Innerpeffray Library was the first

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a library ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It is located in the hamlet of

Innerpeffray Innerpeffray is a hamlet in Perthshire, Scotland, southeast of Crieff. It is located on a raised promontory among beech woodland above the River Earn. A fording point across the river can still be used, on what is the line of a Roman Road. The ...

, by the

River Earn , name_etymology = , image = River Earn at Forteviot.jpg , image_size = 250px , image_caption = The River Earn viewed from Forteviot bridge. , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland ...

, southeast of

Crieff Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has becom ...

. The library building is

Category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

St Mary's Chapel

Innerpeffray Library started in 1680 in the attic of St Mary's Chapel, Church of the Blessed Virgin, or Innerpeffray Chapel as it has later been known. The chapel is mentioned from 1365 and is linked to Lord John Drummond. The chapel may have started as a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

, however, by 1542 it was referred to as a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

which served the parish of Monzie. During the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

in the 16th century, the chapel was damaged considerably; the lands and endowments were passed to James Drummond, the first Lord Madertie. James married Jean, daughter of Sir James Chisolm of Cromlix; however, James passed away in 1620. Innerpeffray Castle was built close to the chapel in 1610, the chapel's use after the Scottish Reformation meant that it was never again used as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

place of worship but instead was used for as a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be cons ...

for the Drummond family, as well as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

place of worship. Robert Hay Drummond by Andrea Soldi

Early History of the Building

David Drummond, the third Lord Madertie requested in his will that a library be kept partly in the west end of the chapel and partly in a building he had recently constructed in the east end of the kirkyard. This was to house David's large collection of books in religion, witchcraft, demonology and astrology. David died in 1692, and the Governors of the Innerpeffray Mortification, a registered charity under Scottish law, started to administer and maintain the collection in 1694. The library was to be devoted for the use of the public and became the first public lending library in Scotland. In 1739,

Robert Hay Drummond Robert Hay (10 November 1711 – 10 December 1776), known later as Robert Hay-Drummond of Cromlix and Innerpeffray, was successively Bishop of St Asaph, Bishop of Salisbury, and, from 1761 until his death, Archbishop of York. Origins and birth ...

inherited the Innefpeffray Estate, he commissioned the architect Charles Freebairn to erect the purpose-built library and reading room. The Georgian building was built to house the Drummond family collection as well as Robert's own collection which he donated to the library.

Innerpeffray Library

The library ceased lending in 1968; however, it remains open to the public several days a week, from March through to the end of October. Hours of operation are Wednesday to Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 2pm-5pm.

Collection

Among the collection that the library holds is the Bible of the Marquis of Montrose, bearing his autograph in several places.The Ancient Library at Innerpeffray. (1890). ''The Scottish Antiquary, or, Northern Notes and Queries'', Vol. 5, No. 18 (1890), pp. 53-54. Published by Edinburgh University Press. There is also a copy of what is called the

Great Bible The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorised edition of the Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, worki ...

, dated 1540, which has two full-page woodcuts by Holbein, the artist of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The library remains a valuable storehouse of literature from the

Late Medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and Early Modern periods and has been visited by many people throughout the years that it has been open. One of the Library's most valued books is the original Borrowers' Register that holds the record of all the families who borrowed a book. This resource allows people to come and identify their ancestors from the region, see their own handwriting and hold the books they once borrowed.

Keeper of the Books

The Keeper of Books is an office held continuously since Andrew Patoune in 1696. The Keeper also holds the key of the Collegiate Chapel of St Mary, at Her Majesty's pleasure. The current Keeper of Books, as of 2019, is listed a
Lara Haggerty

The library in the media

The BBC broadcast from the library on the 31st of January, 1950.

References

External links

*
The Guardian: Love letters to libraries: Alexander McCall Smith

Innerpeffray Library collection at the University of Stirling Archive
{{Authority control Libraries in Scotland 1680 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures in Perth and Kinross Category A listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Listed library buildings in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1762 Library buildings completed in the 18th century Charities based in Scotland