On the first Tuesday of each month we aim to have the Library open to the public from 10.00am to 12.00pm. This is subject to the availability of sufficient volunteers. You can find the entrance to the Library within the Cathedral Treasury and Shop, located in the North Transept. Please note that access to the Library requires ascending a narrow spiral staircase.
There has been a library in the cathedral since medieval times in various locations, but it was moved to its current position and refurbished in 1969 and contains about 10,000 items. The Library suffered much damage during the Reformation and the Civil War, so almost all the books we have today have been acquired since then, some dating back to pre-Reformation times. We have acquired both individual books and whole collections from private libraries and the books cover a range of subjects, not just Bibles, prayer books and works of theology, but books on cookery, art, horticulture, poetry, philosophy and music, to name just a few. We have a number of very rare and valuable works and are still making new additions, a recent example being a book of prints by Marc Chagall. The Library also has some intriguing stained glass windows and unusually well-preserved stone corbels.
If you would like to find out more please contact the Sub-Librarians at: library@chichestercathedral.org.uk or on 01243 813587. Please note that email is the best way to get in touch, as the library is only staffed for a few hours each week.