On the 21st and 22nd October, members of the BGTW headed to Manchester for a special Members’ Day Out themed around Manchester Literary Festival, including guided visits to Chetham’s Library (the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world) and the neo-Gothic John Rylands Library.
The latter was especially exciting for BGTW member and author Caroline Mills. Caroline’s great-grandfather, Henry Guppy CBE, was the founding librarian working with the founder Henrietta Rylands in the 1890s, and then continued as head librarian at the John Rylands for almost 50 years until his death. It was he who built the JRL collection and arranged many of the significant collections, including the Spencer Library collection.
Afterwards, members enjoyed a short presentation from our hosts at Marketing Manchester, followed by canapés, drinks and a few overnight stays at the funky, personality-packed Treehouse Hotel.
Members can find further info, including press packs, story ideas and contacts, in the Members’ weekly newsletter dated 23 October.
Photos supplied by Stuart Render and Daniel James Clarke.
