It’s not all about lairy nights out you know: one of the best things to do in Manchester is to visit to one of its several stunning libraries. Were you aware, for instance, that the John Rylands Library on Deansgate is officially one of the world's most beautiful libraries? And did you know that Chetham's Library, founded in 1653, is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world?
Impressive, and they're just a 15-minute walk from each other. So whether you love history, are a massive library fan, enjoy a good read or just like the smell of an old book, here's a look at seven places book lovers need to visit in Manchester.
This library’s dark corridors are like a film set, immediately familiar because their splendour feels almost clichéd until you recall the age of the building. Stairways spiral to the first floor and corridors lead into the most magnificent main reading room. As for the collection, it's as astonishing as the building itself. A first edition of James Joyce's Ulysses, a fine paper copy of the Gutenberg Bible and some of the earliest fragments of the New Testament are some of the treats.
Chetham's Library, founded in 1653, is the oldest public library in the English speaking world, still providing public access to over 100,000 books free of charge, right in the middle of Manchester.
As you can imagine, it's quite something to behold. Open days, courses and special events bring the place alive, and it's worth going along if only to see the magnificent building itself.
Back in the 1800s, the Portico Library was the only place in Manchester where you could read London papers. Founded over 200 years ago, was set up as a newsroom and made accessible to both men and women to read the shipped-in news. Now it is subscription only but you can sit inside for lunch between 12-2pm Monday to Friday, or stroll around its temporary exhibition space which sits under a beautiful dome ceiling.
Following a four-year period of extensive renovation work, Manchester Central Library is reborn on a grand scale, although it was always a stunning building. Based on Rome's Pantheon, the round structure, Corinthian columns, glass-domed great hall have long made it a much-loved landmark of the city centre, but the new version is quite simply astonishing.
Hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the university's main library, this special collection is wonderfully distanced from frantic overnight exam revision and 15-minute power naps. Highlights of the collection include delicate artist scrapbooks going as far back to the late 1800s, the first-ever Christmas card and the 10,000 strong children's book collection. It has the aim of preserving fine examples of illustration, design and bookbinding and its library is available to browse in by appointment if you're not already a university member.
Often overlooked, the Law Library was originally located between two unassuming buildings on Kennedy Street. Sadly the collection has recently located to Deansgate but the original building, built in the late 1880s is well worth a visit for its intricate Venetian Gothic facade. The collection holds precious law-related books dating back to the sevententh century and is still used by members of the legal profession to this day.
A little further out, in Salford, The Working Class Movement Library is well worth the short walk from the city centre. The building was built in the early 1900s but started its life as a library in the 1950s, allowed the voices of the struggling working classes to be heard, documented and presented in an unusual environment. The collection boasts 200 years of organising and campaigning by the ordinary man and woman, and regularly hosts talks on local and international history.
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