Libraries and collections of Stonyhurst College
Encyclopedia
The Jesuit origins of Stonyhurst College
in Lancashire
, England
, have enabled it to amass a large collection of books, a number of which concern recusant history, whilst artefacts from all over the world have been brought back to the school by Jesuit missionaries and alumni. The school has four main libraries: the Arundell, the Bay, the Square and the More (dedicated to Saint Thomas More). It also two museums: the Do Room and the Long Room.
The More Library is the main library for student use and was opened in 1933 on the ground floor in what were, until then, the Higher Line and Lower Line reading rooms, and are today classrooms. It moved upstairs to occupy its present home in the former Study Place in 1966. It was refurbished and opened by Paul Johnson
, an old boy, in 2004 (Johnson is the last person to have worn an 18th-century school uniform preserved in the school, in a pageant during World War II
, when he was the only boy small enough to fit in it). At present it contains some 11,500 volumes. When the library was the Study Place, it was filled with rows of desks where pupils would engage in private study under Jesuit supervision; the principle behind the Study Place has been revived with the creation of new playroom-specific study centres in the Campion Room, Old Gymnasium, Shirk, Magazine Dormitory and Dormitory 5.
The 'House Libraries' (the Arundell, the Bay, and the Square) include many artefacts from the Society of Jesus
and English Catholicism. The Arundell Library, presented in 1837 by Everard, 11th Baron Arundell of Wardour, is the most significant. It is not only a country-house library from Wardour Castle
but also has a notable collection of incunabula, medieval manuscripts and volumes of Jacobite
interest. Signal among its books associated with historical figures is "Queen Mary's Book of Hours
" which belonged to Mary Tudor
and is thought to have been given by Mary, Queen of Scots, to her chaplain on the scaffold. The manuscript Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines was written in 1354 by Henry, Duke of Lancaster
. To these were added the archives of the English Province of the Society of Jesus
. These included 16th-century manuscript verses by St Robert Southwell, the letters of St Edmund Campion
(1540–81) and holographs of the 19th-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins
. The Arundell Library held the seventh century Stonyhurst Gospel
of St John, before it was loaned to the British Library
. There is also a first folio of Shakespeare.
Until 1974, the House Libraries complex, was much larger, with the Arundell and Square Libraries opening into a further room, originally built as the Boys' Chapel, but converted into a three storey museum and library, known as 'the Museum', complete with ornamental railings, spiral staircases, and glass display cabinets featuring natural history artefacts. The Museum was dismantled to make way for the Higher Line Common Room in 1974. Many of its exhibits had already been sold. Originally, the Sodality Chapel was an ante-chapel before the conversion of the Boys' Chapel next door into the Museum, hence its connection to the Higher Line Common Room. A dedicated archivist and part-time librarian now oversee the contents of the House Libraries, taking on the task from Fr Frederick J. Turner, SJ
. Since their appointment, access for pupils to these former Jesuit libraries has been opened up and a number of lost or unknown items have been discovered, including a third Wintour vestment, the so-called Spangled Stuffe Suit which had been missing since 1670.
The Long Room functioned as a museum of stuffed birds in Victorian display cabinets, the Waterton Collection, donated by old boy explorer Charles Waterton
until they were transferred to the corridor linking the Old Infirmary with the school. It had been Waterton's wish for this record of his lifetime's work to be on display in his former school; the collection was lent to Wakefield Museum in the 1970s. Thankfully and due to the tireless work of the current curator Jan Graffius some of the collection has now returned to its home in the Long Room. The Long Room was used as a study room from the 1970s until 2003 when it was restored and once again used for a display of items from the College collections.
A lesser-known fact about the Long Room is that, above the bay, between its ceiling and the room above, exists one of the two remaining priest hole
s or hiding places, dating back to the house's time as a private residence in the period of Recusancy
, when Jesuits and other Catholic priests were hunted by the authorities. The other hiding place is in the gatehouse, approached up a false chimney. Another was located in the Duchess' Rooms before they were pulled down to make way for the Arundell Library wing; it was hidden behind a bookcase, opened by a secret spring. A fourth was under a flagstone in the original washing place, and a further hidden behind a false beam nearby.
The Do Room, re-opened in 2000 following the replacement of the beams which support the Top Refectory above, features an exhibition of the School's history and items from the collections, including photographs, a Victorian chamber-pot complete with the College emblem, the desk used and engraved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during his time as a pupil and a door belonging to an earlier building on the site.
placed upon Jesus' head.
The school has a number of fine paintings, in particular the Four Doctors by Jacob Jordaens
and/or Rubens
. A small very early anonymous painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains missing after being stolen. Portraits include one of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia
and another of the Jesuit Henry Garnet
. In the Stuart Parlour are portraits of a number of Jacobites including James Francis Edward Stuart
, and his sons Charles Edward Stuart
and Henry Benedict Stuart
. There are also a number of original engravings by Rembrandt and Dürer.
