The Manchester Tiles Letter J – John Rylands Library

A John Rylands Library tile celebrating one of Manchester’s most treasured landmarks. If you live in Manchester you’ve probably walked or driven past the John Rylands library on Deansgate hundreds if not thousands of times, but have you ever been in? And how much do you know about its extraordinary history and collections?

One of the best examples of neo-Gothic architecture in Europe, it’s the third largest academic library in the UK and home to the majority of the Special Collections of The University of Manchester Library. This includes a bit of bible (a fragment of the Gospel of John), a whole bible (early European Guttenberg edition), The British Pop Archive, a huge amount of historical medical manuscripts and too many other amazing archives to go into here.

The library was founded by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, textile tycoon and philanthropist John Rylands – both of whom can be seen centre stage in our J Tile.

Each John Rylands Library tile is designed here in Manchester then handrolled and glazed in the UK’s ceramic heartland Stoke-on-Trent, before returning for artwork firing in local kilns. A fitting end for a quintessentially Mancunian statement.

Material: Ceramic

Production: Handrolled and glazed

Size: 6in x 6in.