Book Description

Excerpt from Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Dean and Chapter of Wells, Vol. 1 The chapter library at Wells has been described by Canon C. M. Church, the subdean and sublibrarian, in Arch ologia lvii, (1901, part 2, pp. 201-228). It consists of a long gallery above the eastern cloister, built during the fifteenth century, largely from a bequest made by bishop Bubwith. From the south transept of the cathedral a spiral staircase leads to the vestibule, which contains an overflow of books, several show cases, and other exhibits. Next is the library proper, with books in presses, upon most of which may be seen sockets intended to receive the iron rods to which each volume was once chained. At the further end is a square chamber with a fireplace, lighted by windows east and south overlooking the Camery. In this room are now kept the manuscripts and muniments of the dean and chapter; for a list of which I am mainly indebted to Canon Church. Series i. - Original deeds, 835 in number, ranging in date from 958 to 1680 A.D. These were arranged chronologically in 36 boxes, and catalogued, by Mr. W. de Gray Birch, then of the British Museum, in 1881. A few selected specimens have been removed from the boxes and displayed in show cases. Series ii. - Original papers, 86 in number, dated 1680-1812, similarly arranged in three boxes. Series iii. - Other papers, 251 in number, dated 1510-1779, in four boxes. Series iv. - Miscellaneous papers, in five boxes, of various dates to the present time, collected by the present librarian. Register Books: Liber Albus i and ii, and Liber Ruber, of which a full description is given below. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."