Pembroke College Cambridge

Archives & Special Collections

Pembroke College has a range of special collection materials from the 14th-century foundation documents to the modern papers of its old members such as Ted Hughes. These sit alongside a collection of medieval manuscripts and approximately 30,000 early printed books and incunabula. The printed special collections also include modern private press editions and books formerly owned by notable members of the College.

The Archive and Library are working to digitize material as opportunities arise. All of our digitized items can be accessed via our pages on the Cambridge University Digital Library.

 

Archive Collections

Pembroke College Archive holds records of the College and its estates going back to its foundation in the 14th century and earlier. The College is fortunate to retain many of the early charters relating to its foundation by Marie de St. Pol, Countess of Pembroke. Significant estate collections include those for Framlingham and Saxtead in Suffolk, and Hardwick, Linton, Soham and Waresley in Cambridgeshire. Other records include governance records, bursarial records, tutorial records, property papers, records of College clubs and societies and records of members (undergraduates and Fellows).

The Archive also has a growing collection of personal papers of old members and those associated with the College. Significant collections include:

Please note that in addition to the personal papers held in the Archive, the Library holds the personal libraries of some of the College’s old members.

 

Archive Catalogues

Pembroke's Archive catalogues are partially available online. Please visit the Pembroke page of ArchivesSpace to see the currently available Pembroke College catalogues.

For more guidance on using ArchivesSearch, please consult this libguide.

Printed handlists for some collections that have not been fully catalogued are available for consultation at the Archive.

 

Archive Enquiries

Enquiries concerning the College’s Archive collections, including queries relating to former students, should be directed to the College Archivist. Alternatively, the Archivist may be reached via the College postal address or by phoning 01223 764151. Please note the Archivist works for the College on a part-time basis (Wednesdays-Fridays) and so there is sometimes a delay in responding to enquiries.

 

Medieval Manuscripts

Pembroke’s collection of around 300 medieval manuscripts includes some of the greatest treasures of the College. They are kept at the University Library and must be consulted there. To make an appointment to consult the medieval manuscripts, please contact the team at the Rare Books Reading Room. A handful of the manuscripts have been fully digitized; these are available via the Cambridge Digital Library.

To request high-resolution images of any of our medieval manuscripts, please contact the Digital Content Unit. Charges apply for these images. If you are requesting images for publication, please contact the College Librarian in the first instance.

The Pembroke College medieval manuscripts were catalogued by M R James at the beginning of the twentieth century and this catalogue was published by Cambridge University Press. This has heretofore been the primary reference source for the collection.  However, this catalogue has become more out of date as the years have progressed.

We are therefore very pleased to say that a new work, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts of Pembroke College Cambridge by Rodney M. Thompson has been published in 2022 by Boydell and Brewer. This catalogue updates and expands on James’ work as well as including descriptions of manuscripts not covered by James. An errata sheet for this catalogue may be downloaded here.

 

 

Printed Special Collections

Our collection of early printed books was largely donated by past members of the College and so reflects the wide-ranging interests of those scholars. Particular strengths include our collection of early printed Bibles, given to us by Lancelot Andrewes, and our collection of works on astronomy which were given by Roger Long.

Among the highlights of the modern printed books are the Hadley Collection of books on the Napoleonic era, the Wilkinson Collection of books printed by the Golden Cockerel Press, and the Rosenthal Art Collection.

 

Visiting the Archive and Special Collections

Researchers are welcome to consult Pembroke’s Archive and Special Collections. All visits must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Opening hours for accessing the printed special collections are Monday-Friday, 9.30-12.00 and 2.00-4.30. Opening hours for accessing the Archive are Wednesday-Friday, 9.30-12.00 and 2.00-4.30. Please contact library@pem.cam.ac.uk to book appointments. Please note the reading room is closed for all Bank Holidays, for a week in September and for two weeks in December each year. Other closures will be advertised on our website.

On the day of your appointment, please go first to the Porter's Lodge at the College main entrance on Trumpington Street; please ask them to call over to the Library to alert us to your arrival. They will also direct you to the Library, where you will be met by a member of the Library and Archive team. Please avoid bringing any large bags or cases with you to the Library. No food or drink is permitted in the reading room. Notes must be taken in pencil but you are welcome to use a laptop or similar. Please be aware that the WiFi signal in the reading room is poor, so you may not be able to work online.

If the material you wish to consult is particularly fragile, the Librarian reserves the right to ask you to work from digital surrogates or microfilm. Where no surrogate exists, the Librarian reserves the right to make fragile material unavailable until it has undergone conservation treatment.

Self-service photography for personal research is permitted under certain conditions. The Librarian or Archivist can advise on any restrictions. Requests to publish images should be directed to the Librarian or Archivist.