The Francis Trigge Chained Library
In 1598 Francis Trigge, Rector of Welbourne in Lincolnshire, arranged for a library to be set up in the room over the South Porch of St Wulfram's Church for the use of the clergy and the inhabitants of the town and Soke of Grantham. The borough was responsible for furnishing the porchroom and Trigge undertook to supply books to the value of 'one hundred poundes or thereaboutes'. The two vicars of North and South Grantham, together with the master of a grammar school (now The King's School) were to control the use of the library, and took an oath to abide by the rules. The original documents still exist and are deposited with the Lincolnshire archives. The library was the thus the first in England to be endowed for use outside an institution such as a school or college. It is misleading to call it 'the first public library' but nevertheless its use was not the prerogative of a private group.
It has always been kept in the room over the South Porch, originally the dwelling chamber of one of the vicars, with a fireplace, a small sink and an oriel window that commands a view of the nave of the church. A list of books made up in 1608 and still extant contains 228 titles, but some of these prove to be works bound together. We have in the catalogue 356 separate items. Some of these have been added over the years, including the works of the Cambridge Platonist and Cartesian Henry More, given by him during the 17th century. He was a native of Grantham and attended the King's School where, some forty years later, Isaac Newton was a pupil.
Most of the books were originally chained, the chains made to a standard pattern by a local smith. They were riveted to the fore-edge of the front covers and many of them have been pulled away and lost. The 82 remaining chains run on rings along bars attached to the shelves; these attachments are modern and date from the restoration of the decaying porch room in 1884. Many of the volumes, which at that date were in very bad condition, were repaired locally between 1893 and 1894; but since the Second World War a number have been carefully renovated and rebound by professional conservators.
Canon Hector Nelson, who retired as Principal of the Lincoln Training College (now Bishop Grossteste College) and came to live in Grantham until his death in 1896, directed the 1893 restoration.
The original books seem to have been bought in Cambridge, since there are some second-hand volumes whose provenance has been traced to that town and a number whose bindings have been linked to Cambridge binders of the 16th century. One of them, Garrett Godfrey, used his initials in the design he often stamped on the leather; another was Thomas Thomas, a binder who later became printer to the university. He probably added two of the books, which have Trigge's signature in a neat italic hand, at the time. Twenty volumes were added to the library from his own books under the terms of his will when he died in 1606.
The books were collected without much discrimination, probably by an agent sent down to Cambridge by carrier's cart. 14th century legal cases under Roman law decided in central Italy and printed in Venice before 1500 cannot have been of much use to a provincial vicar in the Soke of Grantham in the early 17th century, although such works are no among our rarest items. One, printed in Naples in 1476, is the only copy recorded in any library. The volumes were probably bought in the first place because they were offered cheaply!
The theological mix is also indiscriminate. We have Lutheran propaganda, Calvinistic preaching, bitter attacks on papistry and equally bitter refutation of Protestant heresies. What we have, indeed, is the whole history of the Reformation, set out in the writings of the very men who brought it about or set themselves to oppose it. It is a remarkable collection for students of religious beliefs.
Among our books, apart from those on show in the display cases, we have:
- Medical works of Celsus, Galen and others, printed from early manuscripts in 1528.
- The four books of the Sentences of Peter Lombard (d. 1160). This was the work that began the systematic attempt to correlate faith and reson in the Middle Ages.
- The Commentaries on the Sentences, by Duns Scotus. There were written in Oxford c.1300, and argued the limitations of reason in matters of theology. Our copy was printed in Venice in 1497.
- Two multivolume histories of the Church, one from a Lutheran viewpoint and printed in Basle, the other by the Oratorian Caesar Baronius. The second was written expressly to confute the conclusions of the first.
The Rector and churchwardens regret that visitors cannot handle the books. Many of the volumes, damaged by neglect during the 18th century, are now very fragile. We do, however, have several items that are unique and not recorded in libraries elsewhere. Such works may be withdrawn from the shelves by arrangement and read in the vestry if prior permission is requested in writing.
The generosity of Francis Trigge that brought these books together has given Grantham a unique collection that spans wide areas of medieval and renaissance thought. We must be grateful to his memory. Come and see for yourselves!
Contact: Ms Erica South, Tel: 01476 577499
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