Heritage Talk at Boston Manor House

Dr Angus Vine delves into the Clitherow family's historic library

Dr Angus Vine

February 14, 2024

There is a chance to learn more about the history of Boston Manor House at a forthcoming talk to be given by Dr Angus Vine.

On Thursday 22 February, he will tell the 300-year story of the library and archive at Boston Manor. Although the collection was dispersed when the house was sold in the 1920s, its contents can be reconstructed through account books, catalogues, book lists, and ledgers. Some of the books, moreover, can even still be identified today thanks to their bindings and bookplates (and also the occasional inscription and signature).

Using these materials, this talk tells the story of the library through a series of significant episodes in its history, beginning with James Clitherow’s book-buying in the mid-17th century. Focusing on the library’s early history, it also tells the story of the collection through some of its most unusual and valuable items, from a unique mid-17th-century play-text to an extremely rare anthology of poetry.

Dr Vine will go into detail of the books the family owned, when and where they were acquired and what became of the books. He will also consider how characteristic was their library of other private collections at the time and what this tells us about literary and cultural history more generally.

Dr Vine is an Associate Professor at the University of Stirling, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His research focuses on early modern cultural and intellectual history; his interests include book history, the history of knowledge, mercantile history, maritime history, and antiquarianism. He’s the author of two books, In Defiance of Time: Antiquarian Writing in Early Modern England (OUP, 2010) and Miscellaneous Order: Manuscript Culture and the Early Modern Organization of Knowledge (OUP, 2019), and he’s currently completing his third book Early Modern Merchants and Their Books (OUP, 2025). He is also the Chair of The Oxford Francis Bacon and one of that project’s volume editors. In 2021-22, he held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship to research his most recent book and to work with partners including London Metropolitan Archives, the Guildhall Library, and Edward’s Boys. It was whilst researching this project that he became interested in the Clitherow family, their books, and their papers.

Doors for the talk in the State Drawing Room will open at 6:30pm, though ticket holders are welcome to arrive from 6:00pm and take time to visit the rest of the House. The House will also remain open for ticket holders for 30 minutes after the end of the talk (7:30pm-8:00pm.)

The State Drawing Room at Boston Manor House

Admission is £11.55 including booking fee and tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite.

The talk will last around 45 minutes (6:30-7:15pm), with 15 minutes Q&A session (7:15-7:30pm).

Boston Manor House is on Boston Manor Road (TW8 9JX).