Christianity and Culture works with a large number of leading universities, colleges, museums, and libraries worldwide, drawing on the expertise of specialists and the extraordinarily rich collections held by partner institutions. We are pleased to acknowledge the considerable co-operation we have received from institutions such as The Ashmolean Museum, The British Library, the Bodleian Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne,the college libraries of All Souls and University College, Oxford, Corpus Christi Cambridge, as well as many other specialist libraries and archives.
Listed below are details of some partners with whom we have developed especially close links and the benefits this has provided on both sides.
The British Museum
The British Museum was a major partner in the production of The English Parish Church through the Centuries through the provision of curatorial access to their collections and permission to include over 100 images of objects from a variety of galleries. Staff support enabled C&C to utilise material not normally on view and provided detailed assistance in identifying items from its reserve collections.
The British Museum are using The English Parish Church through the Centuries as supporting merchandise for their Treasures of Heaven touring exhibition in 2011 and see the inclusion of their material as a way of providing public access in context to items in their collections.
Lambeth Palace Library
Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library and record office of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the principal repository of the documentary history of the Church of England. Its collections have been freely available for research since 1610. Archbishop Rowan Williams is a keen supporter of Christianity and Culture and the Library has long been a source of images and primary material for our resources. The latest DVD-ROM The English Parish Church through the Centuries features images of nearly 200 items from their collections and includes material drawn from eight centuries of manuscripts, archives and printed works.
English Heritage
English Heritage supported the publication of The English Parish Church through the Centuries both financially and by access to their expertise. The need for easy access to good-quality information for all those involved with the care of churches is growing and English Heritage were happy to work with Christianity & Culture in developing a resource which could support clergy, churchwardens, architects, heritage staff and volunteers as well as better informing the general public.
Victoria & Albert Museum
The V&A is comprised of the museum at South Kensington, the V&A Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green, and the archives and stores at Blythe House, Kensington Olympia. All V&A museums have free entry. V&A South Kensington, the partner with Christianity & Culture on The English Parish Church project is considered by many to be the world's greatest museum of art and design, with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. Their collections include ceramics, furniture, fashion, glass, jewellery, metalwork, photographs, sculpture, textiles and paintings. Three of their curators wrote on church silver for the DVD, covering the medieval period to eighteenth century and discussing Anglican, recusant and Non-Conformist plate, its context and development. The V&A supplied images of items from their own galleries and facilitated access to little-known private collections, providing users of the DVD-ROM with a unique resource.
The British Province of Carmelite Friars
The British Province of Carmelite Friars has supported the Centre from the beginning. The Carmelites' support, both intellectual and financial, has been invaluable in the creation of all three CD/DVD ROMs and is ongoing. For the Carmelites, the Centre's products and activities have offered new outlets for their research and brought a wider audience to the work they are doing. It has proved to be a very fruitful relationship which continues to grow.
Canterbury Cathedral
The Dean and Chapter of Canterbury have supported the work of the Centre from the beginning. As the seat of one the two archbishops and as the home of the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett, the importance of Canterbury cathedral in the story of the church cannot be over-emphasised. The cathedral partnership includes the use of images from their manuscript collections and of their wonderful stained glass to illustrate key aspects of the Centre's work and feature on each of the three CD and DVD-ROMs produced to date. This partnership is set to continue as the Centre's work moves into a new phase focussing on cathedrals, monasteries and greater churches.
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey has also been a supporting partner in the life of the Centre from its inception. Images from their manuscript collections and from the building itself have enriched the interactive resources and set items into new and broader contexts. The Abbey sees the collaboration as a way of helping build engagement with its life and its heritage and enhancing understanding of their collections and purpose. They have actively supported Christianity and Culture by hosting launch events, helping us to bring our work to a wider audience.