John Rylands Library

More about John Rylands Library. The library is free to visit and is as stunning on the inside as it is on the outside. In the collection, which spans five millennia, you'll find artworks, objects, archives, maps, and of course, books. It's also known for providing inspiration for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.

The John Rylands Library is one of the finest examples of neo-Gothic architecture in Europe and is indisputably one of the great libraries of the world. The library became part of The University of Manchester in 1972.

The most notable are the St John Fragment, believed to be the oldest extant New Testament text, Rylands Library Papyrus P52, the earliest fragment of the text of the canonical Gospel of John; the earliest fragment of the Septuagint, Papyrus Rylands 458; and Papyrus Rylands 463, a manuscript fragment of the apocryphal ...

Manchester UK The John Rylands Library was founded by Enriqueta Rylands in memory of her husband John Rylands, who died in 1888. The following year Enriqueta commissioned the architect Basil Champneys to design the Library, which took ten years to build and opened to readers and visitors on 1 January 1900.