The Heythrop Library is a philosophy and theological library in London, England. The library was part of
University of London when it functioned as the closed
Heythrop College library. The library still operates independently of the closed college. Since 2018, the library is an affiliated library of the
Senate House Library, which means that it shares the library management system and database with the bigger library.
The library has been serving the
Jesuit
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, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
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, founders ...
community in the United Kingdom, with The Telegraph calling it "one of the oldest and most important libraries of theological and philosophical books in the UK".
Since 2019, its reading room has been housed at the
London Jesuit Centre
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, also known as Farm Street Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church run by the Society of Jesus in Mayfair, central London. Its main entrance is in Farm Street, though it can also be accesse ...
, Mount Street, Mayfair, London and several off-site storage facilities. Most collection items can also be made available to members of the Senate House Library at their building in Bloomsbury.
The library is open to "anyone with a serious interest in theology or philosophy and the related academic disciplines represented in the collection",
with different membership options available (from "free" to an annual charge). Current HE students, Jesuits and other Religious, as well as those unemployed or on low wages might be able to benefit from free membership. The Library continues to provide historic as well as most-current research, in print, to those in training for ministry in the Catholic and other Christian churches and of the wider academic community. It also supports those engaged in programmes at the London Jesuit Centre.
The library is a member of ABTAPL (the Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries).
History
Some of the collection of today's ''Heythrop Library'' dates back to 1614, when the Jesuits founded a college in Leuven, for educating future Jesuit priests preparing for work in what was then the English mission. The collection was later at St Bueno's College, where it was used by Jesuit poet
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...
.
Heythrop College opened in 1926 in Oxfordshire, and became a college of the
University of London in 1970, closing in 2019. Since 2019 its library has continued to serve students and researchers, its collection now available through
Senate House Library and a reading room at the London Jesuit Centre;
over 700 incunabula and rare books of the Heythrop College Library are housed at
Campion Hall
Campion Hall is one of the five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. It is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is located on Brewer St ...
, Oxford.
Collection
The library holds over 213,000 volumes, though the reading room at Mount Street only contains 7,000 volumes plus the latest issues of journals the library subscribes to.
The collection focuses on material in theology, philosophy and some allied disciplines; with particular strong holdings in (Roman Catholic and) Christian theology, philosophy and spirituality (especially relating to
Ignatian Spirituality) and the
Society of Jesus). In the 1980s the Heythrop Library also housed books from the Linacre Centre Library collection.
References
{{reflist
External links
Heythrop Library (at the London Jesuit Centre)
Heythrop Library on TwitterHeythrop Library LinkedIn page (needs LinkedIn membership)
Libraries in London
1614 establishments in England
Society of Jesus