Gladstone Library 01

This library was closed for 3 hours so that I could photograph it in peace. Had a fantastic reception and a tour of this special library. The library was founded in 1894 by William Gladstone. He was keen to share his personal library with others, especially those facing financial constraints. He would allow smart children and young adults from the village of Hawarden to use his collection. His wish, said his daughter Mary Gladstone, was to "merge books that had no readers with readers who had no books." Today the library has 26 bedrooms, a restaurant called Food For Thought, a chapel and conference facilities. It hosts a year long programme of events based around William Gladstone's core interest areas of religion and theology, history and politics, and 19th-century literary culture.