Chetham's Library

One of the most beautiful library in Manchester! This one isn't free, you'll need to book in advance and you can only visit with a guided tour. The library is located inside a working musical school but during your visit you'll only see the library area because the other parts are private. Our guide was really lovely and spoke clearly which was helpful as English isn't my first language. The visit took around an hour or maybe a bit more. To be honest, it was too long for me and I was starting to get bored in the end. The explanations were sometimes too specific and not what I was looking for. However the library is amazing! The main part with the booksheleves is impressive. It reminded me of the forbidden library of Harry Potter.

Absolutely amazing place. Very atmospheric from the first step inside. The yard, the exterior, the interior - everything feels authentic and preserved with care. I booked the tour a month in advance and it was worth it. John and Angela were a delight, informative without being boring, and the whole thing flowed so naturally that I didn’t even notice how an hour passed. They gave us time to explore, take photos, and ask questions. Properly done. Loved it.

During my trip to Manchester, my host recommended a tour of Chatham Library, one of the oldest libraries in England. I booked the tour online three days in advance and visited. I toured Chatham Library with guide, Angela. We were able to enter the medieval building and see the wooden furniture used during that time, as well as the many ancient books. It felt like I was stepping back in time. I was even able to see the books and seats where the famous Marx and Engels once sat. It was a truly meaningful library tour.

I know Manchester very well and visiting this library for a second time after many years was great. Several of us took the tour with Patrick who was excellent. So this was the first free public library going back a few hundred years. I guess few could take advantage all those years ago as few people were literate. And I was surprised to learn how few locals from greater Manchester actually visit!

Booked a guided tour here since I was in town for the Oasis concert. It was a great tour! So much history and loved being in the same place where Engels and Marx “hung out”. Quick tour, would highly recommend stopping by if you are visiting the great city of Manchester!

Wonderful magic looking library. Like somwthing out of a book itself. Wirh some amazing history

What a beautiful building containing a real treasure trove of books and manuscripts. Pauline and Barbara our guides were extremely helpful, friendly and informative.

Chetham's Library is a fascinating place to visit, full of history and atmosphere that makes you feel like you have stepped back in time. The collection is vast and beautifully preserved, with shelves lined with centuries-old books that create a truly magical setting. The knowledgeable staff and guides are passionate about the library’s story and are always happy to share interesting facts, which adds so much to the experience. It is not just a place for book lovers but also for anyone interested in history, architecture, or Manchester’s heritage. The library is quiet and peaceful, offering a unique contrast to the busy city outside. Visiting Chetham’s is a memorable experience that leaves you appreciating the importance of preserving such cultural treasures.

I love it in here. I'm a fan of the smell of old books no matter how much some people in here turn their noses up and say it has the perfume of old people. It holds the feeling of how you'd imagine the restricted section of Hogwarts. Free to enter, check in with security, it has allotted times now where you can head in. As the oldest public library in the UK, and all those lovely beams- it's worth a look around.

As part of the Manchester Histories Festival, Chetham's Library was open to the public for a day. I took the opportunity to sneak into this hidden gem and was overwhelmed at just how spectacular the library is. You feel like Harry Potter as you walk up the stairs into the half-timbered library space. It is dark, creaky and full of beautiful old wooden shelves. It is one of those spaces that takes your breath away, particularly as it is so beautifully hidden in Manchester city centre. It is worth organising to visit this wonderful space and to walk amongst the beautiful old books in the school's collection. Manchester is lucky to have a library like this - go and appreciate its beauty.

If you love a little bit of history and you also love to read, then Chetham's Library might be a worthwhile trip. Established in 1653, it's the UK's oldest free public library (although to visit you must make an appointment). Housed in the most incredible 15th-century Baronial Hall, the stunning dark-wood aisles are packed to the rafters with all kinds of publications from 'large folio books to manuscript diaries, letters and deeds, to prints, paintings and glass lantern-slides'. There's also an incredible selection of archives, newspaper cuttings and old photographs. In fact, all together, there are over 100,000 publications here, the majority of which were printed before 1850. If anybody has ever read 'Shadow in the Wind', you might have some idea of how special a place this is and what a wonderful insight it can give you into our heritage (note that to see specific material you'll have to enquire). A nice little bit of trivia: this is a library where Marx and Engels would meet, you can see exactly where they sat and what book Marx was reading at the time. Ok, I'm a geek. What can I say?

Chetham's is one of the most beautiful libraries in the north, let alone in Manchester. Its primarily concerned with local history and writers, and is indeed where Marx and Engels once had a chat or two, though that usually gets played up the vicious rumour mill, which wildly claims that they wrote the communist manifesto there and probably some cheeky volumes of Das Capital while they were at it. The beautiful reading room at the top of the library is now host to a number of excellent conferences, many free. Recently, the History of the Book conference, an annual event organized jointly with The University of Manchester's literature department, has been a resounding success, and though you'll have to wait a year, well worth going to. The head librarian is a lovely and helpful man, will assist you in the search for interesting and ageing volumes, no matter how obscure your interests. If you're a scholar you should definitely investigate what the archives hold from your field, and if you're just an interested visitor you should definitely pass by to see the building and its interior, and learn a bit of local history.

This library is SO worth the visit! It is like going back in time. It's free to get in, though you will feel compelled to donate. You check in with the guard and then are sent back to the library where you walk up to an ancient door and ring the bell for them to let you in. Once in you have free reign to explore the library. It has that amazing smell of old books, the lighting is perfect, the artifacts contained inside are exquisite. There is a room with a gigantic round table and chairs - perfect to bring your own book to sit and read, do some writing, etc. A very inspiring space in that way. Will definitely go back next time I'm in town.

You may think reviewing a library is really quite sad. It is. But this library is a little bit different so i'm adding it. For a start, as libraries go they are generally used for reading or working silently in. Forget that if you're going here. This place is too 'special' for common folk to be contaminating. It's one of the oldest libraries in Britain (apparently) and pretty much everything inside it is antique and therefore locked away so don't bloody touch anything! The only reason we went for a look around was because we were looking for locations to shoot a short film, and in some respects it was quite interesting to investigate. But don't DO anything or you'll get told off. (What were you thinking?!) We were stupid enough to stand in the middle of an empty room and some old woman with a gigantic arse came in and told us off. I can't believe we even considered standing in an empty room to be honest. Oh, and they wouldn't let us shoot any films surprisingly. It was free to get in blah blah blah, but why anyone would want to, unless you were some sort of historian, is beyond me. If your grandma and grandad are in town they might appreciate it.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chetham%27s_Library for a full history of this marvelous medieval building in the heart of Manchester. Tucked away from easy public view near Victoria station it is worth a visit to see that there is more to Manchester than the modern or even Victorian city. but it has to be said - you're not there for the books....