The Bibliomaniacs go to Winchester College Library!

On Thursday the Bibliomaniacs visited Winchester's college library. The head of the library collection, Dr. Foster, showed us around and also showed us some very interesting books! When we arrived at the college library we were shown into a room which was a brewery at the time of the founding of Winchester. At that time the boys at Winchester would drink beer as it would be cleaner than the available water! Dr. Foster showed us a couple of manuscripts and incunabula, which are books printed before 1501. One of the many books that he showed us was an English Book of hours, which at the time was a book containing assorted prayers, normally customisable depending on your Patron saint, etc... These type of books at the time were a showcase of one's wealth; the flashier, the better! This book of hours was very special indeed, and was only one of only a few book of hours containing songs in Britain! One of the other books that Dr. Foster showed us contained some sinister sketches on the margins! One of them included a disfigured head and a weird monkey creature! After we looked at some books we went to have some tea and cake in the College Dining hall! Then, after a short rest, we went over to another part of the library which included shelves from hundreds of years ago, where the books were, and some still are, chained to the shelves, in order to stop people from stealing them. We then were given a short tour of the college, and were able to see the college museum and its chapel in all its glory. The tour however, ended too quickly for some, as they hid their disappointment when we finally left the college. We all thanked Dr. Foster for such a wonderful tour!