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<title>Chesshyre Library</title>

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</style><table class="infobox vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="text-align:center;background-color:#ededed;">Chesshyre Library</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"></span><div class="infobox-caption">Exterior of Chesshyre Library and gateposts</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span class="geo-inline"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">

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</style><span class=" nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="geo:53.3319,-2.6955"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">53°19′55″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°41′44″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">53.3319°N 2.6955°W</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">53.3319; -2.6955</span></span></span></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Location</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="Halton%2C_Runcorn" title="Halton, Runcorn">Halton</a>, <a href="Runcorn" title="Runcorn">Runcorn</a>, <a href="Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a>, United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Type</th><td class="infobox-data label"><a href="Public_library" title="Public library">Public library</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Established</th><td class="infobox-data">1733<span style="display: none;"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated itvstart">1733</span>)</span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="text-align:center;background: #ededed;">Collection</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Items collected</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="Christian_theology" title="Christian theology">Theology</a>, <a href="Law" title="Law">law</a>, <a href="Latin_literature" title="Latin literature">Latin literature</a>, <a href="Ancient_Greek_literature" title="Ancient Greek literature">Ancient Greek literature</a>, <a href="Magazine" title="Magazine">magazines</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Size</th><td class="infobox-data">422 volumes<sup id="cite_ref-starkey_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-starkey-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="text-align:center;background: #ededed;">Access and use</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Access requirements</th><td class="infobox-data">"divines of the Church of England or other gentlemen or persons of letters"<sup id="cite_ref-starkey_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-starkey-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Parent organisation</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="St_Mary's_Church%2C_Halton" title="St Mary's Church, Halton">St Mary's Church, Halton</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="text-align:center;background: #ededed;"></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><div style="border:4px solid #87CEEB; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">

<a href="Listed_building#England_and_Wales" title="Listed building">Listed Building</a> – Grade II*</div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Designated</th><td class="infobox-data">20 October 1952</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Reference no.</th><td class="infobox-data">1115560<sup id="cite_ref-NHLE1_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NHLE1-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><th colspan="2">

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<p><b>Chesshyre Library</b>, founded in 1733 by Sir <a href="John_Chesshyre" title="John Chesshyre">John Chesshyre</a>, was one of the earliest free public libraries in England.<sup id="cite_ref-starkey_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-starkey-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is now a meeting room attached to <a href="St_Mary's_Church%2C_Halton" title="St Mary's Church, Halton">St Mary's Church</a> Hall in <a href="Halton%2C_Runcorn" title="Halton, Runcorn">Halton</a>, <a href="Runcorn" title="Runcorn">Runcorn</a>, <a href="Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a>.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2></div>

<p>In 1733, Sir John Chesshyre, a wealthy lawyer, built one of the earliest free libraries in England at Halton and left an <a href="Financial_endowment" title="Financial endowment">endowment</a> in his <a href="Will_(law)" class="mw-redirect" title="Will (law)">will</a> for its maintenance. The building, probably to a design by <a href="Francis_Smith_of_Warwick" title="Francis Smith of Warwick">Francis Smith</a>, was largely completed by 1730.<sup id="cite_ref-HSLC_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-HSLC-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> But the ill health of Chesshyre's brother, Robert, who was overseeing the works, delayed its opening.<sup id="cite_ref-HSLC_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-HSLC-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The library had 400 books when it opened which were mainly <a href="Ecclesiology" title="Ecclesiology">ecclesiastical</a> histories and works of law. The library was intended for the <a href="Incumbent_(ecclesiastical)" title="Incumbent (ecclesiastical)">incumbent</a> of Halton and "for any divine or divines of the <a href="Church_of_England" title="Church of England">Church of England</a> or other gentlemen or persons of letters" and was to be accessible every Tuesday and Thursday.<sup id="cite_ref-1887_DNB_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1887_DNB-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Chesshyre also built the <a href="Rectory" class="mw-redirect" title="Rectory">vicarage</a> in Halton in 1739 and endowed the <a href="Curate" title="Curate">curacy</a> there.<sup id="cite_ref-starkey_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-starkey-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>The endowment proved insufficient for maintenance and, by the middle of the nineteenth century, it had no function and no money. By the middle of the twentieth century, the building was in an advanced state of dilapidation. In 1940, the books and original catalogue were sent to Stockport Museum for safekeeping due to their poor condition. But ten years later, the <i>Manchester Guardian</i> reported that the museum had lost the <a href="Vellum" title="Vellum">vellum</a> catalogue.<sup id="cite_ref-starkey_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-starkey-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Chesshyre's entry in the 1887 Dictionary of National Biography, however, records that the library contains mostly theology and also the <i><a href="Statutes_at_Large" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutes at Large">Statutes at Large</a></i>, <a href="Thomas_Rymer" title="Thomas Rymer">Thomas Rymer</a>'s <i>Foedera</i>, <a href="William_Dugdale" title="William Dugdale">William Dugdale</a>'s <i>Monasticon</i>, and some Greek and Latin classics.<sup id="cite_ref-1887_DNB_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1887_DNB-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Present_day">Present day</h2></div>

<p>The church land adjacent to the library was acquired by the <a href="North_West_Water" title="North West Water">North-West Water Authority</a> and a new parish hall was built in 1976 with money received as compensation. A passageway was made to link the new hall with the library which now serves as a meeting room.<sup id="cite_ref-starkey_1-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-starkey-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The library is recorded in the <a href="National_Heritage_List_for_England" title="National Heritage List for England">National Heritage List for England</a> as a designated Grade II* <a href="Listed_building#England_and_Wales" title="Listed building">listed building</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-NHLE1_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NHLE1-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and its gates are listed at Grade II.<sup id="cite_ref-NHLE2_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NHLE2-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

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</style><cite id="CITEREFStarkey1990" class="citation cs2">Starkey, H. F (1990), <i>Old Runcorn</i>, Halton Borough Council, pp. <span class="nowrap">77–</span>81</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-NHLE1-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-NHLE1_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NHLE1_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFHistoric_England1115560" class="citation web cs1"><a href="Historic_England" title="Historic England">Historic England</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://HistoricEngland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1115560?section=official-list-entry">"The Public Library (1115560)"</a>. <i><a href="National_Heritage_List_for_England" title="National Heritage List for England">National Heritage List for England</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 August</span> 2022</span>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-HSLC-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-HSLC_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-HSLC_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFGomme1985" class="citation journal cs1">Gomme, A.H. (1985). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hslc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/135-4-Gomme.pdf">"Four Eighteenth-Century Buildings at Halton"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>The Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire</i>. <b>135</b>: <span class="nowrap">37–</span>59<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 August</span> 2022</span>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-1887_DNB-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-1887_DNB_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-1887_DNB_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFRigg1887" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Rigg, James McMullen (1887). <span class="cs1-ws-icon" title="s:Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Chesshyre, John"><a class="external text external" href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Chesshyre,_John">"Chesshyre, John" </a></span>. <i><a href="Dictionary_of_National_Biography" title="Dictionary of National Biography">Dictionary of National Biography</a></i>. Vol. 10. pp. <span class="nowrap">200–</span>201.</cite> </span>

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<li id="cite_note-NHLE2-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-NHLE2_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFHistoric_England1130459" class="citation web cs1"><a href="Historic_England" title="Historic England">Historic England</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://HistoricEngland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1130459?section=official-list-entry">"Gatepiers and surrounding wall to Parish Library, Halton (1130459)"</a>. <i><a href="National_Heritage_List_for_England" title="National Heritage List for England">National Heritage List for England</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 August</span> 2022</span>.</cite></span>

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