This afternoon, I abandoned working on my own book and held a 700 year old book in my hands instead.

The event was part of the Worcester Literary Festival and was an amazing experience. Despite its historical importance, the collection’s existence doesn’t seem to be well-known as it’s tucked away and viewing is usually only available by special appointment. However, if you ever get the opportunity to see it, I can highly recommend a visit.

The tour group met just outside the gift shop. I arrived a little early, so stepped into the courtyard for a while and snapped some pictures on my iphone. I knew that once inside the library, photography (even without flash) was prohibited in order to protect the books.

Once everyone had arrived, our guide showed a group of us through the security door and skipped ahead of us up a steep spiral staircase. We knew when we had eventually caught up with him as the lovely crisp, musty smell of preserved books was there to greet us at the top.

It was an amazing collection. We were talked through and able to handle (while wearing protective cotton gloves) a wide range of documents, manuscripts, early printed books and even Elgar’s baton! I’d expected most of the catalogue to be religious books and there were many fine examples of bibles, monastic chronicles and liturgy. However, there was also some wonderful examples of medical tomes, maps, travel guides, astronomy books and even some guides on how to deal with witches. I really began to appreciate how much work had gone into each book – not just the written word, but the illuminations and paintings, meticulous lettering and intricate bindings were things of beauty in their own right.

There is something rather awesome about standing in a room with so much history. I also began to appreciate the concept of the weight of words – some of those bound manuscripts were extremely heavy! I wonder what words will be poured over by historians 700 years from now and how well modern books will be preserved?