The Hurd Library

The Hurd Library at Hartlebury Castle is a hidden gem in an idyllic Worcestershire village and an important part of the county’s, and, indeed, the nation’s cultural heritage.

It is a unique example of a working library, formed by an 18th century scholar bishop of wide interests, which remains on its original shelves and in the original room built for it shortly after Hurd moved to Hartlebury Castle, as Bishop of Worcester, in 1781. No other such collection has survived in the Anglican communion.

Richard Hurd was born at Congreve, in the parish of Penkridge in Staffordshire, in 1720 and died in 1808. His long life thus spanned the greater part of the 18th century. He was born into an age of Augustan conservatism but lived on into the new era of Romantic radicalism. He was reared in the tradition of classical orthodoxy but grew to appreciate the rather neglected mediaeval period and to contribute to the shifts of taste which characterised the closing years of the century. His book collection reflects his own tastes and interests but is immensely strengthened by its amalgamation with the libraries of three other men, Alexander Pope, Ralph Allen and William Warburton, and by the gift of a portion of the library of King George III, whose main collection laid the foundation of the British Museum Library, now the British Library.

For more information visit http://www.hartleburycastletrust.org/The_Hurd_Library.htm

Access is  by prior arrangement and currently limited to individual Scolors, historical societies and other organised groups.

To arrange a visit please contact: 

Virginia Wagstaff
The Secretary
FHCHL (Friends of Hartlebury Castle & Hurd Library)
email: v_wagstaff@yahoo.co.uk