Thomas Plume and His Library
Thomas Plume may be buried in Longfield in Kent, but traces of him remain all over the place in Maldon: Plume Avenue is home to respectable detached and semi-detached houses, the Thomas Plume Library sits at the intersection of Market Hill and the High Street and the Plume School is the name of the local academy secondary school.
There is also an annual Plume Lecture, held each November, where previous speakers have included traveller Michael Palin, negotiator-turned-hostage Terry Waite and lefty Tony Benn. There is also a big, comfy chair at Cambridge University entitled the Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy.
There is also an annual Plume Lecture, held each November, where previous speakers have included traveller Michael Palin, negotiator-turned-hostage Terry Waite and lefty Tony Benn. There is also a big, comfy chair at Cambridge University entitled the Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy.
Although it may seem to be the case, Plume does not appear to have been an egotistical bigwig hell-bent on dominating naming rights in the town and beyond. In fact, all these institutions were given his name after his death.
For a man so associated with the town, Plume actually spent little of his life there. Born in 1630, he was educated at the prestigious King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford and went on to the even more prestigious Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge.
Plume came out of Cambridge with the wonderful title of Doctor of Divinity. He obviously had a taste for titles – his career in the church taking him from Vicar of Greenwich to Rector of Merston and, finally, Archdeacon of Rochester.
Plume is best remembered for leaving his book collection to Maldon in his will. This included about 8,000 books and pamphlets – about 700 of which have been ‘lost’ (no bar codes back then) in the 300 years since. The compilation has been described as a guide to culture in the 17th century. The books range in discipline from chemistry and medicine to astronomy and philosophy.
Showing tremendous foresight, Plume even reconstructed the tower of the medieval Church of St Peter at the top of Market Hill and added a new extension beside it to house all of his books.
Today the library is run by a charitable trust made up 9 trustees from local politics, education and churches. They are supported by another charity, The Friend’s of Thomas Plume’s Library, which raises money to preserve existing texts and replace those ‘lost’ books.
Visitors can visit the library, free of charge, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings. However, those in charge have finally wised up and books can no longer be borrowed.
For a man so associated with the town, Plume actually spent little of his life there. Born in 1630, he was educated at the prestigious King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford and went on to the even more prestigious Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge.
Plume came out of Cambridge with the wonderful title of Doctor of Divinity. He obviously had a taste for titles – his career in the church taking him from Vicar of Greenwich to Rector of Merston and, finally, Archdeacon of Rochester.
Plume is best remembered for leaving his book collection to Maldon in his will. This included about 8,000 books and pamphlets – about 700 of which have been ‘lost’ (no bar codes back then) in the 300 years since. The compilation has been described as a guide to culture in the 17th century. The books range in discipline from chemistry and medicine to astronomy and philosophy.
Showing tremendous foresight, Plume even reconstructed the tower of the medieval Church of St Peter at the top of Market Hill and added a new extension beside it to house all of his books.
Today the library is run by a charitable trust made up 9 trustees from local politics, education and churches. They are supported by another charity, The Friend’s of Thomas Plume’s Library, which raises money to preserve existing texts and replace those ‘lost’ books.
Visitors can visit the library, free of charge, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings. However, those in charge have finally wised up and books can no longer be borrowed.