Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Exhibition

About the museum

The Mappa Mundi is a world map drawn on a single sheet of calfskin vellum, about 1.59 by 1.34 metres. Scholars date it to around 1300. It shows the world as seen in Christian Europe at that time, with Jerusalem at the centre and east at the top.

The Mappa Mundi Trust was formed in 1988 to secure the map’s long-term preservation, with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and private donors. The Trust oversaw the completion of the New Library Building at Hereford Cathedral in 1996, which houses the exhibition and supports the conservation of the cathedral’s collections.

The exhibition also displays the chained library, which is the largest surviving chained library in the world and the only one that is still chained. It holds hundreds of medieval manuscripts and more than a thousand early printed books, and scholars still use it. A version of Magna Carta from 1217 is shown too.

Highlights

• The Mappa Mundi, a world map from around 1300
• The chained library, the largest surviving in the world
• Medieval manuscripts and early printed books
• A 1217 version of Magna Carta
• Tactile and braille display of the map with audio description

Permanent exhibitions

• The Mappa Mundi – The medieval world map of around 1300 on calfskin vellum, with Jerusalem at its centre.
• The Chained Library – Medieval manuscripts and early printed books, still chained to their shelves.
• Magna Carta (1217) – A version of Magna Carta issued in 1217.

Founded

1996

Operated by

Hereford Cathedral

Admission & discounts

Adult ticket with Gift Aid is £8.50. Holders of the National Art Pass pay £3.75. Tickets can be bought up to four weeks ahead online or at the entry desk. Entry to the cathedral itself is free.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The exhibition is step-free, with rest seats throughout, a large tactile map, braille guides to borrow and a tactile and braille display of the Mappa Mundi with audio description. The nearest accessible toilet is in the Chapter House Garden and needs a Radar key; there is no hoist. Wheelchairs can be borrowed if booked in advance. Assistance dogs are free to enter. Very few disabled parking bays exist and they can only be booked in exceptional circumstances. Ear defenders can be borrowed at the welcome desk.

Kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Children aged 8 to 16 pay £2 and under-8s are free. A Sensory Trail for families can be requested from the Accessibility Officer.

Getting there & parking

Four cycle racks are in the car park near the Cloisters entrance, and more are outside the library on Broad Street.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The cathedral café is in the Bishop’s Cloister. The shop sells Mappa Mundi posters, postcards and books.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit