Manchester’s John Rylands Library has opened a new exhibition celebrating the personal book collection of its founder, Enriqueta Rylands, a remarkable gift made to the people of Manchester and preserved in the city she loved.
The Forgotten Library: Enriqueta Rylands and her books (20 May – 31 October 2026) explores the books Enriqueta Rylands kept at her Manchester home, Longford Hall, and the volumes she chose to give to the city through her founding of The John Rylands Library. Visitors will be able to see how her private reading life and her public legacy are closely intertwined.
Enriqueta Rylands filled Longford Hall, in south Manchester, with books of every kind – from medieval manuscripts and finely bound editions to practical, well‑used volumes. In her will, she donated all the books, manuscripts and engravings from her home to The John Rylands Library. Although Longford Hall no longer stands, the contents of its shelves live on in Manchester, where her treasured personal possessions sit alongside books she deliberately bought for public use.
A lasting gift to Manchester
This exhibition places that local story front and centre, tracing how one woman’s private collection became a lasting cultural gift to the city. Through ledgers, lists and letters, visitors can discover which books Enriqueta Rylands treasured at home, which she selected for the Library, and why she believed access to books mattered.
The exhibition also reveals her passion for collecting first editions and autographed works by much-loved authors including Charlotte Brontë and William Makepeace Thackeray, as well as her appreciation for books that may appear ordinary but carried personal meaning. From intricately decorated medieval manuscripts to striking modern fine bindings, The Forgotten Library invites visitors to experience the beauty of this once‑hidden collection.
Elizabeth Gow, Curator (Manuscripts) at The John Rylands Library says
In remembering the forgotten library at Longford Hall, this exhibition shines a light on Enriqueta Rylands’ personal tastes and interests, revealing intimate connections between the books she kept at her home and those she presented to the John Rylands Library. We see her as more than a wealthy philanthropist, as a lover of books in all their myriad forms.
The exhibition runs until 20th October
