One of the permanent galleries at the British Library in London is the Sir John Ritblat Gallery. This houses some of the most important historical pieces of writing still in existence, which makes it a dream come true for historians and literary nerds.

These documents include those of legal and political importance, such as the Magna Carta, those of literary importance, such as William Shakespeare's First Folio, and those of religious importance for all of the major world religions.

The Gallery is accessed by a door to the left in the main lobby at the British Library. It is named after Sir John Ritblat¹ a successful businessman who was a major benefactor during the 1990s construction of the new, purpose-built British Library building.

The Collection

The collection, which numbers more than 200 books and documents, is divided thematically. The themes, according to the British Library's website (the divisions are less clear in the Gallery itself) are as follows:

• Dawn of Printing - including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible.

• Historical Documents - including various documents and photographs from Captain Scott's polar expedition.

• Illuminated Manuscripts - from different religions and parts of the world.

• Literary Manuscripts and Printed Books - this section includes a notebook of Jane Austen's childhood writings, Oscar Wilde's original copy of The Ballad Of Reading Gaol and early manuscripts of Beowulf (11th Century) and The Ballad Of Piers Plowman (14th Century).

• Magna Carta And Associate Documents - this section, housed in a small room opening from the side of the main gallery, takes the visitor through the importance of the Magna Carta with information on the historical background, the documents themselves and an electronic copy which can be viewed on a screen together with a transcribed version.

• Maps and Views - including Mappa Mundi from the 1350 Ramsey Abbey map.

• Music - from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's marriage contract to a reasonably-sized section dedicated to The Beatles including the original lyrics for the song A Hard Day's Night, written on the back of a birthday card sent to John Lennon's young son Julian.

• Sacred Texts - these are from several religions, and include the Codex Sinaiticus and a Burmese Life Of The Buddha.

• Science - including documents from Leonardo Da Vinci and the first scientific paper of Galileo.

• Shakespeare and Contempories - including copies of The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd and Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe as well as various Shakespearean documents.

• Bookbindings - multiple examples of ornate book bindings.

A card accompanies each document to explain briefly what you are looking at. The room is dimly lit to avoid damage to the more fragile documents, which means some people with poorer eyesight may struggle to read the cards.

There are also several headphones around the room where visitors can listen to certain recordings, such as three Wilfred Owen poems being read aloud, or songs by The Beatles at the section dedicated to the band.

The Gallery is free to enter and is well-worth a visit for anyone interested in history and literature. You should expect a visit to take a maximum of one hour, but probably less.