Praying for a ferry?

Book Club of California Hosts Unique Program on Lambeth Palace Library

Ferry riders should note that wheeled traffic was not always welcomed in England during the 1600s. In fact waterborne transport was the way to go in London during its literary awakening, say experts.

This interesting insight and many others were shared when a unique program was recently hosted by the Book Club of California, co-presented and co-hosted by the Bibliographical Society of America.

“Lambeth Palace Library through five centuries,” featured Giles Mandelbrote, librarian and archivist, who observed in his lecture that ferries and boats played a key role in navigating central London at the time.

“Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the national library and archive of the Church of England,” he explained. “And it is located on the banks of the Thames.”

Founded in 1610, its internationally important collections include medieval illuminated manuscripts from the ninth century onwards and early printed books, as well as extensive archival holdings to the present day.

In 2021, the Library re-opened to readers and the public in a purpose-built new library building.

This illustrated examined the history of the collections and the people associated with them, while exploring some changing ideas of what a library is for.