Servants' Reading: An Examination of the Servants' Library at Cragside

Abstract

Cragside in Northumberland was originally the home of the 1st Lord Armstrong and his heirs and is now a National Trust property. The servants' library, examined here, was established at the end of the nineteenth century. Such libraries are rare but can add to our understanding of contemporary reading practices. The acquisition of the books and evidence of readership are examined. The stock appears in some ways to be a haphazard collection; there is little evidence of an overt desire to provide improving books. The provenance of some titles can be traced.