The library is a single large room built over an open colonnade on the ground floor of Nevile's Court. The floor of the library proper within the upper storey lies several feet below the external division between the two storeys, reconciling the demands of use with the harmony of architectural proportion. It is credited as being one of the first libraries to be built with large windows to give comfortable light levels to aid readers.
The book stacks are arranged in rows perpendicular to the walls under the intervals between the windows. At the end of each stack is a fine limewood carving by Grinling Gibbons, and above these are plaster cast busts of notable writers through the ages. Other marble busts standing on plinths depict notable members of the college and are mostly carved by Louis-François Roubiliac. A later addition is a full size statue of Lord Byron carved by Bertel Thorvaldsen, originally offered to Westminster Abbey for inclusion in Poets' Corner, but refused due to the poet's reputation for immorality.[1]
On the east balustrade of the library's roof are four statues by Gabriel Cibber representing Divinity, Law, Physic (medicine), and Mathematics.[2]
Cloisters beneath main library room. Note ceiling level at springing point of exterior arches rather than at their peak.
As part of the complex of buildings surrounding Nevile's Court, Great Court and New Court, the library is a Grade I listed building.[3]
In early 2014 the library began a major programme of digitisation. To date, over 160 of the 1250 medieval manuscripts owned by the College have been digitised and are freely available to read online.[12] A link to the list of digitised manuscripts can be found in the external links below.
Visiting
The library is open to the public,[13][14] but opening times are limited.[15] There is no admission charge for the Wren Library.
Historical photograph of the exterior, circa 1870
Historical photograph of the interior, circa 1870
References
^The Making of the Wren Library: Trinity College, Cambridge
^Fürst, V., 1956, The architecture of Sir Christopher Wren
^Historic England. "Trinity College, the Buildings Surrounding Great Court, Nevile's Court and New Court, and Including King's Hostel (1106371)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
wren, library, this, article, about, cambridge, lincoln, lincoln, cathedral, library, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, remove. This article is about the Wren Library in Cambridge For the Wren Library in Lincoln see Lincoln Cathedral Library This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wren Library news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Wren Library is the library of Trinity College in Cambridge It was designed by Christopher Wren in 1676 and completed in 1695 View of the Wren Library across Nevile s Court View of the rear facade from the river Cam The Wren Library foreground and University Library background viewed from St John s College chapel tower The interior of the library showing the limewood carvings by Grinling Gibbons Contents 1 Description 2 Notable books 3 Digitisation programme 4 Visiting 5 References 6 External linksDescription EditThe library is a single large room built over an open colonnade on the ground floor of Nevile s Court The floor of the library proper within the upper storey lies several feet below the external division between the two storeys reconciling the demands of use with the harmony of architectural proportion It is credited as being one of the first libraries to be built with large windows to give comfortable light levels to aid readers The book stacks are arranged in rows perpendicular to the walls under the intervals between the windows At the end of each stack is a fine limewood carving by Grinling Gibbons and above these are plaster cast busts of notable writers through the ages Other marble busts standing on plinths depict notable members of the college and are mostly carved by Louis Francois Roubiliac A later addition is a full size statue of Lord Byron carved by Bertel Thorvaldsen originally offered to Westminster Abbey for inclusion in Poets Corner but refused due to the poet s reputation for immorality 1 On the east balustrade of the library s roof are four statues by Gabriel Cibber representing Divinity Law Physic medicine and Mathematics 2 Cloisters beneath main library room Note ceiling level at springing point of exterior arches rather than at their peak As part of the complex of buildings surrounding Nevile s Court Great Court and New Court the library is a Grade I listed building 3 The other library designed by Wren is Lincoln Cathedral Library Notable books EditThe library contains many notable rare books and manuscripts many bequeathed by past members of the college Included in the collection are Isaac Newton s first edition copy of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica with handwritten notes for the second edition 4 Isaac Newton s 1659 61 Notebook 5 An eighth century copy of the Epistles of St Paul 6 About 1250 medieval manuscripts including the great 12th century Eadwine Psalter from Christ Church Canterbury the 13th century Anglo Norman Trinity Apocalypse and the 15th century Trinity Carol Roll 7 8 A A Milne s manuscript of Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner 9 The Capell collection of early Shakespeare editions A collection of autograph poems by John Milton 10 A 14th century manuscript of The Vision of Piers Plowman 11 Several works printed by William Caxton including the first book printed in English and the first dated printed book produced in England Several notebooks written by Ludwig Wittgenstein Handwritten notes by Robert Oppenheimer describing the Trinity atomic bomb test in New Mexico U S Ramanujan s lost notebook 1620 edition of William Morgan s translation of the bible into WelshDigitisation programme EditIn early 2014 the library began a major programme of digitisation To date over 160 of the 1250 medieval manuscripts owned by the College have been digitised and are freely available to read online 12 A link to the list of digitised manuscripts can be found in the external links below Visiting EditThe library is open to the public 13 14 but opening times are limited 15 There is no admission charge for the Wren Library Historical photograph of the exterior circa 1870 Historical photograph of the interior circa 1870References Edit The Making of the Wren Library Trinity College Cambridge Furst V 1956 The architecture of Sir Christopher Wren Historic England Trinity College the Buildings Surrounding Great Court Nevile s Court and New Court and Including King s Hostel 1106371 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 30 March 2015 Newton Isaac Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica Newton s personally annotated 1st edition Isaac Newton s Notebook Pauline epistles Epistles of St Paul 13th century Anglo Norman Trinity Apocalypse The Western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College Cambridge by M R James Cambridge University Press 1900 3 vols Frommer s London 2013 By Donald Strachan Autograph of Milton The Vision of Piers Plowman Online Manuscript Online Catalogue of the James Manuscripts Archives made easy Information Visit Cambridge Information Wren Library Opening TimesExternal links EditTrinity College pages for the Wren Library Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wren Library Cambridge The online catalogue of digitised manuscripts in the Wren Library Trinity College one of The 20 Most Spellbinding University Libraries In The World Independent Newspaper Coordinates 52 12 25 56 N 0 6 53 64 E 52 2071000 N 0 1149000 E 52 2071000 0 1149000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wren Library amp oldid 1092695882, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
