Archives and Special Collections: Durham Cathedral Collections: Other collections

The cathedral's archive and manuscript collections are divided between three locations:

• 5 The College, where research access is arranged directly with the University Library and Collections
• Durham Cathedral Library, where research access is arranged through Cathedral Library staff
• Palace Green Library, for which research access must first be granted by Cathedral Library staff.

For further information on how to access the collections, see the separate access page in this guide.

The main cathedral collections stored at 5 The College are as follows:

• The archive of Durham Cathedral itself (and of the Benedictine Priory before 1540)
• Durham Cathedral's Additional Manuscripts collection
• Most papers belonging originally to bishops of Durham and other clergy (except the Henson papers)

The collections stored within the claustral buildings and managed by Durham Cathedral Library staff include:

• Printed book collections (with a very few exceptions at shelfmark ChapterLib 942)
• Music manuscripts
• Most papers created or collected by antiquarians (except the Ralph Nelson files which are at 5 The College)
• The journals and other papers of Herbert Hensley Henson
• Object collections (church plate, embroideries, Anglo-Saxon stones and other treasures)

The medieval manuscripts and incunables collection (books printed before 1500) are accessed through Palace Green Library, but new users of these items should contact Durham Cathedral Library staff in the first place.