Elias Smith, Durham Cathedral Librarian 1633·1676

Abstract

DURHAM CATHEDRALLIBRARY,after suffering a century of neglect following the dissolution of the Benedictine Priory in 1539, was refounded in the 1620s, through the initiative of John Cosin and a group of fellow prebendaries. The early seventeenth-century Dean and Chapter inherited about 320 manuscripts and 60 printed books from the medieval library a mere fraction of the collection which had existed· in 1530 and they resolved to build on this by undertaking a substantial book-buying exercise. The monastic library room was decorated and refitted, some of the existing stock was rebound, and in 1628 a Chapter Act was passed which created a significant purchasing fund for the library. By 1635, nearly 300 new books had been acquired and added to the new shelves. I hope to describe these processes, and the contents of the library in 1635, elsewhere; the purpose of this paper is to outline the career of Elias Smith, the first librarian to be appointed following the refoundation, and a man who must be regarded as one of the major figures in the Library's history during the seventeenth century. The post of librarian was created in order to cope with the new administrative tasks which the acquisition of so many books inevitably involved, in a system which had not previously had to deal with them. According to the Cathedral statutes of 1541, the responsibility for looking after the common library lay with the sacrist (one of the minor canons), but it was evidently felt that the job would be carried out more satisfactorily if separately recognised, and appropriately rewarded1• The Chapter held the right of presentation to the chaplaincy of Kepier Hospital, with an annual income of £4, but this was effectively a sinecure. Services at the chapel were therefore discontinued, and the stipend was diverted by appointing one of