Free exhibition marks 600 years of Guildhall Library – England’s first public library
Free exhibition marks 600 years of Guildhall Library, England’s first public library. The landmark show traces how the Guildhall “Common Library” began in 1425, why it was shuttered during the Dissolution, and how it returned three centuries later to serve Londoners again.
Opening today, Guildhall Library 600 sets the record straight on England’s oldest public library and the people who shaped it. The original two-storey library was founded with funds from Richard Whittington; after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Crown took control and the remaining books were removed, likely to furnish Somerset House, and never returned. A small members’ library opened in 1828, public access followed in 1873, and in 1974 the collection moved to its current West Wing home.
Today’s Guildhall Library, often called the Library of London History, holds the world’s largest collection devoted to a single city, plus strengths in early printed books, English law, Parliamentary records, business and maritime history, and clocks and clockmakers. Visitor information: Guildhall Library.
What’s on show
- The Peter de Riga Bible – an 800-year-old manuscript from the medieval collection.
- The Chronicles of France (1399) – a richly illuminated history of medieval France.
- John Stow’s works, including the Survey of London (1598), which references the early library.
- A Shakespeare First Folio -among the finest and most complete anywhere.
- Deep specialist holdings: historic cookery and wine books, and sensational nineteenth-century “bloods” and “penny dreadfuls.”
Why it matters
The library welcomes academics, students, City workers and visitors, and works closely with community groups, local universities and schools. It also supports the wider Destination City ambition for a seven-day Square Mile.
Brendan Barns, who chairs the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee at Guildhall, said:
“It is always a joy to see City residents, workers and students reading and studying in our very popular Guildhall Library. Many would be intrigued by its creation and our debt to Richard Whittington, the scale of its collections, and how the library’s books went on a ‘very long-term loan’ before the doors closed for three centuries. In this most important of years, the team has curated a free exhibition of remarkable, rarely seen items, and I commend it to everyone.”
Alongside the anniversary, the City authority remains one of the UK’s largest public supporters of heritage and culture, investing over £130m every year across institutions including the Barbican Centre, Tower Bridge, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Guildhall Art Gallery, the London Symphony Orchestra and the new London Museum, opening next year.
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