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Durham University receives historic library from Poor Clares


Woodchester Convent

Woodchester Convent

An historic collection of books and manuscripts has been donated by an order of nuns to the care of Durham University.

The Poor Clares of Woodchester, in Gloucestershire, are in the process of leaving their convent and have entrusted their library to Durham.

Among the collection are works saved by nuns in the 18th Century when they were expelled from their convents in northern France during the revolution.

The printed books mainly date from the 16th to 18th Centuries, with some 19th Century items. Books printed in Douai and Rouen and other northern French towns in the 17th and 18th Centuries are well represented and in a number of cases are rare surviving examples of French provincial printing.

Among the manuscripts are devotional miscellanies written on topics including the Mass and other sacraments, with litanies, prayers, aspirations and meditations on biblical subjects and the liturgical year.

The university plans to catalogue the collection and make it available for scholarly use.

Durham has extensive expertise in the care of rare and historic collections. Its Palace Green Library houses archives, early printed books and other special collections including more than 70,000 books printed before 1850, more than 100 Medieval manuscripts, over 3,400 metres of archives and artefacts and more than 30,000 maps and prints and 100,000 photographs.

Professor Paul Murray, Director of the Durham Centre for Catholic Studies, at Durham University, said: "As a world leading centre in Catholic studies we are delighted to receive this collection which provides a unique insight into English Catholic life as it developed on the Continent and continued in England. "Durham University is already
the custodian of many historic treasures, books and manuscripts, and the expertise we have available here will ensure that this collection, as with all others, is well cared for while also being a valuable resource for scholars from the University and from across the world."

The latest donation follows a similar gift to the University Library from the Poor Clares of Darlington who donated almost 800 books and devotional manuscripts, many of which date from the 16th to the 18th Century.

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