MCMS Library

The Library is housed within the Wesley College library in Bristol. All enquiries about the collection and arrangements for studying items should initially be made to Philip Carter. You can write to him at 50 Bayham Road, BRISTOL BS4 2DR or email him by clicking here.

The MCMS library includes a comprehensive collection of hymn books (and tune books) covering all periods and strands of Methodism from the 1737 Charleston Hymnal to the present day. This collection is complimented with a selection from Christian denominations in Britain, the USA and other parts of the English speaking world.

The library also holds a collection of  liturgical and general books on music and composers, from the same period including some that relate specifically to the Wesley Heritage.

For many practical reasons this library cannot be a source for the loan of sets of anthems and instrumental music (a function already being catered for very efficiently by County Lending Libraries), however the master file of 'The Choir' series of anthems is held in the library together with those of the 'Bourne' series (i.e. those published by the Williams School of Church Music, a one time MCMS associate).

A catalogue of the complete contents of the library has recently been prepared and copies can be downloaded from this page in three different versions. Each is contained in a ZIP file and you may need Pkzip, Winzip or some other program with the ability to open ZIP files to extract the contents. In each download option an explanatory text document is included. It explains the abbreviations used and provides other useful information. You are recommended to examine this file before exploring the catalogue. If you have any problems with the downloads, contact the webmaster by clicking here.

Click here to download the catalogue in Microsoft Word format
Click here to download the catalogue in Microsoft Excel format
Click here to download the catalogue in DBase III format