Francis Trigge was an Elizabethan Puritan clergyman, the rector
of Welbourne, a village some 12 miles north of Grantham. He was
born in 1547 and died in 1606. He was a licensed preacher and his
sermons were published in his lifetime. He was concerned for the
people of the countryside of Grantham and Lincolnshire where common
land was being enclosed by the rich landlords.
He gave 'one hundred poundes or thereabouts' for the
books to be purchased. The purpose of the Library was for 'the
better encreasinge of learnings and knowledge in divinitie &
other liberall sciences & learning by such of the cleargie
& others as well as beinge inhabitantes in or near Grantham
& the soake thereof as in other places in the said
Countie.'
The library was the first public reference library in England;
it was founded in 1598 and still in its original
setting.
Francis Trigge's library was to be kept in the upper room of the
south porch at St. Wulfram's and the books were to be chained to
desks and read in the library. Overall charge of the library was
given to the Alderman of Grantham assisted by the two vicars of
North and South Grantham, and the schoolmaster from the then Edward
VI Grammar School, the current King's School which is situated next
to St Wulfram's Church.The porch room was lived in during the 14th
century by one of the Vicars of Grantham and has a fireplace, a
piscina and an oriel window which gave the priest a good view of
most of the church, including the altar.
The chains were hand-forged and made in Grantham. The rods were
made in 1884 when the desks were replaced by the present shelves.
However, the frames for the shelves were made from the original
desks. The books, in many cases, still have their original
patterned bindings and some 80 still have their chains which
prevent theft.
The major part of the Library comprises books bought with the
original £100 shortly after the agreement was made in 1598.
However, some have been added over the years, some very recently,
including a King James Bible printed in 1613 which is probably a
second printing of the first edition which was produced in
1611.
All the books are printed, the earliest being a volume printed
in Venice in 1472, only 16 years after the Gutenberg Bible, which
was the first substantial book produced using the recently invented
printing using movable type. A few however have the first initial
of a paragraph either missing or hand-illuminated, to give the
volume the appearance of a manuscript.The majority of the books
were printed in the 16th century. There are about 10 which are
incunabulae, meaning they were printed before 1501; most are rare
and some are unique.
The subject matter reflects the paramount interest of the time -
post Reformation - when there was much discussion over the way
forward for the Church. There are histories of the church,
commentaries on the Bible, collections of sermons, and works of the
early and medieval Fathers. The 'Breeches' Bible and the 'Vinegar'
Bible are two volumes given unofficial names. The books vary in
size, for example, the King James Bible, no means the largest book,
is a large Lectern volume and contrasts with another recent gift
which is of a Bible measuring only some 2 inches (5 cm) in
height!
There are also law books, medical books, histories, classical
texts and natural history. There is a book covering
geography, astronomy and navigation, published in 1482 some 70
years after it was written - in manuscript - a copy of which
was used by Christopher Columbus in planning his expedition to find
the Indies by sailing west instead of east. A book on cures for
ailments from gout and the plague to toothache is included in the
library, as well as an early book on zoology with illustrations of
animals, birds and fish, most real but some mythical. Most of the
books are in Latin but you may test your knowledge of Greek, Hebrew
and Aramaic as well, of course, of English.
It is possible that Isaac Newton, who attended the next door
King's School, used the library and although there is no evidence
of this, we do have a number of books donated by Henry More, their
author, a noted theologian, who also studied at the King's School a
little before Newton.