York Minster

Library

The Library holds the Minster's collections of printed works.

General Collection

The General Collection covers subjects such as Theology, Literature, History, Art History and Stained Glass. Materials are housed on the ground floor of the Old Palace (Lower Hall). For details see the online catalogue.

• Members of the public are welcome to use the material on a reference basis
• If you would like to borrow, please ask about becoming a registered library user

Local History Collection

The Yorkshire Collection began with a donation from Edward Hailstone (1890) and consists of information on the region including people, architecture, history and culture.

It also includes Civil War Tracts, Yorkshire Acts of Parliament, newspapers and theatre playbills. A number of Yorkshire Parish libraries are also held.

Much of this material is only available on request (a day in advance). Please check the online catalogue and contact us before you visit.

Old Library Collection

This is housed in the Ante Room and Upper Hall.  See the online catalogue for details. It includes:

• Theological material such as sermons and liturgical works, travel books including early atlases and a medical collection including herbals. It also includes some of the earliest printings of ancient medical texts
• A number of pre-1501 volumes, some still in their original bindings
• Some rare early printed music, including a unique printed copy of Byrd’s Gradualia (1605), printed music by Purcell and compositions by Minster organists

Reference Collection

This material is for use in the library only and includes series, periodicals, and popular local history books.  Please see the online catalogue for details.

Examples of material include Church of England newspapers, Corpus Christianorum, Crockford's Clerical Directory, Early English Text Society Series and Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.