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April 2021As we look forward to the government's 'Step 3' in May and being able to welcome you in person, please take a look at our From Home pages and social media feeds to see what we're up to in lockdown. X

Chetham’s Library has been in continuous use as a public library for over 350 years. It is housed in a beautiful sandstone building dating from 1421 which was built to accommodate the priests of Manchester’s Collegiate Church.

The entire collection at Chetham’s Library has been designated as one of national and international importance. You can find out about our collections here and in our catalogues. Chetham’s Library is currently closed to readers visiting in person, following government advice that working from home is preferred where possible. Staff are still working, however, and if you’d like to see what aspects of the Library you can explore from your screen, please start with our From Home page. We can be contacted on the email addresses on our Contact Us page : do feel free to be in touch and we’ll do our best to help with the resources to hand.

The Library is also an accredited museum, attracting visitors from all over the world.

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Delve into our wonderful collections online

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Chetham's Library is currently closed

Visiting the library

Chetham's Library currently closed to visitors

We’re sorry that Chetham’s Library is still currently closed to visitors and readers. We’re working on new tours that we’ll advertise here and elsewhere when it’s safe to re-open. Library staff are still working from home;

Please visit our blog, From Home pages and social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) for regular highlights from our collection; we will endeavour to keep posting things of interest!

All our Tours are currently suspended

Need to get in touch? Please contact us here.

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Humphrey Chetham

Humphrey Chetham (1580–1653), the most successful gentleman merchant of seventeenth-century Lancashire, was born in Crumpsall Hall, near Manchester, and later lived at Clayton Hall near Droylsden. His fortune was...

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Blog

  1. A Bread and Cheese Bookseller

    A new work by our late Librarian, Michael Powell and his friend and colleague Terry...

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  2. Pesky Pests

    Today’s blog continues our conservation series, this time focusing on the damage to collections by...

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  3. A Restoration Ash Wednesday

    Most of us probably harbour an impression that with the accession of Charles II the...

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