Gladstone’s Library will undergo major repairs and restoration thanks to our support from the Covid-19 Response Fund.
The library has received £777,246 to help undertake major repairs to this historic building including the entrance porch, the roof, and the Reading Room ceiling.
This work had originally been intended to take place in 2020-21 but sadly had to be cancelled due to the pandemic and the subsequent 18-month closure of the library due to lockdowns.
The Grade I listed library in Hawarden is recognised as one of the most important research libraries and collections in Wales. It is 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. It is home to internationally significant collections including the Gladstone Foundation Collection, donated from his personal library which contained over 32,000 volumes. Many of the books in the library contain Gladstone’s handwritten annotations. The library also houses most of Gladstone's non-political correspondence, speeches, and papers, as well as the Glynne-Gladstone Archive.