Libraries and collections of Stonyhurst College
It is not only a country-house library from Wardour Castle but also has a notable collection of incunabula, medieval manuscripts, and volumes of Jacobite interest.
A dedicated archivist and part-time librarian now oversee the contents of the House Libraries, taking on the task from Fr Frederick J. Turner, SJ.
Since their appointment, access for pupils to these former Jesuit libraries has been opened up and a number of lost or unknown items have been discovered, including a third Wintour vestment, the so-called Spangled Stuffe Suit which had been missing since 1670.
[2] Thankfully and due to the tireless work of the current curator Jan Graffius some of the collection has now returned to its home in the Long Room.
Another was located in the Duchess' Rooms before they were pulled down to make way for the Arundell Library wing; it was hidden behind a bookcase, opened by a secret spring.
[2] The Do Room, re-opened in 2000 following replacement of the beams which support the Top Refectory above, features an exhibition of the School's history and items from the collections, including photographs, a Victorian chamber-pot complete with the College emblem, the desk used and engraved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during his time as a pupil, and a door belonging to an earlier building on the site.
[5] A small very early anonymous painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains missing after being stolen, as do a number of Rembrandt etchings.
The Stonyhurst Chronicles of Jean Froissart, captured at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, are currently on loan to the Royal Armouries in Leeds, where they are the centre-piece of a new exhibition.
The Stonyhurst Collection of Native American artefacts is now in the British Museum, with some items on permanent display, where they were on loan since 1977, before being sold for £650,000 in 2004.
[8][9] A sumptuous gold-embroidered cope, decorated with Tudor roses and portcullises, from a set of vestments used by the household of Henry VII and bequeathed by him to Westminster Abbey, has been in the Victoria and Albert Museum since 1999.
