Totnes Library

The Totnes Library dates back to the early years of the seventeenth century. David Wyn Evans, Senior Sub-Librarian at Exeter University Library (1973-1995), records that a 'gift of £35 by Gabriel Barker to the town of Totnes took place in 1619, and of this sum £10 was to be used to form a library. A number of other gifts were received through bequests made during the years that followed, and references to the library are to be found regularly in the town accounts'.

Prior to 1967, when the majority of the books were transferred to Exeter University Library, the Totnes Library was housed in Totnes Parish Church where the conditions were damp and where bookworms gradually attacked the collection. By 1967, some of the books had decayed beyond the point of restoration, but many have since been repaired to a reasonable condition. A few titles have been retained by Totnes Museum and in 1983 a few works still remained at Totnes Parish Church.

A manuscript catalogue of the collection was compiled in 1821, of which the University Library has a photocopy (the whereabouts of the original being unknown). Charles Worthy also included a catalogue and account of the library in Ashburton and its neighborhood (Ashburton: 1875), but a comparitive study of holdings in Totnes Museum, Exeter University Library, and Totnes Parish Church in 1983 revealed titles in the University Library collection that were not listed by Worthy, as well as a number of missing works.

Extent

304 volumes.

Custodial History

Founded in 1619, the parish library of Totnes came to the University Library on permanent loan in 1967. A letter addressed to then University Librarian Mr John Lloyd, 22 April 1967, suggests that the medievalist N. R. Ker was responsible for prompting the move of the Totnes, and other Devon parish libraries, to the University. A number of titles then remained in the local museum at Totnes, some of which were transferred to Exeter University Library in 1980.

Scope and Content

Collection strengths

The collection is strongest in its representation of seventeenth-century titles on divinity.

Chronological emphasis

Chiefly sixteenth- and seventeenth-century titles.

Known gaps

Some items were too badly damaged to be restored by the time they were transferred to Exeter University Library in 1967. It is believed that some titles remain in the local museum of Totnes.

Evidence of research value

D. Wyn Evans 'Devon Parish Libraries at Exeter University', in Devon Historian, 24, April 1982.

System of Arrangement

There are two sequences of books according to size, both arranged chronologically by date of publication.

Accurals

The collection is closed.

Access Conditions

Usual EUL Special Collections arrangements apply.

Reproduction Conditions

Usual EUL Special Collections arrangements apply.

Finding Aids

The collection is fully catalogued and entries appear on the University Library's online catalogue. Follow this link to perform a local classmark search for 'Totnes' and to browse the contents of this parish library on the online catalogue.

Language

Chiefly Latin and English.

Physical Characteristics

Some items in this collection are fragile and require careful handling; some vellum board books are particularly stiff and hard to open.

Related Publications

See D. Wyn Evans, 'Devon Parish Libraries at Exeter University', Devon Historian, 24, April 1982; also an account and catalogue of the library in Charles Worthy's Ashburton and its neighborhood (Ashburton: 1875).

Subject Keywords

History of Libraries -- Totnes Parish Library, Devon -- Sixteenth- to Twentieth-Century