Remember the scene in Harry Potter when he turns off the hectic shopping street and into Diagon Alley?
Well that happened to the Missus and me today. We'd booked a tour around the almost-hidden Leeds Library, the oldest subscription library in the UK.
Opened in 1758 Leeds Library is like a wooden-festooned time capsule stuffed with old tomes along hanging balconies.
We were gobsmacked by the contrast between the bustle of the busy city streets with the peace and quiet of this secretive Library.
So, entering a real wizards' alleyway, we saw spiral staircases....
Shelves of books from floor to ceiling.
Beautiful bookcases.
Thousands of hardbacks including familiar titles. Tales of the Unexpected!
Wooden ladders and high windows.
Marble mantles and clocks.
A basement like a labyrinth.
Stacks stored below the floor.
Old editions waiting to be rebound for posterity.
Serried spines as far as the eye can see.
Weighty folios piled in corners.
Then more familiar names. I saw the TV version of the Green Man only this Autumn.
Massive ledgers heaped to the rafters.
and then back upstairs to the public space.
Flecked with tables and chairs.
A place to unwind and read.
Alcoves and lecterns among the books.
The Golden Bough, Frazer's famous writings about myths and symbolism.
Sit and leaf.
Where, in the reading room, silence is the norm.
And then back out of Leeds' own Diagon into the modern world and its surging storm.
Have you been anywhere startlingly different like this readers?
Stunning! I would like to live there.
ReplyDeleteMe too, me too.
DeleteAwesome. The library in Liverpool City centre is similarly impressive, though not tucked away!
ReplyDeleteOne to visit then Kev. Liverpool.
DeleteWhat a magical place - I have just fallen in love. That is my idea of heaven.
ReplyDeleteIt is like a fairy tale place Paul.
DeleteLovely stuff! I was immediately reminded of Sydney's Mitchell Library, housed within a yellow sandstone mock Classical temple!
ReplyDeleteThe main reading room there is pretty impressive too....
Although the link I'm posting conflates the NSW and SA libraries -two states for the price of one!
https://www.shutterstock.com/search/state-library-of-south-australia
Wow, Looey, this libraries are fabulous and HUGE! Such peaceful and spacious rooms devoted to reading, how cool is that! The Leeds Library, one of several in the city, is a small one but as such I found it startlingly beautiful.
DeleteThe old part of the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is a bit like that. Somewhere else pretty amazing is Lord Leighton's artist's house in London (now preserved).
DeleteThey do sound good. I'd love a little library at home! With a ladder to the top shelves!
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