Chetham's Library

Chetham's Library occupies a sandstone building constructed in fourteen twenty-one to house priests. It remains one of the most complete medieval complexes in the northwest of England. In sixteen fifty-three, the site became the location for a free public library established by the will of Humphrey Chetham, a local merchant who intended the collection to be accessible to scholars and anyone else well affected. It has operated continuously ever since, maintaining its status as the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world.