PHD Series at Gorton Hub

Gorton Hub in collaboration with Chetham's library are hosting a series of PHD talks within the Atrium across 6 evenings.

Gorton has a remarkable history – one that has been intertwined with Chetham’s Library for centuries. Founded by Humphrey Chetham to give working‑class boys access to education, the library still honours that mission today. What many people don’t know is that Humphrey had deep roots in Gorton and St James’ Church, a connection that continued when St James generously donated their library to support the students of Chetham’s School.

Fast‑forward 500 years and Chetham’s Library now holds an extraordinary archive of documents, artefacts and treasures. Among them is a dedicated Gorton chest filled with unique pieces of local history that help tell the story of the area and its people.

Now, Gorton Hub is proudly partnering with Chetham’s to bring this history home through a brand‑new series of six PHD talks hosted right here at the Hub.

This talk opens a rare window onto books from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that were once owned and used by readers across the North West. Rather than treating these books as silent objects, it brings them to life through the intimate traces their readers left behind. Notes in the margins, hurried scribbles, careful drawings and even pressed flowers reveal how people read, learned, reflected and recorded their everyday experiences in Tudor and Stuart England.

Alongside these personal stories, the talk explores the remarkable setting of Chetham’s Library itself, founded in the mid seventeenth century and recognised as the oldest public reference library in the English speaking world. Established to ensure free access to learning, its collections still hold the voices of past readers who walked through its doors centuries ago. Together, the books and their marks offer a vivid glimpse into lived history, connecting modern audiences with the thoughts, habits and curiosity of readers from over four hundred years ago.

Join Ellen Werner as she uncovers the thoughts and feelings of the people who owned, used and cherished the books now held in Chetham’s Library.

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Host or Publisher Michael Kendall Gorton Hub integration manager