Lindsay 
I must have passed the John Rylands Library in Manchester thousands of times in my life before venturing inside. Situated halfway up Deansgate, at a first glance this building looks like a medieval church (which would date it back to around the 1300-1400s), but it actually only opened to the public quite recently, in the year 1900!
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Built by John Ryland’s wife and dedicated to himself, it is, unexpectedly, one of the most stunning interiors in all of Manchester. The corridors are lined with decorative arches and stained-glass windows while the stone ceiling has carved Lancashire roses next to fire breathing dragons. You will feel like you have stepped straight into a Harry Potter book.
The main library itself looks like it was inspired by Walt Disney and reminds me of the Great Hall of a castle. There are more carved stone works in here as well as statues along the walls, yet despite the vastness of the room, it is carpeted, which gives the library a really cosy feel. All that’s missing is a big roaring fire, so you can curl up with a book and I am pretty sure most people wouldn’t move from here all day.
There are some interesting items on display in the centre of the library, including a letter from Elizabeth II, the Gutenberg Bible printed by William Claxton and a section of the New Testament, said to be the oldest surviving piece in the world.
Make sure to check out the beautiful ornate staircase through the back of the library. The decorative pattern work under the stairs looks very similar to the Bodian Library in Oxford. (>>>>> CLICK HERE <<<<<) What’s funny is that those buildings are hundreds of years old, where the John Rylands library is little more than a century old, so you can see where the inspiration came from.
150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH | www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/visit/
Thanks for reading my post of from when I visited the beautiful John Rylands Library. Have you ever visited my home town of Manchester? Did you check out the library? Are you planning on visiting the UK when it’s safe to travel again? Leave me a comment below!
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