The National Memorial to William Ewart Gladstone

Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, houses Gladstone's Library. It is the only Prime Ministerial Library and serves as the national memorial to William Ewart Gladstone. Founded by Gladstone in 1894, he was eager to share his personal library with others, especially those who faced financial constraint. In 1895, at the age of 85, William Gladstone gave £40,000 to the library as well as much of his own book collection. With the help of his daughter and his valet, he wheeled a selection of his books three quarters of a mile (1.2 km) between his home at Hawarden Castle and the library.

The building, designed by John Douglas, was officially opened by Earl Spencer on 14 October 1902 as the National Memorial to W.E. Gladstone. The Gladstone family fulfilled the founder's vision by funding the residential wing, which welcomed its first resident on 29 June 1906. The library is a Grade I listed building and a registered charity. It includes historical reading rooms, 26 bedrooms for overnight guests, a guest lounge, a cafe and restaurant, and runs regular tours, talks, workshops, masterclasses and residential courses.

The library holds 20,000 volumes belonging to William Ewart Gladstone in its Foundation Collection, many of which contain Gladstone's own annotations. It also houses over 150,000 books, pamphlets, and journals in its circulating collection. Additionally, it holds the Glynne-Gladstone Archive, containing the personal, family, business, and estate correspondence and papers of the Glynne and Gladstone families.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons