John Rylands Library

Enriqueta Rylands commissioned the building in 1889 in memory of her husband, a cotton manufacturer, and had Basil Champneys design it in a late Gothic manner in red Cumbrian sandstone; it took ten years and opened in 1900, with electric light from its own generator and an air filtration system to keep Manchester's soot off the books. The reading room is a vaulted hall with bays and statues of the Rylands at either end, and it looks like a church, which was deliberate. The collections include the St John Fragment, a scrap of papyrus from a codex of John's gospel dated to the first half of the second century and the earliest known piece of New Testament text, along with a Gutenberg Bible and Caxton printings. It is part of the University of Manchester and entry is free.

What you actually see

• The St John Fragment - the earliest known New Testament text, on papyrus.
• The reading room - a vaulted Gothic hall with bays and statuary.
• The Gutenberg Bible - among the earliest printed books in the collection.
• The Victorian systems - purpose-built lighting and air filtration from 1900.

When to go

Year-round; the library is free and open most days but closes Mondays at times and for events, so hours are worth checking. Exhibitions rotate and the papyrus is not always on display.

Honest expectations

It is a working research library, so parts are restricted and the historic reading room is not a study space for casual visitors. Manuscript displays rotate and specific items may not be out. The building has had periods of closure for conservation.

Nearby

Manchester's Science and Industry Museum and Castlefield are a short walk.