Chetham's Library

Chetham’s Library stands on a sandstone bluff where the River Irwell meets the River Irk, in the heart of Manchester. The building began as a collegiate church in the 15th century before becoming a free library and charity school in 1653. Humphrey Chetham’s will created the first public reference library in the English-speaking world. The library has housed books continuously since 1653 and still holds many volumes chained to their presses. Visitors enter through the old college gatehouse, where the original oak doors remain. The library holds over 100,000 printed books, including 60,000 published before 1851. Among its treasures is a 16th-century Nuremberg Chronicle annotated by Thomas Gudlawe. The collection also contains more than 1,000 manuscripts, including 41 medieval texts. A fine arts collection features portraits of local figures such as William Whitaker and Robert Thyer. The library’s Belle Vue Zoo archive preserves thousands of posters, programmes and photographs from Manchester’s famous zoo. Inside, the oak-panelled reading room still contains the carved stools provided in the 17th century. A window alcove marks the spot where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels studied economics in 1845. Facsimiles of the books they used lie on the table today. The library’s gardens include a relocated 17th-century cross fragment. The Grade I listed building blends medieval stone with later additions by Alfred Waterhouse and others.