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.
July 2021Public tours are back! Following Step 4, we now have 10 tickets per tour - book here! Readers, please contact us as far in advance as possible to arrange an appointment with the librarian or archivist. 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.

Learn More

Delve into our wonderful collections online

Search Here
Chetham's Library tours are back!

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. Manor Court Rolls from the West Riding

    We are delighted to announce that the Library has acquired copies of a valuable contribution...

    Read more

  2. John Bradford

    Last week we commemorated the death of Protestant martyr John Bradford on 1 July 1555,...

    Read more

  3. Virtual Content From Festival of Libraries

    In our previous blog post, we mentioned our contribution to the Manchester City of Literature’s...

    Read more
Go to the Blog

What's On

  1. 02 Aug
    2:30pm

    Chetham’s Library Tours

    Full details
  2. 25 Sep
    10am

    Medieval Manchester Festival

    Full details
View all Events