The Old Library

The Old Library, which is distinct from the Pepys Library, is Magdalene’s collection of rare books and manuscripts which has evolved throughout the history of the College. The Old Library also collects modern publications relating to the College and to Cambridge more widely. 

Books for lending to the novice monks were first housed in the Prior’s lodgings in First Court - where the Old Library and Parlour are now - and thus there have been books kept in First Court since the College had any books to keep. Stored in the damp conditions of the Chapel roof space in the mid-seventeenth century, a more suitable home was found for the books in First Court in 1733, moving to its present position in 1847, with the addition of a new reading room in the 1920s and a major renovation in the 1960s.

The backbone of the Old Library collection is shaped by major bequests from six past College Masters: Thomas Nevile, Barnaby Goche, James Duport, Daniel Waterland, A C Benson and notably Peter Peckard. Peckard’s sizeable collection of books contributes to the Old Library’s strength in 17^th and 18^th century theological works.  

Further details about the history of the collection can be found in M E J Hughes, The Pepys Library and Historic Collections of Magdalene College (Scala, 2015).