Dear Friends,
Some of you will have read in the Catholic press that the Central Catholic Library has found a new home at
our monastery, and many will be wondering what difference this might make to our life and, perhaps, to
yours!
The CCL as it is known, is one of the finest collections of Catholic books in England. It lived for many
years with the Franciscans of the Atonement behind Westminster Cathedral until the friars themselves
withdrew some years ago. For six years much of the library was housed in an Anglican Church hall near
Euston Station until the parish there needed the premises. When a promising offer of new premises in
Bloomsbury emerged, it was hoped that that the library might be saved, but when these hopes were dashed,
the entire 65,000 volumes (this does not include the periodicals) were put into storage in boxes.
The Abbey was approached by the CCL Trustees, and we were asked if we could help. Our first thoughts
concerned the impact that a public library might have on our way of life in general and our enclosure in
particular, but the disused basement of the monastery seemed to supply a solution satisfactory to everyone.
Clearly the move to Farnborough will mean that the library will no longer be ‘Central’ as far as London is
concerned, but it is our hope that it will flourish nonetheless in its new incarnation and location.
The Catholic Central Library will be known here as ‘The National Catholic Library of England’. It was
originally the private collection of William Reed Lewis, a wealthy American living in Box Hill. During the
First World War he lent books to American Soldiers and then sold his collection to the Catholic Truth
Society. In 1959, the Friars of the Atonement took responsibility for it until their own financial
difficulties forced their withdrawal and the future of the library looked bleak indeed. When it eventually
seemed that all was lost , and that the Library could not possibly continue, members of the Catholic
Writers’ Guild intervened with the late Cardinal Hume. They established a charitable trust to work for the
preservation and advancement of the library and managed to secure premises in London. The difficulty of
finding suitable premises and of raising the large amounts of money necssary for such a large space in
London led to the library being housed on two sites in church halls. Mrs Joan Bond, the indefatigable
librarian, would find herself crossing London by bus to seek out the relevant box containing the required
volume for a reader.
The library, a tremendous national asset, will be housed by the Abbey for a three year probationary period.
Should this prove to be mutually satisfactory, then the Trustees of the Library and those of the Abbey will
consider a closer cooperation on a permanent basis.
Some of our brothers went to Westminster Cathedral Hall for the ‘Towards Advent’ festival. This gave us an
excellent opportunity to meet other Catholic publishers and to sell some of our books and products.
As we approach 2005 we are busy, not only with new publications, but also with planning the summer series
of organ recitals which will celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the Cavaillé-Coll at the Abbey. A
series of articles will commence in the January Laudetur to give our readers an insight into both its
history and the extent of its recent restoration.
Sincerely in the Lord,
rchived 
ews
