Innerpeffray Library

Innerpeffray Library was the first lending library in Scotland. It is located in the hamlet of Innerpeffray, by the River Earn in Perth and Kinross, 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Crieff. The library building is Category A listed.

Since 1694 the collection has been administered and maintained by the Governors of the Innerpeffray Mortification, a registered charity under Scottish law.

Innerpeffray consists of an early complete and very important group of educational and religious buildings, all founded, built or rebuilt by the Drummond family of Strathearn.

The library was founded by David Drummond, 3rd Lord Madertie (died 1692), before 1680, when he made 400 of his family books available to the public. The library was originally located in the loft of St Mary's Chapel, and moved into a purpose-built library house in 1762. This was built by Robert Hay Drummond (1711–1776), Archbishop of York from 1761 to 1776, and a descendent of Lord Madertie, who also donated his book collection on his death. The library ceased lending in 1968, but remains open to the public several days a week, except for November to February. Hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday 10am-12:45pm and 2pm-4:45pm and Sundays from 2pm-4pm.

The library has a continuous borrowing record from 1747 to 1968 which is held on site. Today entrance charges help support the future of the Library books and buildings.

When Lord Madertie built and endowed his school and library pre 1680, his 400 books were a wide-ranging selection, in English, Latin, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. By the time he died in 1776, Archbishop Hay Drummond's collection of books on law, history/geography, maths (Newton), agriculture, the enlightenment, and social comment, had similar breadth.

Among the rare books of value is the Bible of the Marquis of Montrose, bearing his autograph in several places. The leaves of the Bible also contain a number of mottoes or extracts, copied by the Marquis, and taken from Horace and other classical authors. There is another notable Bible in the library, which belonged to the Marquis's sister, who was married to the founder of the library (Lord Madertie). Known as her State Bible, is bound in crimson velvet, and dated 1638. There is also a copy of what is called the Great Bible, dated 1540, which has two full-page woodcuts by Holbein, the artist of Henry VIII of England. Many additional historical bibles and psalters remain in the collection, as do several old maps and atlases. Copies of old newspapers also form part of the collection. The library remains a valuable storehouse of literature from the late Medieval and Early Modern periods, and has been visited for many generations, despite its somewhat isolated location.

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