The Re-Foundation
After Neuton's bequest, more space was needed to house the Minster's book collection. By 1418, a two-storey building had been erected on the south side of the nave, attached to the west side of the south transept. The lower floor was for the choristers' school, the upper floor was to be a library. Soon after, the library was fitted out and Neuton's books labelled and secured to the reading desks with chains. The windows of the library were decorated with the arms - and, perhaps at one time, images - of benefactors, and imagery which might have indicated the subjects of books on nearby shelves. It is possible that Neuton had made arrangements for the building before his death.
The south face of the fifteenth-century library and school building. Photograph: Kippa Matthews; © The Chapter of York.