Sedbergh School Library Collection

Date range: 1528-1958

Medium: Printed

Number of items: 550 items.

The historic library of Sedbergh School in Cumbria (formerly the North Riding of Yorkshire) was deposited on permanent loan in 1972 and 1973.

The school was founded in 1525 by Dr Roger Lupton (1456-1539/40), Provost of Eton and a native of Sedbergh, and endowed by him with lands associated with a chantry. The constitution of the school was revised by the Endowed Schools Commissioners in 1874, when the buildings were greatly enlarged. Girls were admitted to the school for the first time in 2001. Today Sedbergh is an independent boarding school with over five hundred pupils.

The collection is a good representative example of an English public-school library, with strengths in religious and historical texts, and Classical literature. The broad subject range reflects the school curriculum, and includes a number of foreign-language texts in Latin, Greek, French and Spanish. Of the five hundred and fifty titles, approximately one hundred and eighty-five date from the 16th to 18th centuries. There are several presentation volumes from eminent former pupils.

The school archives are housed at the school itself, and at Cumbria Record Office, Kendal.

Further information:

Recorded in Library Search.

Location:

• The John Rylands Library, Deansgate  [Map]
• Find out how to use the reading rooms in the John Rylands Research Institute and Library