WORDS
AMY DENNIS
PHOTO
REBECCA LUPTON
0 1 5
“
While there are
drinking spots and music
venues, it’s important people
see the history behind the city”
“
there’s a dark and musty feel
to
CHETHAM’S
LIBRARY
[
Long Millgate; chethams.org.uk
],
but rightly
so. It’s the oldest public library in the UK and what it
lacks in grandeur it makes up for in history. To me, it’s
fascinating that Karl Marx sat on its window seat,
chewing the fat and discussing theories with Friederich
Engels in the 1800s.
“
It’s one of the nicest, but least obvious landmarks of
the city, right on the doorstep of the bars and shopping
district. When I walk in off the busy plaza, I feel
contemplative. It’s an enclosed, gothic secret,
with brilliant splashes of light coming
through the colourful windows.
It’s awe-inspiring to think of the
thousands of people who have
contributed to the works here
and how it’s a link to history.
“
I’ve lived and worked in Manchester all my life, and
the library is a well-guarded secret. I’m ashamed to say
I only came here 15 years ago. Now I try and sell it to
visiting artists we have at the Cornerhouse, and I’ve
run events that have taken inspiration from Engels and
Marx – the latter wrote part of
Das Kapital
here.
“
Just five minutes from the library, in Salford, is The
King’s Arms [
11
Bloom Street; tel. +44 (0)161 839 8726
],
which does a great pint in a friendly, artsy atmosphere.
While there are drinking spots and key music venues
that get a lot of the fame, it’s important
people see the history behind the city
and especially its vast culture.”
¡
Viva!, A Spanish and Latin American
film festival, will be at the
Cornerhouse from 8-24 March;
cornerhouse.org
Sarah Perks
The programme director of the Cornerhouse, Manchester’s cultural
hub reveals why Chetham’s Library is a well-guarded secret
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