Featured Books from our Library

Our library contains a wealth of interesting material, old and new. This new web-page links to articles about different items in our collection. Some of these items, and others in the library, have extra pages or illustrations 'tipped in', and over time we will be digitising and transcribing these to make them more widely accessible.

Obotriten Worship

 Obotriten Worship is a shortened version of the very long German title of a book dating from 1771 and donated to the Society in 1829. Much detective work has led to the discovery that the book probably belonged to Queen Charlotte, George III's consort, and may have given to her by the author or illustrator.

History of Corbridge

We hold a unique copy of Robert Forster's History of Corbridge, published in 1881.   It includes a large number of manuscript pages 'tipped in' by the author. Follow the links below to see images of these additional pages, with transcriptions. The Society already had an ordinary copy of this book, but this special copy from the library of local historian Philip Brooks, and was kindly donated to the Society in 2018 by his widow, Barbara.

History of Corbridge and its Antiquities part 1, images and transcriptions.

History of Corbridge and its Antiquities part 2, images and transcriptions

Guide to the Castle

This Guide to Newcastle Castle is dated 1847 and put together with other documents and press cuttings by our member John Ventress, who was also an accomplished carpenter and joiner.

Hadrian's Wall in 1801

To mark the 2019 Hadrian's Wall Pilgrimage, we drew attention to a book about a visit to Hadrian's Wall made in 1801 by a Somerset vicar, John Skinner. This new version of the feature (uploaded March 2020) includes details of the stones and inscriptions recorded by Skinner and also included in J. Collingwood Bruce's Lapidarium Septentrionale. The book itself is not old, being a version of Rev. Skinner's journal, edited by Howard and John Coombs, published by Kingsmead Press in 1978, and kindly donated to us recently. Consult the book in our library  to find out what a Somerset vicar thought of our region more than 200 years ago.

Hadrian’s Wall in 1801; Observations on the Roman Wall from a Journal written by Rev. John Skinner FSA, Edited by Howard and John Coombs, Kingsmead Press, 1978

A very special Roman Wall - Part 1

Following on from the 2019 Pilgrimage, we feature in these two contributions by Howard Cleeve, a unique copy of the first edition of John Collingwood Bruce's The Roman Wall, dated 1851. Its specialness lies in the fact it was given by the author to William Woodman, another noted member of the Society, and tipped into it are manuscript letters from Bruce and press cuttings about the book and the first Pilgrimage.

....and Part 2

This second instalment (uploaded 22 February 2020) includes more details about manuscript letters, and the monumental publication Lapidarium Septentionale.