The Stanbrook Abbey Press Collection

Like many other monasteries, Stanbrook Abbey, a Benedictine foundation near Worcester, England, had established a printing press in the late 19th century to serve the needs of its congregation. Rather than provide merely utilitarian printing however, the press at Stanbrook sought guidance from the some of the finest craft printers of the time, including Sir Sydney Cockerell and Emery Walker and produced materials of a very high quality. After several decades of decline, the press was revived in the 1950s and made attractive use of the modern type fonts of Eric Gill and Jan van Krimpen. The press printed primarily devotional works along with some poetry.

The Department of Special Collections owns 36 books from the Stanbrook Abbey press spanning the entire history of its activity. The bulk of the collection is from the period of its revival in the 1950s and 1960s.