Material for early modern historians
Early modern archives, books and sources
Durham University has particularly rich collections of early modern manuscripts and early printed books, as well access to a wide range of essential electronic and printed sources.
Archives and early printed books in the University Libraries:
- The library of John Cosin, bishop of Durham (1595-1672), which includes a large number of unique French books not in the Bibliothèque nationale and is housed in its original building. Also a collection of his letters.
- Durham Cathedral Muniments and the estate records of the Dean and Chapter of Durham cathedral
- Records relating to the Diocese of Durham, including the Bishopric Halmote Court records
- Records of the Palatinate of Durham
- Durham Probate records, covering Durham and Northumberland 16th-19th century
- The library of Lord William Howard (1563-1640) and some commonplace books of Lord Henry Howard, earl of Northampton (1540-1614)
- The Bamburgh Library manuscripts which includes 17th and 18th century commonplace books, private correspondence and book collecting.
- Local history of the North East of England from the 15th to 18th centuries.
- Family Papers, including the Backhouse Papers; Clavering of Greencroft Papers; Baker Baker papers; and the Headlam and Headlam-Morley Papers which include a collection of seventeenth-century manuscript sermons.
- The Kellett Collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century European medical treatises.
Resources
We have a wide range of electronic bibliographic, reference and full-text resources including State Papers Online (SPO), Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO), Early English Books Online (EEBO), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (EECO), the Burney Collection of 17th and 18th century newspapers, 18th century parliamentary papers, the Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, the Thomason Tracts and the Digital Quaker Collection (DQC).
On microlfilm we have the English and Welsh episcopal Registers, Records of the Court of Arches (1661-1732), the Ferrar Papers (1590-1700), Sir William Clarke's manuscripts (1640-64), women's diaries and other sources (1500-1940) and courtesy books from the Newberry Library, Chicago (1571-1773).
Other libraries
Durham Cathedral Library
- Manuscripts and early printed books on theology, music, history, travel and art in the Cathedral Library