| Abstract | The original bequest of books from John Edward Champney consisted of 4,323 volumes catalogued in 1929. The current catalogue, compiled in 2010 with the aid of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, comprises 3392 volumes. The collection consists of books acquired prior to about 1871 by John Edward Champney's father, Thomas Edward Champney, which John Edward Champney added to. The library is especially strong in the subjects of the fine arts, literature, history, topography and local history. |
| Notes | John Edward Champney (1846-1929) was born in Beverley in 1846. His father Thomas Frederick settled in Beverley following his marriage in 1844 and practised as a solicitor there. Around 1865 John Edward Champney moved to Halifax and was employed by his uncle, the wealthy industrialist Edward Akroyd, eventually becoming a director of the Ackroyd company. John Edward Champney became a benefactor to his home town of Beverley. He paid for the building of the Beverley Library and Art Gallery, which opened in 1906 and 1910 respectively and also for an extension of the library in 1928. On his death in 1929, under the terms of his will, he bequeathed part of his art collection to Beverley Art Gallery and his book collection to Beverley Library. |