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Wessex Arts Society volunteers are involved in a project at St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles at the request of Nicholas Ashley Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury.  St Giles House, which had been largely abandoned, has been undergoing a huge restoration. The magnificent library room is now often used for functions; it has over 6000 books which have been in need of cataloguing and many needing repairs.  

The volunteers on this project are from Blackmore Vale, Poole and Wylye Valley.  We have received training from Caroline Bendix a book conservator who has been awarded the Royal Warrant Holders’ Association Plowden Medal for her work with books and libraries.  Her work has taken her to Windsor Castle, Lambeth Palace, National Trust houses, Universities and numerous private collections at home and abroad.  An Arts Society Associate Member Rupert Brown, who is a skilled craftsman, assists with book repairs.

The library contains books collected over the years by the Earls of Shaftesbury and their families. The subjects include philosophy, philanthropy, religion, state matters, the arts and music.  There are books from the sixteenth century written in Latin and Greek and with elaborate engravings. These books range from ones which could be slipped into a gentleman’s pocket when travelling to large oversize volumes. Most of these older books are bound in leather but some are bound in vellum.  There are copies of Hutchins History of Dorset, some elephantine volumes on art as well as numerous very large Bibles, including two in Chinese. There are also books which were brought over from Belfast Castle.

In 2011 when repairs commenced on the house many of the books were placed on the bookshelves in random order and so now as work on cataloguing progresses we are tackling the job of reuniting sets of books and placing them in subject groups such as  history, Ireland, country sports, military, music etc.  Special photos or letters are handed to the Estate Archivist.

This project has proved to be fascinating and we have gained numerous new skills. Lord Shaftesbury has shown a keen interest in the project and has given us help with unidentified photos, crests and signatures.  We are very grateful to Lord Shaftesbury and his team for giving us the opportunity to work in the library at St Giles House.

Wessex Arts Society volunteers are involved in a project at St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles at the request of Nicholas Ashley Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury.  St Giles House, which had been largely abandoned, has been undergoing a huge restoration. The magnificent library room is now often used for functions; it has over 6000 books which have been in need of cataloguing and many needing repairs.  

The volunteers on this project are from Blackmore Vale, Poole and Wylye Valley.  We have received training from Caroline Bendix a book conservator who has been awarded the Royal Warrant Holders’ Association Plowden Medal for her work with books and libraries.  Her work has taken her to Windsor Castle, Lambeth Palace, National Trust houses, Universities and numerous private collections at home and abroad.  An Arts Society Associate Member Rupert Brown, who is a skilled craftsman, assists with book repairs.

The library contains books collected over the years by the Earls of Shaftesbury and their families. The subjects include philosophy, philanthropy, religion, state matters, the arts and music.  There are books from the sixteenth century written in Latin and Greek and with elaborate engravings. These books range from ones which could be slipped into a gentleman’s pocket when travelling to large oversize volumes. Most of these older books are bound in leather but some are bound in vellum.  There are copies of Hutchins History of Dorset, some elephantine volumes on art as well as numerous very large Bibles, including two in Chinese. There are also books which were brought over from Belfast Castle.

In 2011 when repairs commenced on the house many of the books were placed on the bookshelves in random order and so now as work on cataloguing progresses we are tackling the job of reuniting sets of books and placing them in subject groups such as  history, Ireland, country sports, military, music etc.  Special photos or letters are handed to the Estate Archivist.

This project has proved to be fascinating and we have gained numerous new skills. Lord Shaftesbury has shown a keen interest in the project and has given us help with unidentified photos, crests and signatures.  We are very grateful to Lord Shaftesbury and his team for giving us the opportunity to work in the library at St Giles House.