#36 Benefactor's Book

For our last week of #400things, we joined up with the #Pembroke400GivingDay to highlight some of the amazing things relating to our donors down the centuries. And we really couldn’t start anywhere but here.

1. This is the college’s Benefactor’s Book, covering the years 1699-1808.

2. It is written in vellum

3. It has a decorative binding of gold-tooled polished red morocco goatskin with marbled interior boards.

4. It is 410 by 360 mm in size

5. The second page carries a large College crest

6. Many of the donor names have illuminated capitals. Five are colourful and the rest are monochrome. The calligraphy and illumination is by William Sury.

7. The first part of the book primarily includes gifts of silver or money

8. The second section relates to donations towards the building of the Chapel.

9. The Chapel donations list includes an illustration of the North elevation

10. The book was digitised in 2014 and can be seen in full on Digital Bodleian.