Chetham's Library

Welcome to Chetham's Library, the oldest surviving public library in Britain 📚 You can explore the Library by booking onto a tour or event.

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

We will no longer be using X to share updates. To keep up with the latest news from Chetham's Library, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Bluesky or visit our website 📚✨

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Now available on guided tours! 📣
This gorgeous guidebook made in collaboration with Kulturalis is a fantastic way to commemorate your visit and support our work✨
➡️ Available in-person on guided tours or online here: https://t.co/hZrQGsVU1h

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

New blog alert! 🔔 We're home to a rare 1664 Shakespeare's Third Folio – a book that helped shape how Shakespeare was understood.
Discover why this volume matters and what it tells us about Shakespeare’s reputation in Restoration England in our blog: https://t.co/MGZwfKrwH9

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Did you miss us? Because we missed you! 🫶
Chetham's Library tours are back for 2026 🎉 Explore this hidden gem tucked away in Manchester City Centre and discover hundreds of years of history 📚
What stories will you discover? Book a guided tour online 🔗 https://t.co/PQx4haP1Da

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Library tours are back next week! Why not start your new year by visiting the UK's oldest public Library and learning more about local history? 📚
👉 Tours return from Monday 12 January. Book now on our website: https://t.co/ppRyM3uv69

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

When Dr Dee arrived in Manchester in 1596, he hoped for stability and time to study. Instead, he found chaos! This blog traces Dee’s troubled wardenship and the legacy of disorder that shaped Manchester’s collegiate church in the 1500s😲
➡️ Read here: https://t.co/Qw7AOWLm92

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Merry Christmas from Chetham's Library! 🎄 Wishing all our visitors, readers and supporters a joyful festive season ❤️
Thank you for being part of our story this year - we look forward to welcoming you back in 2026! 📚

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Humphrey Chetham's bust may be looking very merry today, but did you know that towards the end of his life Christmas celebrations were banned? During the 1640s, an ordinance passed in 1647 banned Christmas, Easter and Whitsun celebrations, with fines issued for non-compliance!😳

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

New blog alert! 🔔 Learn about Dr Dee’s Manchester years through archival treasures from Chetham’s Library and the Cathedral, uncovering how local disputes, national politics, and economic hardship collided in the late sixteenth century 😲
👉 Read here: https://t.co/Qw7AOWKOju

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

#Onthisday in 1651, Humphrey Chetham set out his intentions for a hospital school and public library in his will. 370 years later, here we still are! 🎉
Today we continue carrying out his legacy, and serving the people of Manchester and beyond as the UK's oldest public Library❤️

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Its our last week of tours this year! If you'd like to wrap up 2025 by exploring the UK's oldest public Library, pop along and visit us on a guided tour packed with fascinating facts and history 📚 We'll be closed from Sunday 21 December and back open mid-January 2026 ❄️

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

We’re on our last few tours of the year before we close for Christmas! Why not treat yourself or a loved one to the gift of history with a guided tour of Chetham’s Library? 🎄🎁
➡️ Book now on our website: https://t.co/ppRyM3uv69

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

🎄As the festive season draws near, we’ve dipped into the archives to uncover something wonderfully nostalgic… and occasionally bizarre - a charming, eccentric album of early 1900s Christmas postcards from our Leech collection.
🔗 Read more in this blog: https://t.co/OcmCYF2TPX

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Did you know that Chetham's Library is now open for school trips? 📚This new offering can support KS3-5 students in English Language and History and is free for schools in the North West 🫶
➡️ To find out more, head to our website: https://t.co/Un85WvUFZg

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Today is St Nicholas' Day! Did you know that St. Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century bishop known for his generosity and gift-giving, which is where the inspiration for modern Santa Claus originated from? 🎅🎁

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Today is #InternationalVolunteerDay 🎉 We want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to all our volunteers! Our volunteers do a fantastic job helping with day-to-day operation of the Library, and we couldn't do it without you all ❤️

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Take a guided tour of the oldest public library in the UK ✨ We offer tours of from Mon-Sat, and these are the perfect opportunity to discover a hidden world of books and history that feels as though you've just stepped into Hogwarts 😲➡️ Book now: https://t.co/ppRyM3tXgB

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Christmas is coming to Chetham's Library! We've got two fantastic events this December to get you in the festive spirit ❄️

Winter Crafts Workshop 📆 15 Dec, 5:30pm
Library After Hours 📆 19 Dec, 5:30pm & 6pm

➡️ Book now on our website! https://t.co/ppRyM3tXgB

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

Today would have been Friedrich Engels' 205th birhday 🎂 His work and the time he spent studying in Chetham's Library in the 19th century with Karl Marx continue to inspire us and our visitors, who today can take a seat at the same desk they sat at in our Reading Room ❤️

[Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary]

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Join us for Winter Crafts and Library After Hours and bring in the festive season at the UK's oldest public Library 🎄📚
🎁Winter Crafts: 15 Dec, 5:30pm
🎁 Library After Hours: 19 Dec, 5:30pm & 6pm
👉Book now: https://t.co/ppRyM3tXgB