Didsbury Library

If you enjoyed yesterday's blip, I've put a few more from our run over some of the Lakeland Fells on my blog : )

This is one of a number of architectural landmarks in Manchester built during the watch of John Henry Price's tenure as the City Architect. Others include the Victoria Baths, Harpurhey Baths, the Hydraulic Power Station which is now the People's History Museum and a number of Carnegie Libraries.

Didsbury Library was described by Price as "designed in the fifteenth century gothic style with tracery windows and emblems of Science, Knowledge, Literature, Music and Arts and Crafts in stone distributed over the building". Small in scale but with cathedral-like aspirations, the library is a temple to reading at the centre of the village that many regard as Manchester's most desirable suburb. Internally the electric light was designed to allow the public free access to the shelves, browsing and reading areas. The walls were tiled to dado height, the floor cork carpeted and the oak furniture, fittings and partitions were provided by Armitage and Wolfe of John Dalton Street for £600. When the library opened on Saturday 15 May 1915 at 4.30 pm the great and the good gathered for the occasion. Fletcher Moss, deputy chairman of the libraries committee, opened the door with a gold key, in front of civic dignitaries and the public who were keen to see the permanent free library. During the English Civil War, Prince Rupert stationed himself in a building which earlier stood at the site, which is commemorated with a Blue Plaque on the library.