The Bar Convent's extensive archives and library together form a Catholic Study and Research Centre.

The main library is largely devoted to Church History with special emphasis on the recusancy period. It includes many standard works and is regularly updated by the addition of new publications.

In addition there is the historic Convent Library of antique books dating from 1508
to 1850, constituting an interesting recusant collection in several different languages. A reading room houses a number of Catholic learned journals and some theology. There is a further feminine collection of books by and about women, mainly in a religious context.

The Archives provide unique and intimate details of our story. They offer a rich source for research students, but within a limited sphere as they deal almost exclusively with the history of the Congregation of Jesus (previously named IBVM - Institute of Blessed Virgin Mary) and in particular the annals of the Bar Convent and its school. For the study of Mary Ward we rely mainly on transcripts as the original papers are in Munich. The history of The Bar Convent itself is supported by its own documents, including letters, journals, registers and a special collection of account books dating from 1733, from which a vivid picture of school and convent life can be drawn.

Booklets describing the Archives and Library in greater detail are on sale in The Bar Convent Shop.  View our full List of Publications on sale.