Help support us. Choose your gift:
Your donation has been added to your basket! Thanks!
Sorry, there was an error. Please reload the page and try again.
June EventsLibraries Festival, 15-18 June: Print a poem by Lemn Sissay! Letters in the Library - family fun day! Or book a ticket for our guided tours here. For reader appointments, please contact us as far in advance as possible. X

We’re looking forward to welcoming you to the Library.

Tours: Please use this link to go to the tour booking page. You can also Contact Us to discuss group visits or access arrangements.

Readers: Please get in touch via our Contact Us page to arrange a reader appointment. We will also be happy to do whatever we can to answer your queries or assist in research remotely. Please allow as much notice as possible for an appointment in person.

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

If you’re coming to us as a reader or researcher, you can find out about our collections here and in our catalogues. If you’d like to see what aspects of the Library you can explore from your screen, please start with our From Home page, which we developed during the earlier lockdown.

Delve into our wonderful collections online

Search here

Visiting the library

Public tours are back

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!

Tour booking dates here

Need to get in touch? Please contact us here.

Featured image

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...

Read more

Blog

  1. Robert Bolton

    Today (25 May) is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Bolton, a man of...

    Read more

  2. Lasers and Tudor Woodwork

    In honour of Dr. Peter Linfield’s upcoming walking tour of Tudor Manchester and the Earls of...

    Read more

  3. Nicholas Culpeper

    As our most recent theme for our display and guided tours is based on herbs...

    Read more
Go to the Blog

What's On

  1. 27 May
    11am

    Chetham’s Library Tours

    Full details
  2. 16 Jun
    11:00am-3:30pm

    Manchester Festival of Libraries: Print Me a Poem

    Full details
  3. 17 Jun
    11:00am-3:30pm

    Manchester Festival of Libraries : Print Me a Poem

    Full details
  4. 18 Jun
    11:00am-2:00pm

    Manchester Festival of Libraries: Letters in the library

    Full details
View all Events