A total gamechanger – looking back 30 years

18th November 2024

On 19 November 1994 seven jackpot winners received around £800,000 each in the first National Lottery draw. In its first year £267m of lottery money went to “good causes” – arts, heritage, millennium and sport, and £154m went to charity. Since then around £49 billion has been given away to over 690,000 projects. As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations we are looking back to a project that was an absolute gamechanger for Chetham’s Library.

In June 1995 an appeal was announced with the intention of raising more than a million pounds to ensure the survival of the Library.  In a short time over £200,000 was received towards the target and there was lots of interest in the media on the Library’s problems and plans for the future. These funds were especially valuable in demonstrating the widespread support for the Library to the Heritage Lottery Fund and providing the partnership funds which are essential to a successful lottery bid.

A photograph of Librarian Michael Powell, taken in 1995 during the fundraising appeal

The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant of £1.8 million to the Library in January 1996.  The majority of the grant, £1.4 million, was added to our endowment fund in order to ensure the Library’s financial sustainability for future generations. The remainder, together with funds from the appeal, went towards a series of capital projects – essential restoration of the historic book presses, a new reading room and collection storage rooms on the ground floor, cataloguing and conservation of the collections.

The most significant part of the project was work on the historic first floor of the Library. In particular the condition of the presses (book cases) was of most concern with several starting to lean alarmingly. These oak presses were designed specifically for the Library in the 1650s and constructed by a team of joiners headed by Richard Martinscroft. We still hold the original accounts for the work in our archive. In the 1740s the height of the presses was increased and new shelves added at lower level.  Later in the century the height was increased again by the addition of three new shelves to the present height of 10ft.  The additional weight of several shelves of books created a problem that only became critical after two hundred years.

Most of the work was carried out by just two joiners, Steve Slater and Dave Evans of Fourways Joinery of Preston. Each press was dismantled piece by piece and the shelves taken away to a workshop on site where they were repaired and the joints strengthened. In the Priests Wing the floor was also reinforced with specially cut stainless-steel plates inserted into the supporting beams. Wherever possible, the original wood was retained and all new strengthening pieces are hidden from view.  For visitors now the first floor appears to be completely unaltered for the last two hundred years ever since the additional shelves were added and the gates between the presses installed. A true testament to the skill and craftmanship of the work.

During the building work, a makeshift bridge for staff to get to their office!

Everything back in its rightful place

One mysterious legacy from the project was the discovery of a stone head. We assume that he was part of the medieval building, saved by earlier workmen and hidden away.

Our mysterious stone head, now on display in the Library

We remain deeply grateful to the Heritage Lottery Trustees for their magnificent support and all those lottery players over the last thirty years who have helped to ensure that Chetham’s Library can survive and thrive for many more centuries.