Hidden above The Bank pub on Mosley street lies one of Manchester’s better-kept secrets, the stunning Portico Library.
Accessed via a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it buzzer on Charlotte street, the solid door opens onto a winding staircase, in turn leading to a beautiful hidden library filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with rows of rare books.
Run using a membership format for over 200 years, it opened its gallery space up to the public in 2017 meaning you can visit and explore some parts of the impressive building – however, unlike your local library, you cannot browse the shelves as the books are very fragile.
There is an annual subscription available for those who want to support the library’s preservation and charitable activities and use the reading room and newspapers (with 70% off for 18-26-year-olds and students of any age) / Image: The Portico Library Sadly, a number of books in the library’s 19th-century collection are damaged to the extent that the team has created an endangered books list / Image: The Portico Library
The second oldest library in the city after Chetham’s, the Portico is home to over 25,000 books and has a long literary history. First established in 1806, its early members included world-famous authors, future Prime Ministers, and leading scientists.
Despite running on a membership format, according to the library’s Events and Programme’s Co-ordinator James Moss, the general public have been encouraged to come in since the 1980s.
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“It was initially a members institution but guests were welcome since the very early days of the library,” he added.
Founded at a time when Manchester was becoming the world’s first ‘modern’ city, the Portico was built with wealth amassed by titans of industry involved in colonialism and the industrial revolution.
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However, its early members – all men until the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 – included people from all political perspectives, ranging from radical and liberal abolitionists and anti-poverty campaigners to exploitative factory owners.
The second oldest library in the city after Chetham’s, the Portico is home to over 25,000 books and has a long literary history / Image: The Portico Library Open to the public five days a week, the Portico library also hosts an eclectic calendar of events and exhibitions as well as welcoming guests to visit its cafe and shop / Image: The Portico Library
Once frequented by such famous names as author Elizabeth Gaskell, founder of atomic theory John Dalton, and Peter Mark Roget (who wrote the first English thesaurus), today it is run by a charity and is home to the prestigious Portico Prize, promoting writing and publishing across the north.
The library is also behind the Sadie Massey Awards which nurture literacy and learning among young people.
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Within lies a veritable treasure trove of historic literature and rare 19th-century books, including a first translated edition of Goethe’s influential work about how humans perceive and interpret color that is in desperate need of repair.
Sadly, a number of books in the library’s 19th-century collection are damaged to the extent that the team has even created an endangered books list to catalogue those that urgently need restoring.
From historical records, ranging from books of proprietors to minutes books, issue books, and strangers books, to works of poetry and missives on travel, there are some incredible texts stored within its walls.
The Portico Library’s gallery space is open to the public, whilst its reading room is used by researchers, subscribers, volunteers, invited groups, event attendees, and anyone with a reader card (£5 a week) / Image: The Portico Library Originally, the library occupied the whole of the Grade II-listed Mosley street building but today it is constrained to the building’s top floor / Image: The Portico Library
Open to the public five days a week, the Portico library also hosts an eclectic calendar of events and exhibitions as well as welcoming guests to visit its cafe and shop.
The library’s gallery space is now home to a cute cafe where you can dine in on tea, sandwiches, and cake, however, its gorgeous private reading room remains off-limits – with private tours available to those looking to pursue membership to arrange on request.
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To find out more about the Portico, visit its website here.
Feature image – The Portico Library
Manchester
Major tram disruption and city centre stop closed after man ‘injured on tracks’
Daisy Jackson
A city centre tram stop has been closed and a man rushed to hospital with possible life-changing injuries today.
Trams are currently facing severe disruption due to an ongoing police incident at the Market Street Metrolink stop.
Emergency service are responding to reports of a man injured on the tracks in Manchester city centre.
The man, who is in his 50s, has been taken to hospital with injuries that may be life-changing.
A huge scene remains in place around the tram stop, and passengers have been advised that services on the Bury line will operate from Manchester Victoria only, while the Ashton line services will stop at Piccadilly.
There’ll be no services between Piccadilly and Victoria until further notice.
In a statement, a GMP spokesperson said: “Emergency services are currently responding to an incident on Market Street Metrolink stop in Manchester City Centre after reports of man injured on the tracks.
“One man, aged in his 50s, has been taken to hospital where he is currently being treated for possibly life-changing injuries.
“No arrests have been made in relation to this incident, and a scene remains in place whilst enquiries continue.”
Beloved local actor David Threlfall is returning to Manchester theatre after nearly three decades as King Lear
Danny Jones
Much-loved local actor and director David Threlfall is set to return to the Manchester theatre circuit after nearly three whole decades as he prepares to play King Lear at the Royal Exchange.
That’s right: Frank Gallagher himself is about to be one of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters in one of his most legendary plays.
Returning to the very same stage on which his career first began budding after 27 years since last treading the boards, the Shameless, Nowhere Boy and Hot Fuzz star will be donning the titular role in arguably the greatest tragedy of all time at the Manchester city centre theatre this coming autumn.
First announced last month, we’ve finally learned more about this significant comeback and can barely contain our excitement.
The seasoned thespian who is best known for playing UK TV’s well-known and perpetually drunk Northern dad, not to mention embodying fellow British performer Tommy Cooper, has plenty of roots in playhouses, but it’s fair to say he’s been gone from Greater Manchester for a hot minute.
Set to lead the cast in the new adaptation, directed by Matthew Dunster – himself a local Lancashire lad schooled in Chadderton – this feels like a proper homegrown production.
For anyone who’s never really experienced the historic tale by ‘Old Bill, the Bard of Avon’, to put it in the Royal Exchange’s words, it “charts a kingdom where power corrupts, families become enemies and prosperity devolves into war.
“At its centre is the mind of a man who can no longer understand what it means to be human. Lear is a searing portrait of a king unable to distinguish truth from lies. As the storm rises and night falls, language, identity and meaning break down completely.”
To be fair, you could argue there are some similarities between him and the Gallagher patriarch; he’ll also be in the middle of this run when he turns 73 – meaning it’ll be even longer since he last played the Royal Exchange Theatre (RET) in his mid-40s.
As for this version by Dunster – who himself is returning to the RET once again also (for his sixth different stint, no less) his talented cast includes the likes of Isobel Akuwudike, Ed Coleman, Lisa Diveney, Rupert Hill, Johnathan Slinger and more.
It’s also worth noting that Threlfall has featured in a Lear retelling in the past.
Way back in 1983, he played Edgar in the small-screen movie made right here in 0161 by Granada Television, where he acted alongside HUGE names such as John Hurt, Diana Rigg, Robert Lindsay, as well as the late, great TV, movie and all-around acting star, Laurence Olivier.
Born in Crumpsall, raised in Burnage, and made at the REC and various other theatres across the country, this feels like a momentous homecoming for the ever-familiar Manc face.
With shows booked from Friday, 2 October until Sunday, 15 November, and tickets priced at just £12 for standard seats, you can secure yours right HERE. It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the only Shakespearean adaptation coming to the region later this year, either…
Georgina Pellant -
8th October 2021 
