21 March 2026 – Visit to Chetham’s Library

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Where the books are chained up!

Chethams is an beautiful building dating from 1421 and is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. It was established in 1653 by funds from the will of Humphrey Chetham.

The volunteers enjoyed a tour through the building led by the Archivist Jane, marvelling at the Hogwarts-esq library and listening to the history and tales through the ages. (Apparently the Devil even visited once!)

The tour finished with Jane showing the volunteers a selection of Rochdale related items from the archives including manuscripts, Tim Bobbins caricature drawings and some posters relating to the Peterloo.

The group also were amazed by the chained library, originally these would have been in Parish Churches around Manchester and Bolton.

Many famous people have wondered the Chethams halls, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and even the devil himself – now our Unlocking Collections volunteers as well!