Home > Wren Library, Cambridge

The library is a single large room built on the second floor over an open colonnade on the ground floor of Nevile's Court . The book stacks are arranged in rows perpendicular to walls between each window. At the end of each stack is a fine limewood carving by Grinling Gibbons and above that plaster cast bust of notable writers through the ages. Other marble busts standing on plinths depict notable member of the college and are mostly carved by Louis-François Roubiliac. A later addition is a full size statue of Lord Byron carved by Bertel Thorvaldsen, originally offered to Westminster Abbey for inclusion in Poets' Corner, but refused due to the poet's reputation for immorality.

The interior of the library, showing the limewood carvings by Grinling Gibbons. On the east balustrade of the library's roof are four statues by Gabriel Cibber representing Divinity, Law, Physic, and Mathematics.

1 Notable Books

The library contains many notable rare books and manuscripts, many bequeathed by past members of the college.

Included in the collection are;

• Isaac Newton's first edition copy of Principia Mathematica with hand written notes for the second edition.
• An eighth century copy of the Epistles of St PaulThe term Pauline epistles refers to the thirteen or fourteen letters in the New Testament of the Christian Bible traditionally believed to have been written by the apostle Paul. The authorship of some of these letters (" epistles") has been called into qu
• A. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne ( January 18, 1882 January 31, 1956), also known as A. Milne is an English author best known for his books about the talking stuffed bear; Winnie the Pooh and for various children's poems, some of which also feature Winnie-the-Pooh an's autograph copy of Winnie-the-Pooh
• The Capell collection of early Shakespeare editions
• A collection of autograph poems by John MiltonJohn Milton ( December 9, 1608— November 8, 1674) was an English poet, most famous for his blank verse epic Paradise Lost''. His father, John Milton Sr. was a well-off scrivener, and his grandfather a wealthy landowner in Oxfordshire who, hewing to the ol
• A couple of CaxtonCaxton may refer to: Caxton, Cambridgeshire, a village in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom William Caxton. bibles
• Several notebooks written by Ludwig WittgensteinLogic and the philosophy of language, critically examining the task of conventional philosophy and its relation to the nature of language. Ludwig Wittgenstein ( April 26, 1889 April 29, 1951) was an Austrian-born philosopher who contributed several ground

2 Visiting

The library is open to the public, but opening times are very limited. Check the external link for current times. There is no admission charge, but there is usually a charge for tourists entering the college.