Gladstone and the Romantics: our new April display

5 April 2019

Gladstone and the Romantics: our new April display

Today when we consider the word ‘romantic’ we think of love and sentimentality, but the term ‘Romanticism’ had a much broader meaning, historically. Romanticism was a period which spanned the late 18th and early 19th centuries, emerging as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789. It covered a range of developments in art, literature, music and philosophy and William Gladstone himself would have been witness to its peak during his lifetime.

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Spring has sprung at Gladstone’s Library and Easter is not far behind it!

29 March 2019

Spring has sprung at Gladstone’s Library and Easter is not far behind it!

While researching for this blog, I found myself on all manner of websites, from the Telegraph to Clarion Review, and the websites of both Cadbury and Godiva. 

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What libraries mean by Oliver Emanuel

25 March 2019

What libraries mean by Oliver Emanuel

The first time I lied about my age was not to buy alcohol, to jump on a ride at Chessington World of Adventure, or to join the army. 

It was to get a library card. 

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Tales of the supernatural: the library’s hidden creature features!

4 February 2019

Tales of the supernatural: the library’s hidden creature features!

At Gladstone’s Library we rotate our History Room display every month to focus on an aspect of Gladstone the man, or our extensive library catalogue. This February I decided to give some of our lesser-known collections a little TLC by presenting a display on ‘Tales of the Supernatural: The Library’s Hidden Creature Features!’ Additionally, to give you all some extra background on this exciting topic, I’m writing this blog for our website.

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Collection Spotlight: Beginning with A…

22 January 2019

Collection Spotlight: Beginning with A…

In this regular series, library staff ‘spotlight’ a single item, or a set of items, from the thousands of print and archive items held in the collections here at Gladstone’s Library. Read on and discover more about the items on our shelves…

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John Douglas – the man behind Gladstone’s Library

26 October 2018

John Douglas – the man behind Gladstone’s Library

Do you know the man behind the building of Gladstone’s Library? Possibly not. His name is John Douglas and he designed, during his life, more than 500 buildings. One of them was St Deiniol’s Library, today known as Gladstone’s Library.

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Tales of Wonder and timeless tales of horror...

18 October 2018

Tales of Wonder and timeless tales of horror...

The month of Halloween is in full flow; the nights draw closer, the mornings mistier, and that black cat at the end of the street grows ever more ominous each time you pass. So, as every fancy dress lover’s favourite day of the year looms over us like a pumpkin-shaped apparition, there has never been a more appropriate time to look into the spookier side of our collections here at Gladstone’s Library…

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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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The Gladfest team reveal their unmissable festival events!

31 August 2018

The Gladfest team reveal their unmissable festival events!

We’ve had feedback in the past that GladLib guests really trust and rely upon the recommendations of our team – year on year people book festival tickets and accommodation before line ups have even been revealed!

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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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