WHAT is believed to be the oldest book in Darlington in what may be a highly unusual library in the North East will be open to inspection today.

The book is a 420-year-old copy of the bible which is kept in St Cuthbert’s Church in – to continue the hyperbole – a unique bookcase which doubles as a war memorial (below).

The Northern Echo: The library cupboard in St Cuthbert's Church, which doubles as a memorial to the Royal Signals Regiment

The church is open today so people will be able to see the bible which is a direct connection to the days when books themselves were extremely rare – not two-a-penny as they are today, stacked up to be sold for charity in every village bus shelter as people become desperate to unburden themselves of volumes that they have piled up over the years.

The church probably owned the first book in Darlington. It was a copy of the Great Bible, which was the first translation of the bible into English. Henry VIII ordered that it be made in 1539 so that it could be read from pulpits across the country. He also ordered that this book should be chained up to stop it from being stolen, and if you look very carefully at one of the columns in the north aisle of St Cuthbert's, you should be able to see the holes in which lead was poured to secure the chain that kept the town's only book secure.

The Northern Echo: The oldest book in Darlington: the 1601 breeches bible

The oldest book in Darlington: the 1601 breeches bible

Ironically, that book has disappeared and the oldest in the church are Geneva bibles – the first mass-printed bibles – which date from Elizabethan times. St Cuthbert’s has one from 1599, although it acquired that at a much later date, so the most celebrated one is from 1601, as it has been in the church for most of the succeeding four centuries.

And it is a “breeches bible”. In this version, when Adam and Eve eat the apple and realise they are naked, they sew fig leaves together to make themselves breeches to cover their modesty. In most other versions, they sew leaves together to make aprons.

In 1708, the Parochial Libraries Act was passed. Books were becoming more common, but were still highly prized. Churches like St Cuthbert’s were being given volumes and the Act made sure that the vicar was looking after them properly – he was banned from selling books that had been donated to the church, and if a borrower didn’t return a book, he could call in the full force of the law to get it back.

And should a vicar die in office, the parish library had to be locked away until his successor was appointed to prevent parishioners from pilfering the valuable books when no one was looking.

St Cuthbert’s had 80 volumes in its parochial library at this time, and 50 of them survive, making what is thought to be a very unusual and long standing collection.

They volumes will be on show during the open day on Saturday, September 18, from 10am to 4pm, although usually they are kept in the bookcase that was unveiled on Sunday, October 26, 1952, by the Princess Royal and dedicated to the fallen from the Royal Signals Regiment.

The Northern Echo: The Princess Royal heads the parade out of St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington, on October 26, 1952

The Northern Echo: The Princess Royal heads the parade out of St Cuthbert's Church on October 26, 1952

The Princess Royal heads the parade out of St Cuthbert's Church on October 26, 1952

Princess Mary was the only daughter of King George V, and she was colonel-in-chief of the regiment. Her husband was the 6th Earl of Harewood, so she only lived down the road in Harewood House, near Leeds.

The Northern Echo: The Princess Royal talks to the Rev George Holderness, vicar of St Cuthbert's

The Princess Royal talks to the Rev George Holderness, vicar of St Cuthbert's

The vicar of St Cuthbert’s, the Reverend George Holderness, was the regiment’s chaplain, and so the unveiling was an emotional occasion, with relatives of the victims of the Second World War in attendance. High Row and the Market Place lined with up to 15,000 people to witness the military parade.

The Northern Echo: The Royal Signals Regiment marching through High Row, watched by up to 15,000 people, on October 26, 1952

The Royal Signals Regiment marching through High Row, watched by up to 15,000 people, on October 26, 1952 

The books are among the treasures of St Cuthbert’s that will be on show during the open day, and from 1.45pm, there will be rare opportunities to visit the belltower, although because of Covid restrictions, places will be very limited.