Mappa Mundi

Amazing to see it up close. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff / volunteers. Great standard of display and facilities.

Incredible to see. Great exhibition to explain and the library is awesome. History!

A very interesting experience, and well worth a visit. The map itself is fascinating, and the displays explaining it are intricate and very helpful. Having it set in the cloister felt extra special. I also loved seeing the chained library, which is a fascinating piece of history from a time when creating a single book was an arduous and expensive process.

The Mappa Mundi is certainly a fascinating piece of history which I'm so happy to have seen. I personally had a very pleasant experience with staff, who were extremely knowledgable about the Mappa Mundi and chained library, which I was extremely excited to discover was at the back, and was a lovely example of preservation and yet, interaction. We were encouraged to observe and see everything at play, and there were curated exhibits from visitors and people who became involved in, say, the calligraphy panel, where there was a smile inducing addition from an 8 year old quoting 'Albert einstene'. People, in my experience, seemed to be the forefront of the exhibit considering it is rather small, but I think that, as well as the restorations they have managed to achieve, makes the ticket price worth it. Super interesting, but gets very busy, especially when complying with COVID guidelines, so keep that in mind and maybe visit before the peak, as you may have to wait before entering for a while.

We really enjoyed our visit here - the Mappa Mundi is fascinating and the volunteer there was amazing - his knowledge was vast and he was so interesting.

Wonderful exhibition detailing the background and context behind the creation of mediaeval the Mappa Mundi and also a rare ‘chained library’. Entrance via the cathedral. Well worth it!

A whole wing of the former abbey and library are dedicated to the Mappa and provide a lot of contextual information and contemporary sources to help understand the importance and uniqueness of the Mappa better. It’s advised to spend at least an hour here, if possible ask for a guide. Or buy the £13 pound book in the shop.

Honestly really enjoyed ourselves. The volunteer by the mappa mundi was really helpful and knowledgeable.The chained library was fascinating.Could have spent hours in this little exhibit.

What an amazing experience, well worth the entry fee.I was always convinced the Mappa Mundi was scrolled up like a sea chart - who knew! The volunteers are soooo knowledgeable, there is no such thing as a daft question. The exhibition is well structured and informs before you see the real thing. You could spend forever looking at all the detail. It feels so much like the creators were hovering above but using poetic licence on size and scale. This so worth a visit if you are into history.

Dropped by because the description sounded interesting. We were sold tickets by the surliest man I have met in quite a long time. And the tickets are quite expensive bearing in mind the time and interest in the museum. First, they have the original Mappa Mundi. Interesting, but they don't really bring the topic to life, nor really talk about the notable limitations and the nonsense that's drawn onto this remarkable map; they only talk credulously about the religious stories presented. Not really well balanced. Second, they have a chained library with some amazing old books. However, you can only look at the outside of the books. None are down from the shelves to look at. Apparently, they are too precious, but there must be some duplicates. Or have videos in the room, or some way to show us the content. Talk more about the locks or how the library worked, or why all these books ended up here rather than somewhere else. The curator in the room was lovely but this was a massive missed opportunity for a brilliant exhibition.