Waltham Abbey Bible

The Museum is proud to announce that the Waltham Abbey Bible has been selected as one of the Top 10 Museum objects in Essex, for the BBC and British Museum's project, 'A History of the World'.

Inspired by the Radio 4 series, a History of the World in 100 objects, museums across the country have selected over 600 objects that have both a local and international significance.

The Bible dates to about 1200 AD and is all that survives from the Abbey Library. Written in Latin on some 238 pages of vellum (parchment), the Bible contains both the Old and New Testament.

Inscriptions inside the Bible tell us it belonged to the Prior (the second most important official in the Abbey). It's lack of decoration may suggest it was used for private study and not for display within the Church.

The Bible can be seen on display within the Museum's Archaeology Gallery. For information on the museum's location and opening times, please click here.

For more information on this project, please visit the BBC History of the World website.

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