John Rylands Library, Manchester, England

Said to be the Taj Mahal of Manchester, the library was completed in 1899 and built by Enriquieta Augustina Rylands as a memorial for her husband. The building itself follows a Victorian Gothic design and has a church like appearance and feel as you walk in to the main gallery. It houses a great collection and includes some papyri and Egyptian Portraits dating back to around 100 AD. The most famous item in the collection (according to my guidebook) is the extant from St. Johns Gospel of what is believed to be from the very first and oldest New Testament. It was never carbon dated and based this conclusion on the type of handwriting used. I only managed to see the collection on the 1st floor but was I saw was quite impressive.

I know the shot looks a bit odd and out of sorts but I really like it. That's part of the roof and could be the highest part of the building. If you're in the area, i'd definitely recommend visiting the library! I was only passing through Manchester but if I had more time I could have spent a whole day looking through their collection. A must see!