Centre for Marian Studies Library

Scope and Content

This is a reference collection that has been collected together by the Centre for Marian Studies to further its purpose of promoting the study of all matters relating to the Virgin Mary.

It consists of a collection of published books covering the following subjects:

  • Biblical and apocryphal texts
  • Liturgy
  • Early church and the middle ages
  • Systematic Mariology
  • Social scientific studies
  • Mary in poetry and fiction and Marian art
  • Shrines, black Madonnas and devotional works
  • Miracle collections and apparitions
  • Mary in different Christian churches and ecumenical dialogue

In addiction it contains a small collection of pictures and postcards, videos and DVDs; a small collection of devotional objects; and a small collection of rare books.

Administrative / Biographical History

The Centre for Marian Studies was founded in 1995 at La Sainte Union College of Higher Education in Southampton, by members of the Marian Study Group, which consisted of scholars with an academic interest in Marian doctrine or devotion.

The Centre is a charity that aims to promote the study of all matters relating to the Virgin Mary, without promoting any particular religious perspective. In order to meet its aim, the Centre has a library and picture collection, runs educational courses and conferences, supports research, provides lecturers for outside organisations, gives help and supervision for students, and gives information to the mass media and the general public.

In 1997, La Sainte Union College of Higher Education closed and the Centre for Marian Studies moved to Ushaw College, Ushaw Moor, County Durham. In c2000 the Centre moved again, this time to the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge; and in c2004 it moved to the Department of Theology, Religious Study and Islamic Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter, in Ceredigion (the university became known as the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, in 2010). In 2010 the Centre for Marian Studies moved to Roehampton University in London (the university has been known as the University of Roehampton since 2011) to become part of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Catholic Studies.

Access Information

This collection is open for access.

The rare books, pictures, postcards, video recordings and artefacts are available for consultation by appointment only; we require a 24 hour notice. (Please note that you need to contact us by Thursday afternoon if you wish to visit us on the following Tuesday.) The rest of the collection can be viewed without an appointment at any time during the archive opening hours.

Opening times: In term time, the Archives and Special Collections are open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – 10am - 4pm. Outside term time the Archives and Special Collections are open by appointment only.

Appointments can be made by contacting the archivist using any of the methods below:

Email: archives@roehampton.ac.uk

Telephone: 020 8392 3323

Postal address: Archives and Special Collections, Library and Learning Services, University of Roehampton, Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5SZ.

The Archives and Special Collections are located on the fourth floor of the University Library.

Acquisition Information

Deposited by the Centre for Marian Studies in 2010.

Archivist's Note

Description created in June 2015

Custodial History

The Centre for Marian Studies has been building up its library and collection since it was founded in 1995. It appears that the library and collection have always been housed with the Centre for Marian Studies. Therefore the library and collection were first held at La Sainte Union College of Higher Education in Southampton; in 1997 it moved to Ushaw College, Ushaw Moor, County Durham; in c2000 it moved to the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge; in c2004 it moved to the University of Wales, Lampeter, in Ceredigion (the university became known as the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, in 2010); and in 2010 it moved to Roehampton University in London (the university has been known as the University of Roehampton since 2011).

Related Material

Further collections relating to religion that are held by Archives and Special Collections include:

  • Records of the Living and Sharing Our Faith Project (part of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales). This late-20th Century and early-21st Century project aimed to study the issues of national religious education and Roman Catholic education. See reference code: BC
  • Records of the Authority and Governance in the Roman Catholic Church Project (carried out by by the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham). This late-20th Century and early-21st Century project aimed to research into authority and governance within the Roman Catholic Church. See reference code: QF
  • The Jewish Resource Centre Collection, containing reference material that can be used to study Judaism. See reference code: JRC