Many people do not realise that hidden within Salisbury Cathedral lies a mid-15th-century library, housing invaluable treasures - volumes of books, some of which are older than the 800-year-old cathedral itself.

The library’s holdings are too important for the room to be regularly accessible to the public, but the Cathedral does not mean to keep it a secret.

Tours of the library, guided by librarian Dr Anne Dutton and archives and collections’ manager Emily Naish are available to the public once a month.

In celebration of the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, visitors to the Cathedral between Saturday, April 29 and Friday, May 5, will have a unique opportunity to enter the library during its Encounters with Kings exhibition, where copies of books and archive documents demonstrating the lives of kings through the ages will be on display.

Emily said: “It’s a slightly eclectic mix, but they’re all of different kings. The earliest king is King Arthur.”

Featured volumes will include a copy of the Historia Regum Britanniae by the mediaeval historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, which will be opened to the page discussing King Arthur, and a book describing in minute detail the ceremonies held for the coronation of King James II in 1685, describing traditions that continue in modern coronations.

Emily said: “What they do today is still essentially very similar to what they were doing back in the 17th century.”

One difference between the 1680s and today may be the food items available at the banquet. The book includes a full list of all foods available, as well as a chart of what all platters on the long tables would contain. The menu includes lobster, hot “puddings in skins,” pheasant, venison pasty, periwinkles, and puffins, among other dishes.

Visitors will also be able to see a charter issued in 1294 by King Edward I, containing his royal seal, giving the then Bishop of Salisbury Nicholas Longespee authority to hunt in the royal forests and a catalogue of expenses from the Clerk of Works in 1688, where one can witness the change of power from James II to William III with a list of monies paid to bellringers.

Marie Thomas, public relations and travel trade manager for the Cathedral, said: “The amazing thing is that every time an event happens like this and Emily goes into the archive, there’s always stuff embedded in there.”

Emily said: “We’ve got such an eclectic mix of things and you can almost find a connection with anything, any subject, always find something in the archive, something in the library that relates to it, because, basically, what we’ve got in the archive is 800 years’ worth of historical information, documents and books that reflects all the things that were going on in the country, as well as the Cathedral.”