What's that in your carrier bag? Undiscovered treasure!

A previously unknown 1620 Bible has been revealed thanks to a school visit to St Davids Cathedral library.

Pupils from Dyffryn Taf Comprehensive School in Whitland arrived carrying an old book, which had been found in the school, wrapped up in a supermarket carrier bag.

Library Development Officer Mari James immediately recognised it as a hitherto undiscovered copy of the 1620 Welsh Bible translated by Bishop Richard Parry, which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year.

A video made by students at Dyffryn Taf School in Whitland is one of a series of virtual events being held by St Davids Cathedral Library during UK Libraries Week 5th to 10th October.

The video tells the story of the school visit to the Cathedral for the Turbulent Tudors programme run by the Cathedral’s Education Department. Part of the day included a visit to the Cathedral Library and seeing Rare Books from the 16th Century onwards.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCncOKz_Y5XSh4CO9aR6qEnQ/videos

“It is always exciting to go on a school visit to the Cathedral” said Mrs Rosie Davies, teacher in Dyffryn Taf School's Humanities Faculty, “but to learn we had an important 400-year-old part of Welsh history in the school, was an unforgettable part of this school trip.”

Other digital and virtual events being held during Libraries Week are available on the Cathedral Library website at https://www.stdavidscathedral.org.uk/discover/library

During the week the programme looks at how key books in the unique collection resonate with our situation today in various ways. There will be an examination of similarities between the current Coronavirus pandemic and a medical book from the 18th Century; using a legal work from 1505 to look at developments in church law in the 500 years since then; a comparison of some key parts of the Cathedral building with the dilapidated state it was in when an important book was written in 1856 as part of a campaign to save the Cathedral.

“New technology enables us to share the treasures in our unique Cathedral Library with a much wider audience around the country, and potentially around the world”, commented the Dean of St Davids Cathedral, The Very Rev’d Dr Sarah Rowland Jones. “We invite anyone else who thinks they may have one of the original 1620 Esgob Parry Bibles to use the resources of our Cathedral Library to find out more. We are very proud of this place of learning within our place of worship.”