Reference code: GB-0298-UC/AG
Title: Ushaw College Administration: Library Records
Dates of creation: 1852-2006
Extent: 5 boxes
Held by: Ushaw College Library
Language:
English
Ushaw College Library has always played a central role in the intellectual life of the college since its foundation in 1808. The books from Crook Hall were initially stored in a temporary room until they were transferred into a more prominent and
spacious area in 1813. By 1827, the
Catholic Miscellany reported that there were upwards of 7,000 volumes as well as “some rare documents of ancient date, and several illuminated manuscripts” and the library continued the
tradition established at the English College in Douai where the holdings were not limited to theology but also embraced classics, literature and other subjects.
The library has had many benefactors throughout its history, including Thomas Eyre and John Gilow (presidents), John Lingard and Michael Gibson (who served as vice-presidents), as well as smaller donations from other priests, John Bradley and
Thomas Sherburne. Its main benefactor, however, was undoubtedly Thomas Wilkinson, who was an assiduous collector of books and determined to recreate a library at Ushaw similar to the one he had known at Douai. In 1832, he presented 6,000 volumes to
Ushaw and, in the following decade, donated a further 6,000 books on various subjects including science, literature and art. Partly as a result of the growing number of acquisitions, Mgr Charles Newsham (Ushaw's fifth president), ordered the
construction of a new library wing. A.W. Pugin submitted a plan for the new library but Wilkinson, who was financing most of the building, rejected it in favour of the present design by Charles and Joseph Hansom.
Various abortive attempts were made to compile catalogues of the library holdings, notably by George Errington in the early 1840s and Josef Felton between 1877-1886. The present card catalogue of the Big Library, however, was begun by Arthur
(later Cardinal) Hinsley in 1896 and completed in 1903 by Fr Edwin Bonney, with the help of students. Major revisions and improvement to this catalogue was carried out by Fr Bernard Payne, librarian from 1930 until 1977, with the assistance of
others, notably Dr A. I. Doyle of Durham University Library. Ine the late 1980s, Fr. Michael Sharratt also compiled a card catalogue of some of the major archive collections in Ushaw College Library. Following an agreement between the college
trustees and Durham University in 2011, online catalogues of the archive and printed collections are now being produced by Durham University Library staff with the intention of attracting a wider research audience.
Papers of the administration of the library (with some papers concerning the museum), highlighting its various functions, including its management, finance, services and collections, acquisitions, exhibitions, and conservation. There are also
papers of other external library societies.
Transferred to the archive holdings at various times when no longer in use.
The majority of records pertaining to the library were originally created as part of the day-to day business of the college itself.
Open for consultation.
Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from pg.library@durham.ac.uk and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright
owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material
1. Administration
2. Finance
3. Services and Collections
4. Acquisitions
5. Exhibitions
6. Conservation
7. Library Societies
8. Other Library Papers
Rhodes, J.T.,
Ushaw College Library (Ushaw College: Durham, 1994)
1. AdministrationUC/AG1/1 [1930 x 1939]
Library memorandum book
1 volume
UC/AG1/2 [1960] – 2006
Papers relating to the management of the Ushaw College Library, mostly strategic reports, surveys, library procedures, and staff guidelines
1 file
UC/AG1/3 [?1973] - 28 May 1994
Papers of the Library Advisory Committee, including minutes of meetings and reports
1 file
2. FinanceUC/AG2/1 1852 – 2000
Divines’ Library account books
3 volumes
UC/AG2/2 1862 – 1879; 1890 – 1901; 1935 - 1974
Library account and memoranda books
3 volumes
UC/AG2/3 1981 - 2000
Account balance sheets for Ushaw libraries
1 file
UC/AG2/4 [mid - late 20th century]
Valuations of rare books in Ushaw Library
1 volume
UC/AG2/5 1957 - 13 July 1982
Account book for binding repairs
1 volume
3. Services and CollectionsUC/AG3/1 [mid 20th century]
Papers relating to library services, including rules for the libraries and registers of borrowing
1 file
UC/AG3/2 [mid 20th century]
Papers relating to the collections in Ushaw College Library, including particulars of illuminations in the Ushaw College manuscripts, list of sixteenth-century printings, list of books in the library printed before 1600, and books formerly
belonging to the seventeenth century Catholic Harfield Pretty
1 file
UC/AG3/3 [mid-20th century]
Miscellaneous published and unpublished articles on the history and collections of Ushaw College Library
1 file
UC/AG3/4 [?1980 - 2000]
Divines' Library catalogue and location guide
1 file
UC/AG3/5 11 May 1950 - June 1974
Visitor's book
1 volume
