07.05.2025
Learning from the archives – New video features the work of the RCB Library
In a new video as part of the Church of Ireland’s Inspiring Angles series, Librarian and Archivist Dr Susan Hood recalls how the vision and generosity of Rosamond Stephen led to the founding of the Representative Church Body Library in a turbulent time of Irish history.
Ms Stephen and her family used their education for the benefit of others, including on Belfast’s Crumlin Road before the Library came about, and this legacy of learning and making the stories from its collections available to people from many backgrounds continues today. Some special featured items include an original 1552 Book of Common Prayer and its 1608 translation into the Irish language, and a book of hand–painted drawings sent from India by Rosamond’s father, Sir James Stephen, for her to read as a child.
Viewers may also be interested in reading The Borderless Church – a series of archive–based articles – commissioned by the Library, reflecting on changes in life in our Church and wider society across our island as reported by the Church of Ireland Gazette from the 1950s to the 1990s. This was featured in the context of the Library’s successful completion of the digitization of the Gazette as a fully searchable online resource.
The RCB Library continues to collect, protect and make available the thousands of archives and manuscripts relating to the Church of Ireland, its people, buildings and related institutions spanning from medieval times to the present.
You can watch the video here: