From College Library to Country House

7 – 11 September 2026

‘From College Library to Country House’ is conceived from the perspective of the British aristocracy and gentry whose education centred upon preparing them to run their country estate, including the house and collections, and argues for the importance of the library and the book collection in this process.

Too often in country house studies the architecture, interior design and art collections have held sway and this Course aims to foreground the College book collections at the disposal of tutors and the subsequent
development of the country house library. Libraries reveal not only the intellectual or recreational interests of past generations, but also how books manifest taste, fashion, and opportunities for display. Book
historians and tutors well known in their respective fields will conduct the Course and will consider a broad variety of subjects including book binding, the development of the idea of rare books and of book
collections, library portraiture and questions of spatial analysis and mobility, all in the context of the collections housed in some of the oldest and most complete book rooms in Britain.

This intensive residential five-day Course is based in the exceptional surroundings of St Catharine’s College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Directed by Dr Andrew Moore, the programme plans to visit a series of iconic libraries. These include the historic private library of Houghton Hall created by Robert Walpole, and Holkham Hall, home to one of the greatest private manuscript and printed book collections in Britain, housed today in three of the country’s most important country house library rooms.

The Course also visits the library designed by James Gibbs for Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, and the Braybrooke library rooms at Audley End, of considerable interest for being reconstituted from dressing rooms into the 3rd Lord Braybrooke’s library, incorporating the inherited Neville family books. The library at Audley End functioned as an informal family sitting room, with the
adjacent study (the South Library) still displayed as it looked in the early nineteenth century.

The Course includes the Old Libraries of St John’s College and Queens’ College; the Wren Library, Trinity; the Perne library at Peterhouse; the Parker Library at Corpus Christi; the Founder’s Library at the
Fitzwilliam Museum. Additional seminars will take place in the context of the historic book collections in the Cambridge University Library designed by Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960). St. Catharine’s College will host a seminar on the medical book collection of John Addenbrooke (1680-1719), founder of Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

Course Director

Dr Andrew Moore FSA

Course Coordinator

Rita Grudzien

ENROLMENT AND FEES

The cost of the course is £2,500. This includes standard college accommodation and all meals. Tuition, admissions and travel by private coach during the course are also included. All bedrooms are for single occupancy and have en-suite facilities.

Applications

The deadline for applications is Sunday 15 February 2026.  All candidates will be notified by the end of March 2026 if they have been awarded a place.  Payment of fees in full will be due by Thursday 30 April 2026, and should be made by bank transfer.

Participants are strongly advised to insure against cancellation, as no refunds will be made following payment unless the place can be filled by another suitable candidate.  In such a case, an administrative fee of £200 will be applied.

Scholarships

Please note that all US-based applicants who wish to enquire about scholarships should go through the course page on the American Friends of Attingham website whilst applicants based in Australia should refer to the Copland Foundation website. See below for details.

Scholarships for applicants from countries other than the USA or Australia

Applicants who are unable to meet the fees are first encouraged to approach their institutions for full or partial financial assistance before applying for the course. Some scholarship funding through The Attingham Trust is available thanks to the generous support of various individuals and charitable foundations. Any candidate wishing to apply for a scholarship must complete the scholarship application at the bottom of the application form and provide details of their current salary. Anyone awarded full scholarship funding by either their institution, or The Attingham Trust, or a combination thereof, will be required to make a personal contribution of £150 to The Attingham Society Scholarship Fund.

Any queries can be directed to Rita Grudzien, 

Scholarships for applicants from the USA

US-based applicants seeking scholarship support should apply directly to the American Friends of Attingham using the specific scholarship form, available online at: AFA Scholarship Form

Scholarships for applicants from Australia

For applicants from Australia seeking scholarships, please refer to: www.coplandfoundation.com.au by Friday 28 November 2025.

Please note that The Attingham Trust is a registered educational charity. Our courses are provided occasionally, on a not-for-profit basis and to a limited group of participants. This trip does not, therefore, constitute a ‘package holiday’ for the purpose of the Package Travel Regulations

The Attingham Trust reserves the right to adjust fees if there is a substantial change in the exchange rate, as these were assessed on the basis of assumptions made in October 2025. Should this prove to be necessary, members will be informed by April 2026.

Image: The Library at Holkham Hall