Enriqueta Rylands: the woman who founded one of the world’s great libraries.
The 19th century philanthropist Enriqueta Rylands used her wealth to build the John Rylands University Library in Manchester. It was named after her late husband and its treasures include the world’s oldest fragment of the New Testament, written barely a hundred years after the crucifixion, as well as the first illustrated book to be printed in England and stone tablets dating back five thousand years. To mark the centenary of her death, a new exhibition looks at her work and its legacy and Jenni talks to Professor June Hannam - Associate Dean in the Department of History at the he University of the West of England in Bristol - and to Elizabeth Gow - archivist at the John Rylands University Library and the curator of the exhibition Enriqueta Rylands: Who Do You Think She Was?
Enriqueta Rylands: Who Do You Think She Was? is on at the John Rylands University Library in Manchester until May 19th 2008.
