first established in 1653 and has been serving knowledge-hungry scholars ever since

#manchestertrip 350 years of history built in 1421 to accommodate priests living at Manchester's Collegiate Church. Worth having a tour as you hear fascinating stories about Dr Dee and can view the chained books and sit where Carl Marx and Fredrich Engles sat, debated and studied together. You get to see the library and a small number of other rooms. It's awesome architecture spanning centuries. It's the original free lending library with books from the 1300s up to contemporary.