York Minster Library

17/07/2014

Thousands of books have been deposited in York Minster Library for safekeeping over the years from parishes in all corners of Yorkshire. Many have braved obstacles such as fire and destruction in their journey here and each collection has its own story to tell - we've selected a few for our latest blog post.

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08/07/2014

This year marks the 600th anniversary of the re-founding of York’s Minster Library, when in 1414 the cathedral’s treasurer, John Neuton, bequeathed his book collection.

Hannah Jeans, an intern who worked with us on the Neuton Project, explores the history of this bequest and how this important anniversary will be celebrated.

Anybody can comment on this blog, provided that your comment is constructive and relevant. Comments represent the view of the individual and do not represent those of The University of York Information Directorate. All comments are moderated and the Information Directorate reserves the right to decl…

20/02/2014

In honour of National Chip Week we thought we’d look at the first English description of the humble spud. The potato reputedly arrived in this country at the end of the 16th century, and popular myth credits Sir Walter Raleigh with the introduction. The story goes that he had first tried the berries of the plant which are poisonous. Luckily someone else thought to try the tubers! The historical facts, however, are still a matter of contention.

The description appears in 1597 in The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes by John Gerard, a botanist and herbalist. It was immediately popular becoming the most widely circulated English botany book of the 17th century. The book contains more than 1800 woodcuts, one of which is this image of the potato. Gerard calls it a “Virginian “potato to distinguish it from what we now call sweet potatoes.

It seems that Gerard liked the potato, he grew them in his garden in London where they were considered a great delicacy. He also appears to be holding a spray of the potato plant showing the flowers and berries in his frontispiece portrait.

The Minster’s copy is from 1633 when the book was extensively revised by Thomas Johnson who removed many of the inaccuracies included by Gerard.

29/01/2014

Death of a King.

Today in York Minster a special service will be held to commemorate the anniversary of the ex*****on of Charles I on 29 January 1649. The service is held on this date every year using a bible and prayer book which were given by Charles to the Minster in 1633. Apparently Charles had granted the Dean and Chapter £1000 to spend on the library. However the money was spent elsewhere and as a punishment they were forced to purchase this book even though the inscription describes it as a gift.

Published in 1613, this version of the King James Bible has a beautiful velvet binding with silver clasps. Engraved on the clasps are the words ‘Ex dono Regis Carolij 1633’ which translate as ‘The gift of King Charles 1633’.

24/12/2013

Mistletoe and the high altar at York Minster.

Today, during the Crib service, the Dean will place a bunch of mistletoe on the high altar. York Minster is the only cathedral that follows this tradition.

Mistletoe is traditionally associated with pagan ritual particularly for the druids. It was revered not only as an evergreen at a time when much else was bare of leaves, but also because it produced berries in the dead of winter. The early church incorporated it in services of repentance and today it symbolises forgiveness and healing.

17/12/2013

Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing was one of the most popular and prolific Victorian children’s authors, although due to her didactic style her works are not often read today. Amongst the many stories she produced for children were the Christmas tales "Snapdragons" and "Old Father Christmas", from which these illustrations are taken. It is one of a surprising number of Victorian Children’s books in the York Minster collections.

Snapdragons was a popular Victorian parlour game played at Christmas. Raisins would be soaked in a bowl of brandy and then the brandy lit. Players would try to pull as many of the fruits from the blue flames as they could without dropping them or burning themselves. This game features heavily in Ewing’s Christmas story, and the Christmassy snapdragon fly, with holly wings, appears in Lewis Carroll’s "Alice Through the Looking Glass".

10/12/2013

This pamphlet (CWT 42-12-17) was written by Ferdinando Fairfax, a parliamentary general on this day during the Civil War. Charles I had raised his standard in August 1642 and initially the Earl of Newcastle, for the royalists, had been successful in West Yorkshire. However the parliamentarian troops regrouped and by the end of January 1643 Newcastle was forced to retire back south.

The British civil wars were the first time that propaganda in the forms of tracts, pamphlets and broadsheets had been extensively used. They provide detailed accounts of battles, negotiations between king and parliament, and the political events of the day.

York Minster Library has around 700 tracts, many printed in York and through them the king’s journey to the scaffold in January 1649 and the creation of the commonwealth of England can be traced.

06/12/2013

The Minster Library is closed on Friday December 13th from 12pm (re-opening as normal on Monday 16th December at 9am). Apologies for any inconvenience.

05/12/2013

Those of you lucky enough to have tickets to one of this week’s Christmas Carol Concerts will be taking part in a long-standing tradition of musical events that have taken place in York Minster over hundreds of years.

This engraving, taken from ‘An account of the Second Yorkshire Musical Festival’ held in York Minster in 1825, shows a breath-taking view of the Minster interior decked out for over 1600 eager guests and an orchestra of up to 150. This festival was followed by a ‘grand fancy ball’ widely attended by members of the nobility from across Yorkshire.

22/11/2013

While York Theatre Royal’s current production of Richard III uses new research to accurately stage the demise of the king on Bosworth Field, in the eighteenth century light-hearted entertainment often followed tragedy or grave subject matter to delight contemporary audiences. This particular playbill from Scarborough advertises a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’ in Scarborough followed by some unique ‘special effects’.

York Minster Library holds a wide range of theatre playbills, donated by Edward Hailstone in 1890. They come from the theatres that made up the Northern Circuit, including Wakefield, Leeds, Doncaster and Ripon, yet the vast majority originate from York’s very own Theatre Royal.

15/11/2013

The Old Palace will be closed between 12.45 and 2pm on Friday 22 November. The Library and Reading Room will be available as normal from 9am to 12.45pm and 2pm to 5pm.

15/11/2013

Sarah Griffin, York Minster Librarian, picks a few favourite items from the collections as she talks about the Special collections at the Cathedral and the University of York, as well as her role at both institutions.

Special Collections at York Minster Library and the University of York LibraryPosted on November 13, 2013 by Jane RonsonSarah Griffin, Special collections and York Minster Librarian, talks about the Special collections at the Cathedral and the University.I was appointed to the post of Special collec...