Mary Hobbs

Background

Mary Hobbs was born on September 7, 1923, in Sunderland, United Kingdom, in the family of Louis and Elizabeth Mary (Milburn) Ruderman.

Education

Mary was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and Westfield College, London.

Career

Mary graduated in 1945 and moved back with her college to London to take a teaching certificate.

In 1978 Mary took charge of the Cathedral Library. he wrote many articles for learned journals and her definitive edition of The Sermons of Henry King (1592-1669), Bishop of Chichester was published by Scolar Press in 1992. Mary was an indefatigable worker who was always getting involved in good causes, ever happy to give lectures locally and nationally for all sorts of organisations (most notably NADFAS).

Mary not only served on the Council, but also as a member of the management committee of Pallant House Gallery, the Diocesan Advisory Committee, and as a co-opted member of the West Sussex County Council Library and Archives Committee, and the Council for the Theological College.

Achievements

• Mary became known as a great expert on early children’s books and built up a substantial collection of her own.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Young Milton 1968
  • Early Seventeenth-Century Verse Miscellany Manuscripts 1992
  • Chichester Cathedral: An Historical Survey 1994

Membership

• Cathedral Librarians and Archivists Association

• fellow

  Society of Antiquaries

Personality

Mary was the ady with an infectious chuckle, an impish grin, ever a glint in the eye and boundless enthusiasm. She was also a widely read and meticulous scholar with a keen eye for inaccuracies whether of facts or grammar.

Interests

• Drama, music, foreign travel, reading.

Connections

On May 8, 1950, Mary married an archdeacon Keith Hobbs, and they gave birth to the son Robin Michael.

Father:

Louis Ruderman

Mother:

Elizabeth Mary (Milburn) Ruderman

husband:

Keith Hobbs

Son:

Robin Michael