Gladstone's Library facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gladstone's Library |
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| Established | 1895 |
| Location | Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales |
| Coordinates | 53°11′09″N 3°01′38″W / 53.1859°N 3.0272°W |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Open to anyone with a need to use the collections and services |
| Other information | |
| Director | Peter Francis, Warden (1997) |
| Staff | 26 |
| Website | http://www.gladstoneslibrary.org |
Gladstone's Library, once known as St Deiniol's Library, is a special library in Hawarden, Wales. It is a residential library, meaning people can stay there to study. This building is very old and important, listed as a Grade I building.
It is the only library in Britain created to honor a Prime Minister. It serves as a national memorial to William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98). He was a famous politician who served as Prime Minister four times.
The library holds over 250,000 books. These books cover many subjects like religion, history, culture, and politics.
How Gladstone's Library Started
The library was started by William Ewart Gladstone in 1894. He really wanted to share his huge collection of books with others. He especially wanted to help bright young people who might not have many books at home. His daughter, Mary Gladstone, said he wanted to "bring together books who had no readers with readers who had no books."
In 1895, when he was 85 years old, William Gladstone gave £40,000 of his own money. He also donated many of his personal books. With help from his valet and one of his daughters, he personally moved 32,000 books. They wheeled them almost a mile from his home at Hawarden Castle to the library. He even unpacked them and put them on shelves using his own system!
After Gladstone passed away in 1898, people raised money to build a permanent home for the books. The new, grand building was designed by John Douglas. It officially opened on October 14, 1902. It was a national memorial to William Gladstone. His family later paid for the residential part, where the first guest stayed in 1906.
Gladstone's Library Today
Today, Gladstone's Library has 26 bedrooms for guests. It also has a restaurant called Food For Thought. There is a chapel and rooms for conferences.
The library hosts many events throughout the year. These events focus on topics Gladstone cared about, such as religion, history, politics, and 19th-century literature.
You can visit the library's reading rooms on short guided tours. These tours happen at 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm on weekdays.
Future Plans for the Library
In March 2018, Gladstone's Library announced an exciting project. They teamed up with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The plan is to build a new building and update the historic library. This project is called the Living Heritage Project and will cost £4.5 million.
In June 2018, four architectural companies were chosen to create designs. These companies were AOC Architecture, Caruso St John Architects, Hopkins Architects, and Simpson & Brown. Each company received money to develop their ideas.
In July 2018, Caruso St John Architects won the competition. They will design the new building for Gladstone's Library.
