The Morley Library occupies a room in the Cathedral once used by the sacrist, the monk who organised worship. Bishop George Morley bequeathed his personal library to the cathedral in 1684, to encourage deeper learning among the clergy of the diocese.
Yet as well as the volumes from Morley’s personal collection, a number of books have also come from other donors. They are detailed in the Liber Donorum, which contains entries for books donated between 1686 and 1946. The Liber Donorum – held today in the Cathedral Archive at the Hampshire Records Office – includes the names of at least twenty-five donors who donated some 124 books during 18th century. The oldest book listed dates from the mid-16th century.
There are key historical figures, associated with the history of the Cathedral and Winchester, who donated books to the library. These include Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Winchester between 1870–1873, and Joseph Warton, Headmaster of Winchester College from 1766 to 1793.
With a transcription of the Liber Donorum now complete, the next stage will be: (1) to carry out further research into the lives of individual donors and (2) to establish how many of the books listed are still in the Morley Library collection today.
Some the of the significant books donated to the library include :–
+ Scriptores Logarithmici (2 volumes). London 1791. A collection of notes on the nature and construction of logarithms.
+ The Bangorian Controversy. This book is the largest by volume of any donated book. It has twenty-eight volumes in total and details a theological argument within the Church of England in the early 18th century, which had strong political overtones.
+ The Organ, its History & Construction. By Edward J. Hopkins & Edward F. Rimbault L.L.D. London 1855. Edward John Hopkins 1818-1901 was the organist of the Temple Church, London.
+ Euchanstica. Meditations & Prayers from Old English Divines. With an introduction by Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.
+ Domesday Book. London 1773. The first printed version of the 11C Domesday book.
+ Biographia Britannica. (3 Volumes). London. 1778, 1780, 1784. The lives of the most eminent persons who flourished in Great Britain & Ireland, from the earliest ages.
+ Mariana de rebus Hispania (4 volumes). 1733. A general history of Spain, from 400AD to 17th century. By John De Mariana and one of the few books we have written in Spanish.
+ Cronogoraphie in four books containing the Geographie of History of the World. By Peter Heylyn. An attempt to describe in meticulous detail every aspect of the known world in 1652; the geography, climate, customs, achievements, politics, and belief systems.