Pupils at Stonyhurst have access to our unique Collections, which are made available to them through the work of our Curator and Assistant Curator. There are a number of ways in which our pupils are able to experience all the benefits that our Collections can offer them.
For more general information on the Collections, please see the Collections web page by clicking here.
Around the campus
Many of the finest paintings, prints, and statues in the Collections are on display throughout the buildings at Stonyhurst. Pupils can see works on display by notable artists including Albrecht Dürer, Quentin Matsys, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Allegretto Nuzi, Bernard Partridge, Frank Brangwyn, John Nost, Peter Lely, Jacob Huysmans, and Godfrey Kneller.
Lessons
Objects from the Collections are used regularly in lessons to broaden and deepen the curriculum experienced by pupils at Stonyhurst.
Among such a vast collection, students of history view objects and books linked to members of the royal family during the Wars of the Roses, and possessions associated with important figures of the English Reformation including Thomas More and Thomas Cranmer. Pupils learning English can access the First Folio of Shakespeare and manuscripts by Gerard Manley Hopkins as part of their lessons. Artists can gain inspiration from the many works of art around the buildings in lessons on many artistic techniques.
Study
Rhetoric (Upper Sixth) pupils can apply to gain access to our Historic Libraries during restricted hours as a place of silent study. Pupils who take up this opportunity are subject to the usual rules of comparable special collections libraries at universities. The curatorial staff are on hand to advise and guide personal study projects and to explain how to use rare books and access manuscripts for primary research.
The Bay Library is a quiet and inspiring space. For many, this is an ideal place to focus on essays and other set work.
Research and Volunteering
Pupils are encouraged to use books and objects in the Collections as inspiration and source material for research projects or simply for their own extra-curricular interest. With the guidance of curatorial staff, the Historic Libraries are available to pupils for research and reference, and objects can be retrieved from the store for careful study, if requested. The curatorial team are all experienced researchers in their own fields and can support and advise pupils in their research.
Pupils often also give some of their free time to volunteer to help the Collections with specific projects. Recent projects by pupils have included: museum photography, learning palaeography, digital transcription of 16th century manuscripts, metalwork conservation, research using fossils, and cataloguing the College stamp collection.
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