Welcome to Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, North Wales
NOTICES:
We are closed for Christmas on Thursday 19th December. Our first check-ins of 2025 are from 3pm on Friday 3rd January.
Food for Thought and the Reading Rooms will close to the public at 5pm on Wednesday 18th December and reopen at 2pm on Friday 3rd January 2025.
Coming by car? Click here and select the 'driving' dropdown for important parking information for guests coming by car.
Discover our Sanctuary Sundays offer! Click on the image to learn more.
2024 information: Building work will periodically take place on the Grade I listed Gladstone's Library building through 2024. These works, funded by the National Heritage Memorial Fund COVID-19 Response Fund, play a vital role in protecting the fabric of this internationally important residential library. Efforts are being made to minimise the impact of building work on residents. There are no plans to shut the Library at this time. We thank you for your patience.
About the Library
Gladstone's Library is a unique institution. It is the UK's finest residential library, boasting 26 bedrooms, an on-site restaurant and a comfortable guest lounge. It is also the UK's only Prime Ministerial library and was built following a bequest from William Ewart Gladstone, Victorian statesman and four times Prime Minister of Great Britain. The current building, raised in 1902 and designed by John Douglas, was funded by public subscription. The organisation is a self-sustaining registered charity: every donation made and pound spent here goes directly into maintaining the site and the collections it protects.
We host a lively programme of events which include talks, workshops, masterclasses and residential courses. You can find out what's on - and book onto our Glimpse tours - by following this link.
Our world-famous Reading Rooms house thousands of books, including the Gladstone Collection, which comprises items from Gladstone's own personal library. It is also home to several unique archival collections, making it a destination for scholars from across the globe.
The Reading Rooms are silent study spaces, offering writers, researchers and readers a space in which to think and work. A number of published works, including academic books and bestselling novels have been produced here. You can become a Reader to access and make use of our Reading Rooms. It is free to sign up! You can search our catalogue using the form on this page.
Times:
The Library is open seven days a week. The Reading Rooms are accessible to Readers and residents from 9am to 5pm, and the Theology Room is accessible until 10pm.
Please see our Food for Thought page for restaurant opening times. Breakfast and dinner is available to residential guests only.
You can contact our Reception with any enquiries from 8am to 8pm. Call on 01244 532 350 or email [email protected]g.
Please note that the Reading Rooms are a working space and are not open to the public. Visitors are very welcome to explore the rest of the Library’s ground floor and exterior grounds. Researcher passes aren’t suitable for groups wishing to visit the Library. If you are part of a group wishing to visit, or you are an individual who simply wants to see the Reading Rooms, please see our events page to find out about our Glimpse mini tours and our Tea and Talk with the Warden dates.
Latest News
Sleeping with books
Food for Thought
