WHEN I was confirmed 30 years ago, my godfather admitted, full of shame, that he’d completely forgotten I was his godson. He made up for it in spades with his confirmation present: a year’s membership to the London Library, SW1, the greatest lending library in the world, which has thankfully re-opened after the grim days of lockdown.
Tucked into the north-west corner of St James’s Square, the London Library’s tall, thin façade—not unlike the spine of a book—looks rather puny next to the Palladian palazzi in one of London’s earliest garden squares, founded in 1661.
But appearances can be deceptive. Behind that etiolated, late-Victorian exterior, there stretches a rabbit warren of bookshelves, reading rooms and higgledy-piggledy extensions. Today, the library has more than one million books, covering 2,000 subjects in 55 different languages. The books range from 1500 to modern times, together with bound copies of some 2,000 periodicals dating from 1699 to the present day.
There’s something magical about the fact that you can take all of these books out. And the fact that you’re allowed to keep them for as long as you like—or until another member wants the book you’ve taken out. I’ve had London Library books with their handsome bookplates on the cover on my shelves at home for years at a time. That’s why historian Thomas Carlyle founded the library in 1841 —because, at that time, there were no lending libraries in London and state-funded ones did not yet exist.
Denne historien er fra November 04, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra November 04, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
