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21 June 2025 - 22 November 2025

Part of the Treasures exhibition, in Hengwrt Gallery

For the first time in almost 500 years, the personal Bibles of King Henry VIII and his chief advisor, Thomas Cromwell, are being brought together. These beautifully made books, created in 1538 or 1539, were printed on parchment and decorated by some of the best artists in Europe. They show how politics and religion were closely connected during the English Reformation.

These two matching Bibles, now kept at the National Library of Wales and St John’s College in Cambridge, have never been displayed side by side before. Recently, both were carefully studied as part of a research project called Hidden in Plain Sight, an AHRC funded project, which looks at how ancient books were used, changed, and respected. The display also includes other contemporary handwritten and printed books from the Library’s collection.

An image of a bible from the exhibition 'Reunited: The Great Bibles of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell'
An image of a bible from the exhibition 'Reunited: The Great Bibles of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell'
An image of a bible from the exhibition 'Reunited: The Great Bibles of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell'

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