The Stonyhurst Chronicles of Jean Froissart
, captured at the Battle of Agincourt
in 1415 are currently on loan to the Royal Armouries
in Leeds, where they are the centre-piece of a new exhibition.
The Stonyhurst Gospel
(or Cuthbert Gospel), a 7th century manuscript which belonged to Saint Cuthbert and has the oldest known leather binding of any Western book, is on display in the British Library
, who in 2011 agreed terms to buy it and have launched a puplic appeal to do so.
The Stonyhurst Collection of Native American artefacts is now in the British Museum
, with some items on permanent display, where they were on loan since 1977, before being sold for £650,000 in 2004.
A sumptuous gold-embroidered cope
, decorated with Tudor rose
s and portcullis
es, from a set of vestment
s used by the household of Henry VII
and bequeathed by him to Westminster Abbey
, has been in the Victoria and Albert Museum
since 1999. It is said to have been borrowed back by Henry VIII
to wear at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
in 1520.
Temporary exhibition loans have included Stonyhurst MS 60, the "Hours of Katherine Bray", a book of hours
with Flemish illumination of about 1490, to the Royal Academy
in London and the Getty Museum in California in 2003-2004 for "Illuminating the Renaissance". The 2011 British Museum
exhibition on "Relics", also Baltimore
and New York, included items from the collection including a modern reliquary
.
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, have enabled it to amass a large collection of books, a number of which concern recusant history, whilst artefacts from all over the world have been brought back to the school by Jesuit missionaries and alumni. The school has four main libraries: the Arundell, the Bay, the Square and the More (dedicated to Saint Thomas More). It also two museums: the Do Room and the Long Room.
Libraries
Paul Johnson
-Sports:*Paul Johnson , head football coach at Georgia Tech*Paul Johnson [1896-1973], Major League outfielder*Paul Johnson , English cricketer*Paul Johnson , English footballer...
, an old boy, in 2004 (Johnson is the last person to have worn an 18th-century school uniform preserved in the school, in a pageant during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when he was the only boy small enough to fit in it). At present it contains some 11,500 volumes. When the library was the Study Place, it was filled with rows of desks where pupils would engage in private study under Jesuit supervision; the principle behind the Study Place has been revived with the creation of new playroom-specific study centres in the Campion Room, Old Gymnasium, Shirk, Magazine Dormitory and Dormitory 5.
The 'House Libraries' (the Arundell, the Bay, and the Square) include many artefacts from the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and English Catholicism. The Arundell Library, presented in 1837 by Everard, 11th Baron Arundell of Wardour, is the most significant. It is not only a country-house library from Wardour Castle
Wardour Castle
Wardour Castle is located at Wardour, near Tisbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The original castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War...
but also has a notable collection of incunabula, medieval manuscripts and volumes of Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
interest. Signal among its books associated with historical figures is "Queen Mary's Book of Hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
" which belonged to Mary Tudor
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and is thought to have been given by Mary, Queen of Scots, to her chaplain on the scaffold. The manuscript Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines was written in 1354 by Henry, Duke of Lancaster
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG , also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier...
. To these were added the archives of the English Province of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
. These included 16th-century manuscript verses by St Robert Southwell, the letters of St Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
(1540–81) and holographs of the 19th-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
. The Arundell Library held the seventh century Stonyhurst Gospel
Stonyhurst Gospel
The Stonyhurst Gospel, also known as the St Cuthbert Gospel or the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, is a small 7th-century pocket gospel book, written in Latin, which was probably placed in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a few years after he died in 687...
of St John, before it was loaned to the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. There is also a first folio of Shakespeare.
Until 1974, the House Libraries complex, was much larger, with the Arundell and Square Libraries opening into a further room, originally built as the Boys' Chapel, but converted into a three storey museum and library, known as 'the Museum', complete with ornamental railings, spiral staircases, and glass display cabinets featuring natural history artefacts. The Museum was dismantled to make way for the Higher Line Common Room in 1974. Many of its exhibits had already been sold. Originally, the Sodality Chapel was an ante-chapel before the conversion of the Boys' Chapel next door into the Museum, hence its connection to the Higher Line Common Room. A dedicated archivist and part-time librarian now oversee the contents of the House Libraries, taking on the task from Fr Frederick J. Turner, SJ
Frederick Turner SJ
The Reverend Frederick Turner, SJ, who died aged 90 in 2001, was archivist, librarian and former headmaster at Stonyhurst College.-Birth:Frederick Joseph Turner was born on 27 October 1910 at Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, the only son of Joseph William Turner, a successful solicitor...
. Since their appointment, access for pupils to these former Jesuit libraries has been opened up and a number of lost or unknown items have been discovered, including a third Wintour vestment, the so-called Spangled Stuffe Suit which had been missing since 1670.
