Benjamin Disraeli: Gladstone’s political nemesis

3 October 2018

Benjamin Disraeli: Gladstone’s political nemesis

Benjamin Disraeli, statesman of the conservative party, novelist, twice-serving Prime Minister and, of course, William Gladstone’s political foe.

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Edrychiad i fewn yr gasgliad Cymraeg / Looking into our Welsh collection

25 September 2018

Edrychiad i fewn yr gasgliad Cymraeg / Looking into our Welsh collection

Although not Welsh himself, in 1894 William Ewart Gladstone decided to found his library across the Welsh border for good reason. The beautiful, remote countryside of Hawarden village, as well as nearby historic areas such as Ruthin and Mold, are steeped in culture and Welsh heritage. With an abundance of hills, forests and, of course, castles, as well as the mountain range of Snowdonia, Gladstone envisaged that rather than the congested streets of London, Liverpool or Manchester, North Wales would serve as the perfectly serene backdrop for his incredible legacy as well as provide the necessary air of tranquillity for study and contemplation.

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A Gladstone’s mystery: solved

6 July 2018

A Gladstone’s mystery: solved

Have you ever wondered what the above symbol is? We use it everywhere – on our website, on our social media, our merchandise, even our business cards – it has, in time, become the symbol for Gladstone’s Library. But what exactly is it a symbol for? Where does it come from and what does it mean?

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Gray’s Anatomy: the alien world of the human body

8 June 2018

Gray’s Anatomy: the alien world of the human body

Upon hearing the phrase Gray’s Anatomy, images may come to mind of the popular American TV series set in a Seattle hospital; however a much different medium bears the origin of this name. Within William Gladstone’s own collection there exists a 3rd edition copy of Gray’s Anatomy. Not as some might suspect, a novelised version of the TV series, but rather a complete ‘descriptive and surgical’ look at anatomy.

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William Ewart Gladstone: From birth to death

18 May 2018

William Ewart Gladstone: From birth to death

19th May 2018, marks the 120th anniversary of William Ewart Gladstone’s death. The use of the word ‘anniversary’ may seem too jolly for such a sombre event; William Gladstone’s life was extraordinary and in this post we shall celebrate it and the man behind the podium.

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The Irish answer

1 May 2018

The Irish answer

The items on show in our Display Cabinet this month have been curated by intern Alex Locke. Entitled ‘The Irish Answer’, the display concentrates on William Gladstone and Irish Home Rule, and shows not only the complexity of the issue, but the many different types of printed matter the subject generated. In this blog, Alex gives us more on one of the major political problems of the 19th Century… 

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Your heritage our story: The History of North East Wales in 100 Objects

26 April 2018

Your heritage our story: The History of North East Wales in 100 Objects

Gladstone’s Library is proud to have loaned items from its collections to the North East Wales Heritage Forum to contribute to their exhibition at Wrexham Museum. From the Mold cape to the Gop cairn, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Welsh bible translations, castles, collieries and six of the ‘Seven Wonders of Wales’, North East Wales has an incredibly rich history which deserves to be celebrated, conserved and promoted.

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24th April: Genocide Day, Armenia

24 April 2018

24th April: Genocide Day, Armenia

1.5 million Armenians were killed (1915 – 1923) by the Ottoman Turks in what was the first genocide of the 20th Century. This followed the Armenian massacres of 1894 – 1896 and the Armenian Holocaust at Adana in 1909.

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World Curlew Day: Books, birds, and St. Beuno

20 April 2018

World Curlew Day: Books, birds, and St. Beuno

21st April is World Curlew Day, the first annual international event with the aim of raising awareness of the Curlew, one of the most recognisable of wading birds (numenius arquata). According to the RSPB, there are 66,000 breeding pairs in the UK, with 140,000 individual curlews wintering on our shores and estuaries each year.

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Preventing what is called ‘the black out of the mind’

17 April 2018

Preventing what is called ‘the black out of the mind’

Before World War II, when the library was only 30 years old, Alec Vidler, the then Warden of St Deiniol’s Library, was preparing for a ‘decrease in the number of ordinary visitors’, which he called ‘inevitable’ is his 1938 report to the board of trustees.

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