8 March - 20 July 2025
Open during usual visitor hours, entry by donation
The Bible is the best-selling book ever to be printed in the English language.
In this fascinating exhibition, discover the history of the Bible in England. See rare and precious bibles from Lichfield Cathedral Library.
Our 2025 exhibition Book of Books: the story of the English Bible is an exploration of how and why the Latin bible of the pre-Reformation was translated and authorised in English. Using our own stunning collection of bibles and together with our own St Chad’s Gospels, we will exhibit an early 15th century manuscript New Testament, a spectacular first edition of Henry VIII’s Great Bible, rare editions of the 1611 Authorised Bible, and other bibles.
These bibles reflect the history of the first attempt to translate the Latin bible into Middle English, the first authorised bible in English during the reign of Henry VIII, the different outlooks of Christians during the Reformation, to James I’s effort to find a middle way, and up to today.