Museums
Charles Waterton
Charles Waterton was an English naturalist and explorer.-Heritage and Life:"Squire" Waterton was born at Walton Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire to Thomas Waterton and Anne Bedingfield. He was of a Roman Catholic landed gentry family descended from Reiner de Waterton...
until they were transferred to the corridor linking the Old Infirmary with the school. It had been Waterton's wish for this record of his lifetime's work to be on display in his former school; the collection was lent to Wakefield Museum in the 1970s. Thankfully and due to the tireless work of the current curator Jan Graffius some of the collection has now returned to its home in the Long Room. The Long Room was used as a study room from the 1970s until 2003 when it was restored and once again used for a display of items from the College collections.
A lesser-known fact about the Long Room is that, above the bay, between its ceiling and the room above, exists one of the two remaining priest hole
Priest hole
"Priest hole" is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558....
s or hiding places, dating back to the house's time as a private residence in the period of Recusancy
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
, when Jesuits and other Catholic priests were hunted by the authorities. The other hiding place is in the gatehouse, approached up a false chimney. Another was located in the Duchess' Rooms before they were pulled down to make way for the Arundell Library wing; it was hidden behind a bookcase, opened by a secret spring. A fourth was under a flagstone in the original washing place, and a further hidden behind a false beam nearby.
The Do Room, re-opened in 2000 following the replacement of the beams which support the Top Refectory above, features an exhibition of the School's history and items from the collections, including photographs, a Victorian chamber-pot complete with the College emblem, the desk used and engraved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during his time as a pupil and a door belonging to an earlier building on the site.
Collections
Among those collections kept away from public view are the numerous blood-soaked garments from Jesuits martyred in Japan, the ropes used to quarter Saint Edmund Campion, and a thorn said to be from no less than the crown of thornsCrown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
placed upon Jesus' head.
The school has a number of fine paintings, in particular the Four Doctors by Jacob Jordaens
Jacob Jordaens
Jacob Jordaens was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...
and/or Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
. A small very early anonymous painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains missing after being stolen. Portraits include one of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
and another of the Jesuit Henry Garnet
Henry Garnet
Henry Garnet , sometimes Henry Garnett, was a Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester College, before moving to London in 1571 to work for a publisher...
. In the Stuart Parlour are portraits of a number of Jacobites including James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, and his sons Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
and Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne...
. There are also a number of original engravings by Rembrandt and Dürer.
The Stonyhurst Chronicles of Jean Froissart
Jean Froissart
Jean Froissart , often referred to in English as John Froissart, was one of the most important chroniclers of medieval France. For centuries, Froissart's Chronicles have been recognized as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th century Kingdom of England and France...
, captured at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
in 1415 are currently on loan to the Royal Armouries
Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
in Leeds, where they are the centre-piece of a new exhibition.
Works formerly in the collections
A number of works with national or international significance have been sold or placed on permanent loan to museums in recent decades.The Stonyhurst Gospel
Stonyhurst Gospel
The Stonyhurst Gospel, also known as the St Cuthbert Gospel or the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, is a small 7th-century pocket gospel book, written in Latin, which was probably placed in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a few years after he died in 687...
(or Cuthbert Gospel), a 7th century manuscript which belonged to Saint Cuthbert and has the oldest known leather binding of any Western book, is on display in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, who in 2011 agreed terms to buy it and have launched a puplic appeal to do so.
The Stonyhurst Collection of Native American artefacts is now in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, with some items on permanent display, where they were on loan since 1977, before being sold for £650,000 in 2004.
A sumptuous gold-embroidered cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
, decorated with Tudor rose
Tudor rose
The Tudor Rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty.-Origins:...
s and portcullis
Portcullis
A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...
es, from a set of vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s used by the household of Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and bequeathed by him to Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, has been in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
since 1999. It is said to have been borrowed back by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
to wear at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
in 1520.
Temporary exhibition loans have included Stonyhurst MS 60, the "Hours of Katherine Bray", a book of hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
with Flemish illumination of about 1490, to the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in London and the Getty Museum in California in 2003-2004 for "Illuminating the Renaissance". The 2011 British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
exhibition on "Relics", also Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and New York, included items from the collection including a modern reliquary
Reliquary
A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
.
See also
- College of St Omer
- St Gordianus, interred in the school
Sources
- Chadwick, Hubert, S.J. (1962). St Omers to Stonyhurst, Burns & Oats. No ISBN
- Walsh, R.R. (1989) Stonyhurst War Record
- Muir, T.E. (1992). Stonyhurst College 1593–1993, James & James (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-907383-32-7
- Kirby, Henry L. and Walsh, R.Raymond (1987). The Seven V.C.s of Stonyhurst College, T.H.C.L. Books. ISBN 0-948494-04-2
- The Authorities of Stonyhurst College (1963), A Stonyhurst Handbook for Visitors and Others, Third edition
- Hewitson, A. (Preston, 1878), Stonyhurst College, Present and Past: Its History, Discipline, Treasures and Curiosities, Second edition
- Stonyhurst College website
External links
- Stonyhurst College website
- St Mary's Hall website (Stonyhurst Prep School)
- St Omers Press