The Chained Parish Library of Chirbury, with Reference to Herbert Family Provenances

Abstract

This article examines a parochial library which was established in Chirbury, in Shropshire, following the death in 1677 of its long-serving incumbent, Edward Lewis. It is particularly concerned with a number of claims which scholars have made about the collection, notably that it preserves a portion of a library which the poet George Herbert (1593–1632/3) established in the nearby town of Montgomery and that it contains books which were once owned by two of George Herbert’s brothers, Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1581/2–1648) and Sir Henry Herbert (1594–1673). The article finds no evidence for the former claim, conclusive evidence that the library contains books once owned by Lord Herbert, and some evidence that it contains books once owned by Sir Henry. It also presents a transcription of a devotional poem, written on a pastedown of one of the books, which is ascribed to an unidentified ‘Beatrix Herbert’.