A Catalogue of the Printed Books in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of York

York Minster has the largest cathedral library in England. The original library was established in the eighth century but nothing survives from this period. A new collection was begun in 1414 when John Newton left books to the Minster and a new library was erected. Further bequests followed – including in 1628 the important collection of Tobie Matthew archbishop of York – which reflect the religious controversies of the sixteenth century. Today the library contains some 120000 items of which more than 25000 were printed before 1801. This catalogue published in 1896 was compiled by James Raine (1830–96) chancellor of York Minster a leading figure in the nineteenth-century restoration of the library. It contains an alphabetical list of most of the printed books that were then in the library but does not include recent theological acquisitions or the bequest by Edward Hailstone (d. 1890) of 10000 items on Yorkshire.