William Salt Library

The William Salt Library is a library and archive, in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. Supported by Staffordshire County Council,[1] it is a registered charity,[2] administered by an independent trust in conjunction with the Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service,[1] which also operates the county archives from an adjacent building.

The William Salt Library
The Library in 2008
General information
TypeLibrary
Architectural styleGeorgian
Address19 Eastgate Street
Town or cityStafford
CountryEngland
Coordinates52.8066°N 2.1140°W / 52.8066; -2.1140
Construction started1730
Completed1735
OwnerTrustees of the William Salt Library
DesignationsGrade II* listed
Website
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/williamsalt/home.aspx
The former library building (left)

The core of the library is the large collection of printed books, pamphlets, manuscripts, drawings, watercolours, and transcripts built up by William Salt (1808–1863), a London banker.[1] After his death, Helen, his widow donated the collection to Staffordshire and the library opened in 1872.[3][4] In 1918 moved to its present home in Eastgate Street, a Grade II* listed house completed in 1735.[5][6] The library continues to collect and preserve printed material relating to Staffordshire and represents a major source for local and family history in Staffordshire. The library's holdings are available for consultation by the public free of charge.[1]

The library is supported by the Friends of the William Salt Library.[7] As well as raising funds for the library to enable it to purchase items for the collection, the Friends also help in practical ways, such as packaging and cleaning items in the collection.[7]

Colin Dexter undertook much of the research for his eighth Inspector Morse novel The Wench is Dead (published in 1989) at the library. Dexter recalled that he spent "a good many fruitful hours in the library" consulting contemporary newspaper reports of the murder of Christina Collins, on which the novel was based. He subsequently became patron of the library's 135th anniversary fund-raising appeal.[8]

See also

References
  1. "William Salt Library, Stafford". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  2. "William Salt Library, registered charity no. 528570". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  3. "William Salt, 1808-1863". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  4. Elliott, Louise (15 June 2019). "Take a look at these 18 wonderful pictures of Stafford over the years". stokesentinel. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  5. "William Salt Library - Stafford - Staffordshire - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  6. Historic England. "William Salt Library (1298149)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  7. "Friends of the William Salt Library". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  8. "Colin Dexter OBE". Staffordshire County Council. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012 – via Internet Archive.
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