Duke Humfrey's Library

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Duke Humfrey's Library is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. It functions primarily as a reading room for maps, music, and pre-1641 rare books. It consists of the original medieval section (1487), the Arts End (1612), and the Selden End (1637). It houses collections of maps, music, Western manuscripts, and theology and arts materials. It is the main reading room for researchers of codicology, bibliography, and local history. It is also the location of the University Archives and the Conservative Party Archive.

Location

Duke Humfrey's Library is located at:
Duke Humfrey's Library
Old Bodleian Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG

Humfrey Plantagenet

Humfrey Plantagenet is the name sake of Duke Humfrey's Library. He was a connoisseur of literature and commissioned translations of classical works from Greek into Latin. When he died in 1447, he donated his collection of 281 manuscripts to the University of Oxford library. Oxford built Duke Humfrey's Library as a second story to the Divinity School in order to house his collection. Today, only three of Humfrey's original books remain in the library.

Notable Items

Duke Humfrey's Library houses, among many other valuable treasures, 3rd century manuscripts of the Gospels, a Shakespeare First Folio, and a Gutenberg Bible.