Gladstone's Library

We have grounds work taking place (mainly outside the building) from Monday 29th September until Friday 3rd October. There may be some disruption and noise, and parking will be limited. Thank you for your patience. We look forward to telling you some exciting news soon!

For more information (and to book your tickets), please visit our website, link in bio!

💌 Alison will then provide a range of historical artefacts for participants to work with during the workshop, encouraging people to listen to what these artefacts might be whispering to them, and to craft their own poems inspired by historical sources.

We still have tickets available for Alison Binney's poetry writing Masterclass, taking place this weekend! For more information (and to book your tickets), please visit our website, link in bio!

🗡️ We only have 5 tickets left for our Alibis in the Archive Festival, 5th - 7th June 2026 🗡️ 🎟️ For more information (and to grab your tickets!), go to our website, link in bio!

We want to wish everyone taking exams this summer the very best of luck! It's been wonderful to see so many young people revising in the Library this year.

Do you ever annotate your books, or write notes by hand? Or do you now use your phone to jot things down? 📖 P11/4

Many of his books also also contain marginalia, his pencil annotations which give us an insight into how Gladstone interacted with the material he was reading and what he thought about it.

How do you record your thoughts? W.E. Gladstone wrote a diary throughout most of his life, and he developed his own set of abbreviations to use in his diaries, evident from his school days.

Explore the voices of women from the past by listening to what historical artefacts might be whispering to us. What are they saying? How are they saying it? How might their voices speak to our lives today? For more info or to book your tickets, visit our website, link in bio!

If you are interested in picking up poetry yourself, or looking to refine your masterpiece, why not join Alison for her Masterclass? 📆 23 May 10.30AM-3PM 🎟️ Tickets £70

There is less than a week to go until Alison Binney's talk, celebrating her debut poetry collection, The Opposite of Swedish Death Cleaning! 📆 12 May 7-8PM 🎟️ Tickets £10

In some instances, these names are the starting point for further research about the book’s owner. In other cases, their name in a book might be the only thing we know about the person. Do you personalise your books?

Some owners added bookplates rather than handwritten inscriptions to personalise their books. For example, an edition of Memoirs of several ladies of Great Britain by George Ballard (Oxford, 1752) [M20.9/2], related to the personal library of Eliza Stepney Gulston (1769-1858).

What is the importance of a name? Gladstone’s Library today holds a great number of pre-1900 books, typically classed as ‘rare books’ – books significant for both their historic printed texts and as representing material culture in their own right.

📣 We're Hiring!📣 Archivist: Gladstone’s Library We are looking to recruit a qualified and experienced Archivist who will work in our world-famous Reading Rooms. Click link in bio or go to website -> About Us -> Work at Gladstone's Library.

Along with updates and travel arrangements, Gladstone told Catherine "I made great friends today with a child of eight months & failed with one of about three years: they get a little conscious & consequently shy then." 📜 : GLA/GGA/2/10/1/15/28

The Penny Black did away with this system making postage costs just one penny, regardless of distance. This letter from William Gladstone to his wife Catherine was sent using a penny black, all the way from London to Hawarden for 1 penny!

On this day in 1840 the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp, came into use! The previous postage system required the recipient to pay postage on delivery, the price depending on the number of sheets of paper and the distance travelled.