Chetham's Library

May 2021As we prepare to reopen and 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. Currently, major spring cleaning in advance of our tours recommencing and preparing for the Manchester Festival of Libraries is top of our list. X

Support us: Covid-19 Appeal
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Chetham's Library was founded in 1653 and is the oldest public library in Britain. Book your tour here!
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Library From Home : come on a virtual visit to our collections
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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

Tour bookings suspended

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.

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...

Blog

— 13th May 2021
Book Clean

As heritage organisations are opening their doors once again, we are preparing ourselves to welcome...
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— 15th April 2021
Environmental Control

Environmental conditions play an important role in the life span of collections, if ignored the...
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— 8th April 2021
A Bread and Cheese Bookseller

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