rosie abigail

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Gladstone’s: Staying at the UK’s only residential library | Rosie Abigail

Gladstone's: Staying at the UK's only residential library | Rosie Abigail

I’ve just been to the most magical place on earth. No, not Walt Disney World (although, I dream of going back there). Let’s try again – I’ve just been to the most magical place in the UK; Gladstone’s Library. 

Gladstone’s is in Flintshire, North Wales, and is the only residential library in the UK. You heard me correctly; a residential library. Not only can you make the most of the books there, use the reading rooms and write and study, but you can stay the night in their B&B rooms, and make the most of their gorgeous restaurant and grounds.

So, who is Gladstone, the man behind the library? I am referring to William Ewart Gladstone; four time Prime Minister of Great Britain across the Victorian era, and lover of all things books. Biography says that Gladstone chose to share his personal library with the public, especially those who were in financial hardship. When he died, there was an appeal to provide the library with a permanent structure outside of his home – the library that we know and love today. Whilst you can access the building as a day reader, through tours, or via booking a trip or a course, my mum and I chose to DIY our own ‘writing retreat’ with a focus on rest, reading, and getting over burnout.

Four days and three nights in a library? Let me tell you how it went…

A large brown brick building in an L shape, over three floors. There is a square of green grass in front of it. Above, the sky is reflecting a sunset and is white, orange, and blue.

(Spoiler alert: it was amazing)

Gladstone’s Library is a gorgeous old building. It’s a traditional brown-brick building in a stately home style, with 26 bedrooms, a bistro, reading rooms, offices, and events spaces. It opened in 1902 so has all of the Victorian/Edwardian charm you would expect, as well as some Gothic details thanks to famed Victorian architect John Douglas (no, not the guy who wrote The Killer Across the Table; nerds, back down). Due to it being far up in North Wales in Hawarden, a beautiful town surrounded by greenery, it’s easiest to get to by car. We didn’t have any trouble parking on site for the duration of the trip, and I can remember the little spurt of happiness in my soul when I saw the building peak through the trees on the drive in. 

In the foreground is a blue and white statue of William Gladstone. He is atop a plinth with his name below him, and there are other blue statues of people at the bottom of the plinth. Behind, you can see the brown brick building of Gladstone's with a white, blue, and orange sky above it, and a square of green grass to the front.
Exterior of Gladstone’s Library, with statue
An image of Rosie (a white woman with hard brown wavy hair and glasses) in front of the entrance to Gladstone's. She is wearing a white and black checked midi dress, is looking at the ground, and is holding a black cane in her left hand. There is an archway behind her.
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An image of a bedroom in Gladstones. The walls are weight, there is a brown wooden single bed towards the back, below a window. On the left edge of the image, there is another wooden bed, and to the right there is a wooden desk.
One of the twin ensuite rooms

Check in was easy enough and there was a slight novelty to holding real keys to a room, not a key card (what does that have to say about our tech based society, I don’t know). It’s worth noting that this is a working library and charity, not a hotel, so you will need to carry your luggage up the large staircase yourself. There are no lifts on premise for guests, so do keep that in mind if you have any conditions that may be affected by this. I was only a few weeks post-operation on my stomach, so my mum had to do most of the heavy lifting for me. They do, however, have two ground-floor, wheelchair accessible rooms for guests who do have wheelchairs or additional physical requirements but these need to be booked/requested in advance.

A close up of one of the beds in Gladstone's Library. There is a white bedside table on the left of the image, with a silver reading lamp, a white mug, and two colourful books on it. The right of the images has a wooden bed frame with white pillows and a duvet on it.

We had booked a twin room with an en-suite for our trip, and it was perfect in its simplicity. Two comfortable and cosy single beds with traditional Welsh blankets; a wardrobe and a writing desk; a Gothic-style grid window that filled the room with light; reading lamps and a kettle; and a perfectly neat and clean shower en-suite with basic toiletries from a small local business. Thanks to the comfort of that room, and the overarching recovery of burnout and healing, I had some of the best night’s sleep of my life at Gladstone’s.

Due to the layout of the house, most of the rooms are pretty spread out, so we didn’t hear any other guests at night. As it’s also a residential library, it gets a certain group of clientele, so it helps that we were all quiet readers, writers, and researchers!

Now let’s talk about the real reason we visited. The selling point of this gorgeous place. The image that you see online and it makes you go “oh no, I fear I may need to visit this place to realise all my bookish dreams.” I’m talking about the library. Technically referred to as ‘the reading rooms’, this library is broken up into a handful of rooms based on subject. The main one is called the Theology Room and houses thousands of books on, you guessed it, theology. You walk in through the double doors – key card access only – and are met with towering wooden bookcases, sunlight streaming through tinted windows, and a beautiful mezzanine floor. There are 26 writing desks throughout the reading rooms, as well as copious seats and armchairs. If you are staying as a residential guest, you can access the Theology Room between 9am and 10pm, otherwise usual office hours apply. 

Lines of wooden bookshelves covered in books. To the right of the image is an ornate wooden pillar. To the left of the image are leather comfy armchairs.
Lines of wooden bookshelves covered in books, across two floors. There is wooden fencing allowing you to see up to the mezzanine.
Some of the corners of the Reading Rooms
Lines of wooden bookshelves covered in books. There is a wooden step stool up against on the of the bookshelves.

