Gladstone's Library
{{short description|Residential library in Hawarden, Wales}}
{{Infobox library
| library_name = Gladstone's Library
| location = Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales
| established = {{start date and age|1895}}
| image = Llyfrgell Sant Deiniol and Gladstone's Library Hawarden Penarlâg 10.JPG
| caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|53.1859|-3.0272|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title,inline}}
| collection_size =
| pop_served =
| items_collected =
| req_to_access = Open to anyone with a need to use the collections and services
| budget =
| director = Andrea Russell (2023)
| num_employees = 18
| website = http://www.gladstoneslibrary.org
}}
File:Gladstone Library Statue.jpg
File:Gladstone's Library staff at the School of Advanced Study History Day Oct. 2017 01.jpg
Gladstone's Library, known until 2010 as St Deiniol's Library ({{langx|cy|Llyfrgell Deiniol Sant}}), is a residential library in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales, UK.{{cite news |last1=McClarence |first1=Stephen |title=Read, walk and relax in a Welsh literary hideaway |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/inspiration/read-walk-and-relax-in-a-welsh-literary-hideaway-mdqm3xhft |access-date=17 September 2018 |work=The Times |date=8 September 2018}}
Gladstone's Library is Britain's only Prime Ministerial Library and serves as the national memorial to William Ewart Gladstone.{{cite book |last=Pritchard |first=T.W. |date=1999 |title=A History of St. Deiniol's Library |location=Hawarden, Wales |publisher=Monad Press |isbn=9780907450283 }} It is home to a large collection of printed items and archives that reflects Gladstone's main interests in history, literature, theology, and politics.
History
The library was founded by William Gladstone in 1894. He was eager to share his personal library with others, especially those who faced financial constraint.{{Cite web | url = https://www.independentlibraries.co.uk/gladstones-library| title = Gladstone's Library, Hawarden| accessdate = 31 March 2023| publisher = Independent Libraries Association}} He would allow bright children and young adults of the village of Hawarden to use his collection. His daughter Mary Gladstone said that his desire was to "bring together books who had no readers with readers who had no books".{{Cite web | url = https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-joy-of-rummaging-through-gladstone-s-annotated-books/#:~:text=William%20Gladstone%2C%20at%20the%20age,readers%20who%20had%20no%20books| title = The joy of rummaging through Gladstone’s annotated books| accessdate = 31 March 2023| work = The Spectator}}[https://www.librarianresources.taylorandfrancis.com/insights/library-management/story-behind-library/ Librarian Resources website]
In 1895, at the age of 85, William Gladstone gave £40,000 to the library as well as much of his own book collection. With the help of his daughter and his valet, he wheeled a selection of his books three quarters of a mile (1.2km) between his home at Hawarden Castle and the library. He unpacked them and put them onto shelves using his own classification system.
In a diary entry dated 23 December 1895, he described the library's founding:
"I have this day constituted my trust at St Deiniol's. The cost of the work has been I think £41 to £42000, including some charges of maintenance to Dec. 31. 95. May God of His mercy prosper it."H.C.G. Matthew [ed.], The Gladstone Diaries, Volume XIII: 1892-1896 (1994) Oxford: Clarendon Press, p 432.
Following his death in 1898, a public appeal was launched for funds to provide a permanent building to house the collection and replace the temporary structure. The £9,000 raised provided an imposing building, designed by John Douglas, which was officially opened by Earl Spencer on 14 October 1902 as the National Memorial to W.E. Gladstone.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Hawarden Memorial to Mr. Gladstone|date=14 October 1902 |page=7 |issue=36898}} The Gladstone family fulfilled the founder's vision by funding the residential wing, which welcomed its first resident on 29 June 1906.
Facilities
The library is a Grade I listed building{{Citation | url = http://cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net/reports/listedbuilding/FullReport?lang=en&id=15025| title = St Deiniol's Library, Hawarden| accessdate = 20 December 2016| publisher = Cadw}} and a registered charity.{{EW charity|701399}}
The building includes historical reading rooms, 26 bedrooms for overnight guests, a guest lounge, cafe and restaurant.{{Cite web |last=Monaco |first=Emily |title=Gladstone's: The UK's only residential library |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231022-gladstones-the-uks-only-residential-library |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=BBC |series=Travel |language=en}}
The library runs regular tours, talks, workshops, masterclasses and residential courses.[https://www.gladstonelibrary.org Gladstone Library official website]
Collections
The library holds 20,000 volumes belonging to William Ewart Gladstone in its Foundation Collection, many of which contain Gladstone's own annotations, as well as over 150,000 books, pamphlets, and journals in its circulating collection.[https://www.visitwales.com/accommodation/guest-accommodation/gladstones-library-787537 Visit Wales website]
It also holds the Glynne-Gladstone Archive, containing the personal, family, business, and estate correspondence and papers of the Glynne and Gladstone families.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commonscat-inline|Gladstone's Library}}
- [http://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/ Official website]
- [https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/reading-rooms/the-collections Gladstone Library, Collections and Archive website]
- [https://www.gladstoneslibrary-us.com/ U.S. Friends of Gladstone's Library]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Library buildings completed in 1902
Category:Houses completed in 1906
Category:John Douglas buildings
Category:Tourist attractions in Flintshire
Category:Grade I listed buildings in Flintshire
Category:William Ewart Gladstone