History

150 Years of Public Libraries a national celebration led by The Library Association

The year 2000 marked the 150th anniversary of the first Public Libraries Act.

However Warrington Library's 150th anniversary was in 1998! Opened under the early Museums Act, it was the first rate-aided library in the UK.

On 24 May 1848, Warrington Borough Council approved proposals to create a library and museum. Although museums had already been opened in Canterbury and Leicester, this was the first library to be founded under the 1845 Museums Act, two years ahead of the passing of the first Public Libraries Act. 

The library actually opened its doors to the public on 1 November 1848. The Council could thus claim, with justification, that it had created ‘the first public museum in a manufacturing district’ and ‘the first rate supported public library in the country’!

The Library & Museum was an immediate success with the people of Warrington, so much so that it was obliged to move to new, grander premises in 1855 when its founder, William Beamont, declared it "a home for the muses". This phrase provided the title for the first of the anniversary events in April 1998.

By 1920, such was the demand for their services that the library and museum were separated into two institutions. In 1974, under local government reorganisation plans, the museum stayed with Warrington Borough council, whilst Cheshire County Council took over the running of the library - but 1998 saw them united once more under Warrington Council’s new status as a unitary authority.