librarian.
Members of the public may access the archival and modern reference collection.
We recommend using the Advanced Search as the general Search box only searches text fields.
If you find something on the Cathedral Library Catalogue you wish to see, please contact the Special Collections Librarian to arrange a time when you can visit the collection.
As the collection holds uncatalogued material, if you do not find anything pertinent it is worth contacting the SCL with the subject of your dissertation material, as there could be useful primary and secondary sources.
‘If Books Could Talk’ was a 2023 initiative funded by the University of Lincoln to provide a taster for staff and students to showcase the material held within Lincoln Cathedral Library. The project brought together an interdisciplinary team of artists and researchers to produce a creative response to the Lincoln Cathedral Library’s collection, which featured visual and sound elements, as well as a student-focused workshop exploring how archives can be a vital resource for dramatists, literary scholars, and social historians.
Lincoln Cathedral Library is home to many well-known manuscripts and books but there are many other treasures whose stories have not been told. There are books waiting to be researched, their secrets longing to be plundered. This interdisciplinary performance lecture explores some of the books housed in the Cathedral Library, imagining the soundscapes contained between the covers and the stories they could tell, if we were only to listen.
This event features sound artist Scanner (Robin Rimbaud); medieval literary and manuscript expert, Dr. Hollie Morgan; and two College of Arts Postgraduate Researcher students, Scarlett Butchers (Drama) and Mitchell Lovewell (History); and their work with the Lincoln Cathedral Library resources, selected by the Special Collections Librarian. The project culminated in a performance recorded live on Wednesday 20th September 2023 at Lincoln Arts Centre, University of Lincoln, UK.
For further information please contact Dr Renée Ward (rward@lincoln.ac.uk) or Claire Arrand (carrand@lincoln.ac.uk).
The Cathedral Libraries consist of the Medieval Library the Wren Library, the Reading Room in the Cathedral and Exchequer Gate.
The Medieval Library was completed in 1422 as a chained library to house the Cathedral’s manuscripts. Only 39 books survive of the original 136 theological material that was listed around February 1148, but the collection has since grown with many donations. Manuscripts from the collection are usually displayed from April to October, such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the Thornton Manuscript.
Image: Sketch of the 15th Century Medieval Library
The Wren Library was completed in 1676 and holds approximately half of the Cathedral’s early printed books, many of which belonged to Dean Michael Honywood who paid for the building and design of the library. The collection includes 120 “incunabula” or, books printed before 1501. Honywood’s eclectic interests are reflected in the subjects of his books: history, geography, travel, science, nature, literature including poetry and music.
Image: Photograph of the 17th Century Wren Library
The catalogue contains details of the items held within the Cathedral’s various collections including manuscripts, early printed books and modern reference books, as well as Cathedral objects such as church plate and vestments.
Lincoln Cathedral's collection can be searched via their Online Catalogue. The modern reference collection is available to staff, students and members of the public.
Medieval Manuscripts
10th to early 16th century, including bibles, prayerbooks and works of literary importance.
Rare Books
The Library has around 10,000 rare books printed before 1801. The wide range of subjects covered by these books includes volumes in many different languages including Latin, Greek, French, German, Italian, Dutch, as well as English.
Modern Reference
1801 to date. This collection covers the history of the Cathedral and Diocese of Lincoln, ecclesiastical history and biography, church and cathedral art and architecture, historical and architectural journals, bibliographical and biographical reference books but also unexpected material such as William Blake’s Jerusalem and Lincoln’s James Usher’s ‘An art collector's treasures illustrated and described by himself...’.
Address: Minster Yard, Lincoln, LN2 1PX
Telephone: 01522 561600
Email: visitors@lincolncathedral.com
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