Secret and Sacred Libraries From East Midlands Parishes

Secret and Sacred Libraries From East Midlands Parishes is open at Lakeside Arts from 8 October 2026 to 28 February 2027. It's in the Weston Gallery, part of the Lakeside Arts complex at University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD.

The exhibition opens up the long-forgotten libraries of East Midlands parish priests through the books they owned and annotated over the centuries. Alongside Bibles and theological texts, you'll find far more surprising works on poetry, history, politics, games and the social duties that governed everyday life. It's a glimpse at the intense local concerns and the broad intellectual curiosity of men whose parishes still exist today.

It's co-curated by Dr Jem Bloomfield of the School of English and Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham, with research assistance from Chloe Pavey and grant funding from Research England. The display connects the modern East Midlands with its vibrant and fascinating past, and since the parishes themselves are still around, there's a direct line from the books on display to the actual places they came from.

Entry is free, and the gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 to 16:00, closed Mondays. It runs until the end of February, so there's plenty of time to drop in.