Salisbury Cathedral Library
Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2EF
01722 555107
Emily Naish, Cathedral Archivist
By appointment in advance
9.30–12.30, 2.00–4.30
Access to the Library is via a 37 step spiral staircase. Alternative arrangements to consult specific books for researchers requiring level access can be made.
No
c10,000
Usually less than 15
An eclectic mix resulting from the interests of those who donated and bequeathed volumes to the library. Particularly significant is a bequest of c1000 texts (protestant reformation literature) by Bishop Edmund Geste in 1577 and a bequest of c300 texts (medicine, science, astronomy) by Bishop Seth Ward in 1689. The Gillingham parochial library is held on deposit.
Collection of c200 manuscripts dating from 9th to 15th centuries including c60 manuscripts written at the Cathedral previous site now known as Old Sarum.
An electronic catalogue is in the process of being created and is accessible via the Salisbury Cathedral main website. The majority of the books which have not yet been added to the electronic catalogue have been catalogue on the card catalogue and/or in a catalogue printed in 1880 Catalogue of the Cathedral Library of Salisbury.
1
1
20
Visitors with a general interest in the library and its holdings can book a place on the ‘Library Tour and Tea’. Other events concerning the library and archive collections are held regularly – further details available on the Salisbury Cathedral website.