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, 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, one of the earliest public libraries. On the Restoration 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, 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 as the founding collection of the Durham University 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 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