The Gorton Chest is one of five small libraries created through Humphrey Chetham’s will, in addition to the foundation of Chetham’s School and Library. The books were chained and housed in wooden chests which were to be placed in the parish churches of Manchester and Bolton, and the chapels at Gorton, Turton and Walmsley. Only the libraries of Gorton, now at Chetham’s Library, and Turton survive nearly intact. There are just a handful of similar chained libraries in the whole country which makes the survival even more remarkable and significant.
This talk, by Julianne Simpson, will share insight into Humphrey Chetham’s generous legacy to the people of Manchester and the surrounding areas. How and why did parish libraries develop after the English Reformation and what was the aim of donors such as Humphrey to provide them ‘for the common people’.
