Blog

1. A new view of the Reading Room

   Work has begun on preparing the Reading Room for the structural works to the floor. Most of the furniture and all of the books and paintings have been carefully removed,...

   14th June 2013 • Read more

2. Fish and ships

   We have recently been exploring some of the delightful decorative details on Christopher Saxton’s 1579 atlas (previously featured as one of our 101 Treasures). A number of different engravers, mainly...

   12th June 2013 • Read more

3. The drama of Belle Vue

   In recent months we are pleased to have welcomed Theatre and Performance MA students from Manchester University to the Library as part of their placements with the Institute for Cultural...

   7th June 2013 • Read more

4. John Bradford’s Bible

   Congratulations to Bishop David Walker, whose appointment as the next Bishop of Manchester was announced on Wednesday. When the Bishop is eventually installed (the Cathedral will be a building site...

   7th June 2013 • Read more

5. What’s hidden in your tea leaves?

   Here at the Library we like nothing better than a proper cup of tea made in the pot with tea leaves, so we were thrilled to stumble upon a copy...

   5th June 2013 • Read more

6. The Legend of Driff

     ‘A corset may be what this shop most resembles. The parts that show will be very attractive but those that don’t will be under considerable pressure.’ Driff’s, 1986. 
Every...

   30th May 2013 • Read more

7. A two-part history

   The buildings of Chetham’s Library were built in 1421 to house the priests of what is now Manchester Cathedral. Over two hundred years before Humphrey Chetham’s trustees even thought of...

   29th May 2013 • Read more

8. Big in Washington

     Big thanks to Ted Young of Seattle for his article about the Library in the latest edition of the Journal of the Book Club of Washington. Ted visited Chetham’s...

   29th May 2013 • Read more

9. Eccles Cakes

   As Friday is often Cake Day here at the Library we thought we would share these Eccles Cake photos, which are part of the collection of photographs of old Manchester...

   24th May 2013 • Read more

10. How do you pronounce Chetham’s?

    Quite often, the first thing people ask us when they come into the Library isn’t anything to do with the books or the medieval building, but something that has been...

    24th May 2013 • Read more