Methodist Printed Book and Periodical Collections

The core of the 18th century holdings is represented by the works of John Wesley numbering over 1,300 items. The combined personal libraries of Charles Wesley and John Fletcher of Madeley comprise an additional 600 volumes.

There is a very fine collection of 18th century anti-Methodist printed material consisting of several thousand items and a collection of 6,000 tracts and pamphlets dating from 1568 to 1933.

The Archives contain over 5,000 hymnals published between 1737 and the present, including the only complete copy of the Charleston Hymnbook. These are not limited to Methodist items, but include publications of the Anglican, Baptist and Congregationalist Churches.

In addition there are thousands of published items spanning the history of Methodism and related evangelical movements, many of them from the libraries of the former Richmond College and Hartley Victoria College. It is also the policy of the MARC to acquire copies of modern published books relating to Methodism.

Mention should also be made of the extensive local history collection of over 4500 monographs and pamphlets and the collection of over 10,000 circuit plans.

As regards British Methodist periodicals, over 5,000 individual volumes are in the MARC. These include Connexional magazines and newspapers from every major Methodist denomination. Some titles are unique to the Methodist Archives.