Gladstone's Library
Gladstone’s Library is a working residential Library that offers free access to a unique collection of over 150,000 printed items and books, and 450,000 archival objects, to a community of readers, researchers, and residents.
It is often described as UK's finest residential Library, with 26 bedrooms, a restaurant, meeting rooms, and a 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 Library’s world-famous Grade-1 listed Reading Rooms house thousands of books, including the Gladstone Collection, which comprises items from Gladstone's own personal Library. It is also home to a number of unique archival collections, making it a destination for scholars from across the globe.
As a registered charity we are committed to supporting writers, researchers, learners, and readers at all stages of their life and career – through access to the archives, engagement opportunities, and scholarships.
Gladstone’s Library is open to the public seven days a week, for fifty weeks of the year, and is free to access. It has been recognised as the most important research Library and collection in Wales, after the National Library of Wales - it is a unique institution.
