The book of Ancient Greek drama, written in Latin and published in 1771, belonged to 15-year-old William John Chute, who lived at The Vyne between 1757 and 1824. It is one of 2,419 books, many amassed by the Chute family over the 300 years that they lived at the property, which was given to the National Trust to look after in 1956.
Now, in one of the final stages of a journey to reinstate The Vyne’s collections following a £5.4 million roof project, the packed-up books are being individually condition-assessed for pests, mould and physical damage. They are then photographed and cleaned before being returned to the library.