The 6th Duke of Portland added many items to the collection here at Welbeck, but perhaps most notable was his interest in books. There are currently 1342 books and pamphlets catalogued by the curatorial team, which we know belonged to the bibliophile Duke. This impressive collection was housed in two main locations. The Titchfield Library was fitted out with stacks and contained a large manuscript archive and printed books on various topics such as local history, military history, art and architecture. Except for a few notable documents, most of the archive was deposited at various publicly accessible locations, such as the University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections archive. There were also, regrettably, large sales of printed books from the Titchfield Library in the 1950s.
The House Library, Welbeck Abbey
The other principal location was the House Library which contained a large quantity of illustrated books on science, geography and nature. 383 of these books are still shelved in this room. Until the 1820s, books were generally sold as loose sheets with no covers, and this meant that the person buying them could have them bound to their taste. The bindings the 6th Duke chose are often highly decorative, with gold tooling, and were picked to compliment the colour scheme of the House Library – green, gold and red.
Green and gold 19th century binding
From a surviving photograph from the late-nineteenth century and a floor plan dated 1891, it seems that the space was used as a music room with an informal seating arrangement, a grand piano and, most notably, no bookcases. It was not until the 6th Duke of Portland began his refurbishment works following a fire in the Oxford Wing in 1900 that the room was refitted as a library.
Photograph of the Music Room (now the House Library), late-1800s
Just over a hundred years later, the House Library underwent another renovation following an unfortunate flood in the bathroom above caused by faulty plumbing. The damage was substantial and resulted in an extensive restoration project. All the books had to be removed and assessed for damage. Luckily only 59 books were badly saturated with water, and these were initially put in a dry room, and the excess moisture was removed page by page with absorbent paper. They were then sent to an expert paper conservator and were cleaned, washed, deacidified, resized and repaired. Some had to be completely rebound, and the original gilt tooling was copied. The carpet had to be vacuumed to suck all the water out. It was then rolled onto a pipe and sent for cleaning and drying to a specialist firm in Sheffield. It was so heavy that it took eight men to lift it! The water had come from above and run down the walls, which meant that all the silk wall hangings had to be taken down and replaced with newly rewoven fabric which closely copied the original design and colour. Some sections of the historic fabric were preserved, and one can be seen today on an armchair in the House Library. In addition, much of the furniture, paintings and giltwood mirrors in the room also had to be restored by conservators.
Photograph of the House Library in around 1914 (post the 6th Duke's refurbishment)
Nearly 20 years after the flood, the books in the House Library are now undergoing further cleaning and conservation work carried out by our Arts Society book volunteers.