Bibliographical note by John Hungerford Pollen SJ
John Hungerford Pollen (1858-1925) was a Jesuit who cared for the antiquarian book collection. He inscribed some of the books with notes such as this one. Here, Pollen gives a fairly detailed provenance history. His inscription reads: 'This volume was given to me, J.H. Pollen, by Sir Henry Bedingfield, at Oxburgh, July, 1920. It had come there through his mother, the heiress of Callaly, (of "Callaly Castle 1690" below). I had it rebound, as the old back had entirely disappeared. It was printed at the St Omers College Press'
Sir Henry Bedingfield was the 8th Baronet Bedingfield (1860-1941) and lived at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk. The Bedingfields were a well known recusant family, and Oxburgh had long been a centre of Catholic activity. Callaly Castle is in Northumberland and was the home of the Clavering family from the early seventeenth century until 1877. The Claverings were another prominent Catholic family.
'Callaly Castle 1690' is inscribed on a subsequent page of the book.
Without this type of narrative note we would not know about this book's provenance, and we are fortunate that Pollen left a few such notes.
Book reference:
Ordo Baptizandi aliaque Sacramenta administrandi, & Officia quaedam Ecclesiastica rite peragendi: Ex rituali Romano, iussi Pauli Quinti edito, extractus. Pro Anglia, Hibernia, & Scotia. [Printed at The English College Press, St Omers] 1639. A/1111