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The Forgotten Library: Enriqueta Rylands and her books
20 May - 31 October 2026
Explore Enriqueta Rylands' personal book collection.
The Forgotten Library exhibition explores the personal book collection of Enriqueta Rylands, founder of The John Rylands Library. Kept at her home, Longford Hall, south Manchester, this remarkable collection reveals her life as a passionate reader and collector.
Enriqueta Rylands filled her home with books of all shapes and sizes: old and new, beautiful and plain, luxurious and useful. In her will she left all the books, manuscripts and engravings at Longford Hall to The John Rylands Library. Although Longford Hall no longer stands, traces of this forgotten library run through the shelves at the Rylands today, where her treasured possessions sit alongside books she bought for the people of Manchester.
Through ledgers, lists and letters, discover which books Enriqueta Rylands treasured at home, and which she sent to The John Rylands Library. Uncover her book collecting passion for first editions and autographs of beloved authors, from Charlotte Brontë to William Makepeace Thackeray. Explore the books Enriqueta Rylands enjoyed reading and understand why she cherished even ordinary-looking books. Through intricately decorated medieval manuscripts and modern fine bindings, experience the beauty of this forgotten library.