If you are a bookish person, the reading rooms exude magic. Even if you aren’t bookish in nature, I think you would be hard done by to not appreciate the experience. It smells of old, smoky wood and well-loved pages, and the layout of the shelves means you can tuck yourself away in privacy. The most coveted desks, however, are on the mezzanine floor. Overlooking the ground floor of the library, each desk is slotted between bookshelves, and was the first place guests would make a beeline for.

In fact, one morning, we had a queue of six people outside the library doors, all making a run (more like a sensible walk) for their favourite desks on the mezzanine. The only way to access the mezzanine is via a very tight spiral staircase – I’m not ashamed to say that with my bag laden on my back and my stomach twitching from recovery, that I had to use my hands to get up the steep stairs on more than one occasion. Whilst the mezzanine is not an accessible option for those in wheelchairs or who struggle with walking, the ground floor is spread out well rough to allow wheelchairs to comfortably explore the library. 

Oh, and did I mention, it’s a silent library? No talking or chatting here folks! Low voices for questions or updates were acceptable but the silent aspect actually added to the magic. Whilst the silence can seem slightly daunting at first, the sounds of pens scratching, fingers typing, wood creaking, pages turning, and no chatting is wonderfully relaxing. The space is fully fitted with quick Wi-Fi, so mum and I kept up to date with our plans via WhatsApp and waving at each other through the bookstacks. 

On our trip, we typically spent the mornings in the silent reading room, would have lunch at the bistro or nearby, go on a little walk, and then would return for the afternoon and evening to sit in the Gladstone Room, to read and gently talk about how we were doing.

The view of a desk across the mezzanine in Gladstone's library reading room. There is a triple styled window casting sun over the desk that sits between two heavy laden wooden bookshelves.
The view from my preferred desk in the Reading Rooms

The Gladstone Room felt like a common room you would read about in mid-century books about boarding school. Wood lined walls, old portraits, sinking leather sofas and armchairs, feather filled cushions, and multiple fireplaces that you just know would provide joy in winter. There were also tall bookshelves with, you guessed it, books, and plenty of board games for you to borrow.

A worn leather sofa with red cushions sits to the right of a Victorian style window. Behind it is a white bookshelves with books. There is a red Persian style rug in front of the sofa.
A white hand holding a mint green cover of a book that says "I Am I Am I Am" in white writing. The book is above a grey check pair of trousers, and behind it are comfy armchairs, red curtains, and wooden lined walls.
The Gladstone Room
An image of Rosie, the author, reading a book in the Gladstone Room. She is a white woman with wavy brown hair and glasses, and is wearing a cream puff sleeve dress with cherries on it. She is sat in a brown arm chair with red curtains and a window behind her.

One of the most charming aspects of the Gladstone Room was the honesty bar. A small fridge and wooden bar lined with wine, spirits, tonics, and soft drinks for the taking. Just write down your name and the room you are in, and they will add it to the charge. The easy access to refreshments when the library was closed to non-residents did mean we had wines as large as our books to see the evening out.

But it’s not just an honesty bar at Gladstone’s, by no means. The Library has a café-meets-bistro called Food for Thought, right in the heart of the building. It serves a continental breakfast and a three course dinner option for guests of the library only, and then opens up for lunch and afternoon tea for all visitors and locals.

A triple stack afternoon tea with sandwiches' on the bottom, cakes in the middle, and sweet treats/scones on the top. This is on a black top table and you can see a cafe behind.

If you stay at Gladstone’s, definitely make sure to book if you are having lunch – we walked by twenty minutes after our early lunch and saw the café completely full! Whilst the food itself was lovely, well-priced, and the service impeccable, there was something rather niche about the kitchen which I had never experienced before; the attention to detail when it came to my nut allergy.

I’m very used to being told “our kitchen isn’t nut free”, “you can have three of the options on the menu”, or “we’d feel really uncomfortable if you ate here”. But here, they made sure I could eat everything. We had the same table reserved for the whole trip, they removed all peanut-butter and cakes with nuts on from the restaurant whilst we stayed, and checked in with us at every meal. Whilst having our afternoon tea, I even got a bit emotional as I had never experienced allergen care like it. That’s the safest I have ever felt when eating outside of my own home.

I genuinely believe that the three days I spent at Gladstone’s Library were some of the most restorative, relaxing, and mentally needed days of my life. It came at a time where both my mum and I were feeling burnt out with life and work, neither of us with a lit creative spark, and I was recovering in all aspects from a battle with endometriosis and surgery. To have a place that solely focuses on the art and craft of study, writing, and reading, is truly a blessing. The rooms range from £120-£180 a night (inc. breakfast) , and there are a variety of promotions and discounts you can find. With the price, location, and experience in mind, this is an absolute must do for anyone with a bookish mindset or with a book to write.

Let me know if you have added Gladstone’s Library to your bookish bucket list! Also, leave a comment letting me know the best bookish place you’ve ever been to – I want to add more to my own bucket list. Outside of Gladstone’s, I love exploring the Winchester water meadows where John Keats got the inspiration for To Autumn.

Thanks for reading,

Rosie x

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2 responses to “Gladstone’s: Staying at the UK’s only residential library | Rosie Abigail”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    That sounds like pure heaven to me! So pleased you had a restful time. xx

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. rosie abigail Avatar
      rosie abigail

      Honestly, it was phenomenal! Dreaming of when I can go back xx

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