UC/AG3/6 February 1974 - 22 June 2000
Borrowers' books for the Lisbon Library, Big Library, Library Office and the Lower Library
5 volumes
UC/AG3/7/1-6 7 October 1951 - July 1979
Correspondence and catalogue lists relating to parish/private libraries deposited in or donated to Ushaw College Library:
6 files
UC/AG3/7/1 7 October 1951 - 13 July 1982
Yealand Conyers
1 file
UC/AG3/7/2 4 December 1951 - 16 January 1976
Dodding Green
1 file
UC/AG3/7/3 17 April 1952 - July 1954
Easington Village
1 file
UC/AG3/7/4 15 December 1952
Minsteracres Hall
1 item
UC/AG3/7/5 12 May 1953
St Cuthbert's Grammar School
1 item
UC/AG3/7/6 July 1979
Bishop of Middlesbrough
1 item
UC/AG3/7/8 [?early 19th century]
Leadbitter Law Library
1 catalogue
UC/AG3/7/9 [19th century]
Weld Bank
1 file
UC/AG3/7/10 October 1978
Claughton
1 catalogue
UC/AG3/7/11 [?1960] - 1979
Diocese of Lancaster
1 file
UC/AG3/8 [?2000]
Provenance spreadsheet for Big Library items
Includes reference, Ushaw bookplate, other bookplate, first owner, second owner and publication year
Arranged by shelfmark
1 file
4. AcquisitionsUC/AG4/1 1871 – 30 July 2001
Papers relating to the acquisition of archives and printed material for the Library
1 file
UC/AG4/2/1-4 [1960] – May 1991
Divines' Library acquisitions registers:
4 volumes
UC/AG4/2/1 [1960 x 1970]
[?Divines'] Library acquisitions register
1 volume
UC/AG4/2/2 1971 - [?1978]
Divines' Library acquisitions register
1 volume
UC/AG4/2/3 December 1978 - April 1986
Divines' Library acquisitions register
1 volume
UC/AG4/2/4 April 1986 - May 1991
Divines' Library acquisitions register
1 volume
UC/AG4/3 1991 – 1996
Register of books ordered and purchased
1 file
UC/AG4/4 1 January 1955 - 30 October 1974
Accessions register for the [?Junior House] Library
1 volume
UC/AG4/5 February 1937 - May 1990
Accessions registers for Ushaw Library
3 volumes
5. ExhibitionsUC/AG5/1 [1950 x 2001]
Photographs of the launch party for
Ushaw College Library, 1851 - 2001 (2001) [Exhibition], Palace Green Library, Durham. 15 October-21 December 2001
7 colour photographs
UC/AG5/2 1988 - 2008
List of books and captions used in the Jubilee exhibition and North East Mathematical Association exhibition
1 file
UC/AG5/3 1996 - 2001
Catalogues of exhibitions held in Durham University Library (Palace Green) containing Ushaw College material
1 file
UC/AG5/4 2001
Exhibition captions and photographs (probably used as a wall display) describing an account of a delegation of Ushaw College staff to the [?European Court of Human Rights] in Strasbourg, as well as visits to Rheims and Bergen-Belsen
3 files
UC/AG5/5 May 1949 - February 1994
Lists of early printed books and archives used in various exhibitions
1 volume
UC/AG5/6 19 December 1989
Caption for an exhibition at Ushaw College entitled
“Galileo, seminaries and Jesuits”, in conjunction with the Harriot Seminar
1 file
UC/AG5/7 September 1990 - 27 October 1995
Papers relating to the loan of library items for exhibitions elsewhere, including loan agreements and correspondence
1 file
UC/AG5/8 [1980?]
Exhibition captions, probably used in a exhibition to highlight the treasures of the collection
Outsize
1 bundle
6. ConservationUC/AG6/1 [mid 20th century]
Papers relating to potential threats to the Library books and conservation treatment required
1 file
UC/AG6/2 1969 - 2006
Papers, including lists of books and correspondence with A. I, Doyle, concerning rebinding work required on books in Ushaw College Library
1 file
UC/AG6/3/1-4 1516 - [mid 16th century]
Detached from books and bound manuscripts in Ushaw College Library:
4 items
UC/AG6/3/1 1516
From: York Missal
On board pencil inscription “Ushaw from York Missal 1516 treated for worm by freezing Sept 1995”
Includes evidence of sowing supports
1 wooden board
Size: 350 x 220 mm
UC/AG6/3/2 1520
From:
Textus bibliae cum glosa ordinaria... v.1 (Lyons, 1520)
Bundle of vellum fragments
UC/AG6/3/3 [early 16th century]
From a book by Bernardinus de Busti
Identified by A. I. Doyle
1 endband
UC/AG6/3/4 [mid 16th century]
Possibly from:
Sermons very fruitfull, godly, and learned, preached and sette foorth by Maister Roger Edgeworth (XVIII.F.6.3)
Includes evidence of sowing supports
Circular bookstamp: “Ushaw College Library Durham”
Pastedown
Size: 160 x 100 mm
7. Library SocietiesUC/AG7/1 1956-1965
Newsletters of the Vernacular Society of Great Britain, nos 15-38
1 file
UC/AG7/2 September 1973 – 21 January 1988
Papers relating to the Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries
1 file
8. Other Library RecordsUC/AG8/1 [1854]
Manuscript periodical, entitled
“The Archaeological and Aesthetical Review”
1 file
UC/AG8/2 28 March 1906 – 5 October 1909
Letters to Edwin Bonney from Adam Wilkinson and [?] on the provenance of certain books in the Big Library
1 file
UC/AG8/3 30 May 1894 – 1995
Papers concerning the publication of the
Ushaw Magazine, mostly correspondence on articles (with drafts) and correspondence with Tony Martin, Business Manager, on financial issues, as well as a cash book
1 file & 1 volume
UC/AG8/4 3 March 1939 – January 2004
File of miscellaneous items relating to the library, including letters, receipts and papers
1 file
