Bishop Cosin's Library, originally the Episcopal Library or Bibliotheca Episcopalis Dunelmensis, is an historic library founded in 1669 in Durham, England. Owned by the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

, the library is open to the public.

History

Foundation

left, Cosin's library in Durham, centre right with flat roof, between the 19th-century university library, left, and Bishop Neville's 15th-century exchequer, right

John Cosin John Cosin (30 November 1594 – 15 January 1672) was an English bishop. Life He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich School and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was appo ...

, a monarchist who was then master of

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, went into exile in Paris during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, where he became acquainted with the

Bibliothèque Mazarine The , or Mazarin Library, is located within the Palais de l'institut de France, or the Palace of the Institute of France (previously the Collège des Quatre-Nations of the University of Paris), at 23 quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement, on t ...

, one of the earliest public libraries. On

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

of the monarchy in 1660, Cosin returned to England, and shortly afterwards was appointed

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

. In Durham, he began a programme of improvements around

Palace Green Palace Green is an area of grass in the centre of Durham, England, flanked by Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. The Cathedral and Castle together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although initially not part of the site itself, Palace Green ...

, including building the library, one of the first public libraries in northern England, for the use of clergy and gentlemen of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

. It was constructed in 1667-8 by Cosin's Quaker architect, John Longstaffe, at a cost of £2500 (). Its initial collection consisted of over 5,000 books collected by Bishop Cosin, including his own collection previously stored at Peterhouse. These books included a copy of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

, which Cosin had probably bought new in 1623 and is the only copy to have remained in the same personal collection since it was first purchased. The original portrait panels located above the bookshelves were painted by Jan Baptist van Eerssell in 1668–1669. Further portraits hang in the library, including half portraits of English politicians.

Durham University

At its foundation in 1833,

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

was granted use of the library, and received a donation of books from Bishop

William Van Mildert William Van Mildert (6 November 1765 – 21 February 1836) was the bishop of Durham (1826–1836), and the last to rule the county palatine of Durham. He was also one of the founders of the University of Durham, where he is commemorated ...

as the founding collection of the

Durham University Library The Durham University Library is the centrally administered library of Durham University in England and is part of the university's Library and Collections department. Its two main libraries are Palace Green Library and the Bill Bryson Library. ...

. A gallery was constructed in Cosin's Library to accommodate this collection. The roof was raised, and the parapet also raised and altered from battlements to conceal the heightened roof. A two-storey porch was added to the front of the library at this time to give access to the gallery. In 1937, the library came under the sole trusteeship of Durham University. In 1998, a group of manuscripts was stolen from the library, including Bishop Cosin's copy of the Shakespeare First Folio. The folio was recovered in 2008 after it was taken to the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...

in Washington DC to be valued, though it had sustained damage from attempts to hide its provenance. It returned to display at the library in 2010. In October 2005, the collections in the library were included in the first group given

designated status The Designation Scheme is an English system that awards "Designated status" to museum, library and archive collections of national and international importance. The Scheme is administered by Arts Council England (ACE). As of 2023, 163 collection ...

by the

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and a registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, Library, libraries, and archives. ...

as having an "outstanding national and international significance". In 2019, the university received an £85,000 grant to catalogue and digitise the contents of the library.

References

{{Academic libraries in the United Kingdom Libraries in County Durham 1669 establishments in England 1669 in literature Educational organizations established in the 1660s Libraries established in the 17th century Grade II* listed library buildings Buildings and structures of Durham University Scheduled monuments in County Durham History of Durham University Organizations established in 1669