Cranston Lecture
The annual Cranston Lecture is the main source of income to provide for the continual professional restoration of the books and the upkeep of the library. It is usually held towards the end of October in St Mary’s Church, Chart Lane, Reigate. There is a display of books, including those that have been recently repaired, and the library will be open to visitors after the lecture.
The Cranston Lecture 2026 will take place at St Mary Magdalene Church, Reigate, on Thursday 29th October 2026, at 7 for 7.30pm.
Speaker: Victoria Stevens, Binding the Body. The Anatomical Books of the Cranston Library in their Wider Context.
Victoria Stevens MA ACR FIIC has worked in heritage collections for over 30 years, mainly as a written heritage conservator and collections care adviser, but latterly as a learning and engagement lead. She is Head of School of Arts, Crafts and Conservation at West Dean College of Arts, Design, Crafts and conservation, and a sessional tutor on the Archives and Records management course at University College London. She is a strong advocate for the heritage profession, serving as Trustee of the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, and as an Arts Council Museum accreditation mentor. She is a member of the Fabric Advisory committee of Hereford Cathedral, and a member of the Education Committee of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
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Recent lectures have included:
2013
Giles Mandelbrote, A Tale of Two Libraries: Lambeth Palace and Sion College in the 17th century
Sean Hawkins: The Rev. John Newman Harrison (1815-1901): a Quest
2014
Hilary Ely, “…a Guinea with which was bought …”: Subscribers to Andrew Cranston’s Reigate Publick Library
Dr Keith Manley, Bodies in the Library: the Family Library of Agatha Christie
2015
Penelope Horsfall, William Penn, Quaker (1644-1718): a visitor to Surrey, especially Reigate
Michael Heneker, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” – a Legal Romp
2016
Christianna Thompson, The English Atlas of the Late Seventeenth Century
Dr Andrea Thomas, A Historical Calumny: George Buchanan’s ‘Detection of Mary Queen of Scots’
2017
Dr Andrea Thomas, Martin Luther and the Reformation after 500 Years
Sean Hawkins, Thomas Martin and Reigate’s Second Public Library
2018
Margaret Willes, John Evelyn’s Polyglot Bible
Hilary Ely, Gutenberg’s Revolution: manuscript to print on the shelves of the Cranston Library
2019
Penelope Horsfall, John, Lord Somers (1650-1716): Our Number One Trustee of 1708. Lawyer, Politician, Statesman. Lord Chancellor 1697-1700
Nick Cowlishaw, The Binding And Decoration Of Early Books
2020 – no lecture owing to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 – Click here for the recording Lecture presentation starts 20 minutes in.
Hilary Ely Early English Printing and the Cranston Collection
Dr Andrea Thomas Early Scottish Printing and the Cranston Collection
2022 – Click here for the recording Lecture presentation starts 5 minutes in.
Sean Hawkins The Knight Bible and the ‘Speckled Monster’
Andrea Thomas Pandemics in History
2023 – Click here for the recording.
>Hilary Ely Traces of Reigate’s parliamentary history in the Cranston Library
Owing to a technical problem, the first ten minutes and most of the slides are missing from the recording of the first paper. Click here for a copy of the slides, and here for a copy of the paper.
Andrea Thomas The Ogilby Atlases: an appeal.
Click here for a copy of the slides, and here for a copy of the paper.
2024:
https://www.youtube.com/live/4HE_SxVMqq4?si=7pU_R4yeQCK_CW6q
Speakers:
Andrea Thomas
May You Live In Interesting Times. The Scotland of Andrew Cranston c.1650-1708
Michael Beach
From Manuscript to Bookshelf. The lives and skills of the people who brought the books to Andrew Cranston’s shelves
2025: https://www.youtube.com/live/WAsQA9Tk7lY?si=zFyS_dtqc9mZOOe9
Speakers:
Andrea Thomas
Bountiful Benevolence: Recent Acquisitions By The Cranston Library
Hilary Ely
At Least In All 113 Volumes Great & Small: John Seyliard And His Gift to Reigate Publick Library
To see a full list of all previous Cranston Lectures please click here.
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The Cranston Library, Reigate 