Of Angels and Mercy

There is an interesting note on the Guildhall Library by William Kent in his An Encyclopedia of London. It quotes Mr. Bernard Kettle, at one time the Librarian, as saying that Francis Thompson, the poet, used to go constantly to its reading room. "He always came in with two books in his pocket; one, I think, was Sophocles." The poet, however, was in such poor straits and so seedy in appearance "that it fell to my lot to have to perform the painful duty of asking him to forgo his visits ... Had I known that I was entertaining an "angel unawares," I should have perhaps been more reluctant to eject him.

It is worth remembering that [Richard] Whittington founded the library "for the profit of students," and that he was following a normal practice of medieval times. Many have the impression that libraries were monkish things, jealously preserved for clerics only. The lending of books, however, was regarded as a corporal work of mercy, and even the monastic libraries lent them not only willingly, but without charge beyond, in some cases, a deposit on the value of the book, which was repaid on its return. These libraries had quite an up-to-date system, not only in registering borrowings, but also in cataloguing, with an efficient librarian to help and advise students and take care of the books. The present library escaped the severe damage that air raids inflicted on most of the Guildhall buildings, though a great number of the books were lost.

From Catholic London by Douglas Newton and published by Robert Hale.