Cosin’s Library and Museum of Archaeology

When Standing on Palace Green have Durham Cathedral to your left and Durham Castle to your right, you are then looking at two adjacent buildings. The left-hand side is the Exchequer and the right-hand side is Cosin's Library which we are going in.

It is an experience entering the library. The receptionist will radio ahead and seek permission from the attendant for they are only allowed 10 people in at a time. You descend wide stone steps and go through a corridor and an anti-chamber. Just as you enter the library the smell of old books abounds and our attendant informs us this is bibliosmia.

The Right Reverend John Cosins (1594 to 1672) came to Durham in 1628 and acted as de facto librarian for the Chapter. He was a cleric who believed in sharing knowledge and got pleasure from a bit of pomp like King Charles I (1600 to 1649) who favoured grand ceremonies and ecclesiastical music. Cosins indulged in this and writing. At the request of King Charles I he wrote Collection of Private Devotions (1627) for a daily prayer book at court.

The allegiance to King Charles I and the English Civil War forced Bishop Cosin to seek refuge in France from the 1640s to 1660. Upon his return, he became Bishop of Durham until his death and founded the library in 1669. It was the first in this part of England. Those allowed to use this 'Public Library' were highly professional like lawyers or clerics.

Bishop Cosin was aghast at the current puritanism, and wished the revered places to be ornate and pleasing to behold. Hence this library is adorned with sculptured wood (my husband's best guest is oak). He had several decorative pieces commissioned for Durham Cathedral. Like many libraries, this has a high ceiling. The room commands a reverent feel, especially with a large window for reading purposes.

The bookcases were laid out as they are today, against the walls. This was unusual for the 17th century, but it did allow more space for reading and writing. There are approximately 4,400 books, manuscripts and maps. The oldest manuscript dates to the 12th Century "A Tract on the Origins and Progress of this the Church of Durham." Another book in the collection was his infamous copy of Shakespeare's First Folio. As it was stolen in 1998 recovered in 2008 (Washington DC?) and returned in 2010.

From the Cosins Library website:

'The collection contains materials on classics, science and archaeology, social history, antiquities, law, and local matters. The books are written in a variety of languages, including Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, English and French. French books especially are well represented, and the collection contains a large number of seventeenth-century theological pamphlets.'

The portraits above the bookcases were commissioned by Bishop Cosin just before the library opened in 1668. They were painted by Jan Baptist van Eersel an artist from the low countries. Each trio indicates the subject matter of the books below.

The library became part of Durham University in 1832 and was used for examinations and ceremonies. The upper gallery was added in the 1830s and was accessed by stairs in an adjacent turret. The wooden spiral stairs were obtained from another building and date from the 17th century and can only be used by staff now.

The website also states:

'the library shelves not only contain books purchased and donated by the Bishop, but also the collections of his successors and early donors, such as Cosin's agent George Davenport, who added some of the medieval manuscripts, Bishop Edward Maltby (1770-1859) and Thomas Masterman Winterbottom (1766-1859), a physician from South Shields.'

The Museum of Archaeology nestles next door to Cosin's Library in the Wolfson Gallery and both are part of Durham University.

Archaeology has been taught and studied at the University since 1931 and has become a national leader. Its facilities include research laboratories in DNA, conservation, isotope analysis, environmental archaeology, luminescence dating, paleopathology and bone chemistry. Well done if you understand these subjects!

Most of the finds on display are from 'rescue archaeology' which is developer-funded when building and major construction work is undertaken. It would have been researched first and assessed with surveys and exploratory fieldwork before the major digs. Some of these sites are familiar for example Binchester and Piercebridge.

There is useful information about these finds and from what era they were found which is easy to understand.

The skulls really get your attention. However they are replicas and you can see how man has evolved to Homo sapiens.

A pony skull was a lucky find in a waterlogged area which helped preserve it. The long cuts suggest it was skinned and boned, and the other damage to the skull could indicate it was struck causing death.

A display case had a Red Deer antler, used as a soft hammer to strike flint and create blades referred to as microliths.

The museum would not be complete without some Roman information.

A couple of other rooms here may be worth a peek. One has a map of the area on the floor!

Another room currently called Hidden had just my sort of information; Obscure, amusing, and in bite size chunks.

Both are fabulous places to visit and you can check their websites for opening times Cousins Library and Museum of Archaeology.