UK News

Chetham’s Library is finally reopening today after the longest closure in its 350-year history

Chetham's Library was founded in 1653 and had remained open ever since - until the pandemic hit in March 2020.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 23rd June 2021

The oldest library in the English-speaking world has finally reopened its doors to the Manchester public today.

Chetham’s Library was founded in 1653 by English textile merchant, financier and philanthropist, Humphrey Chetham, and had remained open in the heart of Manchester city centre ever since – until the pandemic hit in March 2020.

Just like the majority of our great city, the iconic library was forced to temporarily close, but after 15 long months, the library will finally welcome visitors back today.

This has been the longest period of closure in the library’s rich 350-year history.

To mark this special occasion, a new programme of visitor tours will reveal rare items from the library’s priceless collection, with personal stories, historic maps and documents, and rarely-seen images of historic Manchester also on show.

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The library said that some of the items from its collection will be on display for the first time.

Chetham’s Library is the oldest library in the English-speaking world / Credit: Chetham’s Library

Now a museum as well as a library, visitors to the Grade I-listed medieval building will be able to see a wide range of Manchester-related treasures that highlight the impressive development of the city from its market-town origins, through the Industrial Revolution and into the modern age.

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Some of the items on show include the seventeenth-century manuscript of the first history of Manchester, original watercolours by the town’s antiquarian one-legged saddlemaker, Thomas Barritt (1743-1820), and the first printed map of the town.

There’s so much more than just books and academic literature on offer.

“It has been 15 long months since we last welcomed visitors or academic researchers through our doors.” said Fergus Wilde, a librarian at Chetham’s Library.

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“This is our longest closure in 350 years, so it is with great joy and relief that we now welcome people back into our historic buildings.

“The library’s wide-ranging collections have a remarkable story to tell about Manchester’s growth and success [and] as we reopen our doors for guided tours and academic readers alike, we can’t think of a better place to start than by showcasing that Manchester story.”

The library was founded in 1653 by English textile merchant, Humphrey Chetham / Credit: Chetham’s Library

Guided tours of the library building will now also resume in groups of up to six as a maximum, but Fergus has assured that they offer visitors “a deeper insight into our collections than ever before.”

You can find more information about the reopening of Chetham’s Library here.

Featured Image – Chetham’s Library

UK News

Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data

Danny Jones Danny Jones Yorkshire Tea is Manchester's favourite teabag

The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.

It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.

This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.

At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?

mancunians favourite brand of teabags
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)

Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.

With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.

The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.

In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:

RankTeaAverage UK monthly searches
1Yorkshire Tea27,100
2PG Tips18,100
3Pukka Tea14,800
4Twinings12,100
5Teapigs8,100
6Whittards Tea6,600
7Tetley4,400
8Clipper Tea4,400
9Lipton Tea3,600
10Barrys Tea3,600
11Thompsons Tea1,300
12Typhoo1,300
13Taylors Tea1,300
14M&S Tea1,300
15Tesco Tea1,000
16Tick Tock Tea880
17Sainsbury’s Tea720
18Lyons Tea720
19Asda Tea590
20Aldi Tea590
21Waitrose Tea590
22Lidl Tea480
23Morrisons Tea320
24Bewleys Tea90
25Cafedirect Tea40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?

While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?

As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.

Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.

“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Yorkshire Tea/Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)

UK News

Family of 21-year-old Lewis Durham pay tribute to ‘fun-loving character’ tragically killed in traffic collision

Danny Jones Danny Jones Lewis Durham tributes Wigan death

The family of 21-year-old Lewis Durham who was tragically killed in a traffic collision last week have paid tribute to the “fun-loving character” and young man who had “the world at his feet”.

Lewis Durham and two other people were involved in the crash on 13 April, which saw the young man and another male on the back of his bike collide with a car on Ormskirk Road in Wigan around 7:15pm.

Durham, from the town of Workington in West Cumbria, was sadly declared dead at the scene and his 56-year-old passenger, who was also thrown from the bike, unfortunately passed away from his injuries after being rushed to hospital.

The driver of the vehicle, a 41-year-old male, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and causing serious injury following the incident. He has since been released on bail.

Writing in their emotional tribute via Greater Manchester Police, the Durham family wrote: “It is with great sadness that Lewis has been so tragically taken away from us. He sadly passed away in a road traffic accident in Wigan on Saturday 13th April.

“The youngest in our family with the world at his feet. He’s left a huge hole in our family, our hearts are absolutely broken. He was always a happy, fun-loving character, who had everything going for him in life, loved by everyone and had the best of friends. A loving son, grandson, and little brother.

“We’d like to thank the emergency services and people who assisted him at the scene who comforted him in maybe his last moments. We’ll cherish every memory we have of you, Lewis.

“We’re all beyond proud of you and will miss and love you forever. You’re now the brightest star in the sky Lewis. Love you forever and always Mam, Dad, Grandma, Granda, Nana, and your two big sisters.”

Read more:

Our thoughts are with Lewis’ loved ones during this difficult time. A GoFundMe has now been set up by his best mate Leo McMullen to help “raise some money to give to charity and mark his memory”. It has already surpassed its £3k target, with over £11,000 raised across 600+ donations.

You can donate HERE.

It’s been an emotional couple of weeks for the Wigan community also, as locals and the rugby league world at large united in mourning the loss of 21-year-old Gabriel Holt earlier this month.

Rest in peace.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Greater Manchester Police/DPP Law (via Flickr)

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