The Grand Library

    Easily my favorite room of the manor house. You could spend days in this room alone.

    Print now available on Etsy.

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    30,000 Views - 182 Favs - 43 Comments : That's a crazy number of hits, thanks to everyone who visited!

    Comments and faves

    1. ★

      Irishmanlost, bra3nnvin, rw.grant, David Baker (sophos9), and 233 other people added this photo to their favorites.

    2. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      Opposite the shelves was a beautiful fireplace...

    3. jrej www.gregoirec.com (11 months ago | reply)

      Wow how cool!

    4. Stephane Gaudry (11 months ago | reply)

      The light is wonderful

    5. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      Cheers fella, it's a stunning place!
      Thanks mate, but it's quite enhanced. This was taken at sunrise, which rose on the other side of the building so it was quite diffuse.

    6. bra3nnvin (11 months ago | reply)

      oh this poor books, i would give them a home ;)

    7. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      A loving home, with tea and crumpets :)

    8. SMCT (11 months ago | reply)

      Superb location!

    9. Christina Laing (11 months ago | reply)

      Amazing!!

    10. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      Thank you both!

    11. franconiangirl (11 months ago | reply)

      I love this library!!

    12. rchrdcnnnghm (11 months ago | reply)

      I would love to spend time here.
      Fantastic Photo!

      Seen in, The Forgotten!

    13. Invisible window (11 months ago | reply)

      Fantastic fella!

    14. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      Ta muchly everyone!

    15. gruntzooki (11 months ago | reply)

      May I blog this photo on Boing Boing (boingboing.net), please?

    16. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      As long as it links back here and gives full credit then please go ahead :)

    17. abookl/redvixen (11 months ago | reply)

      Oh I want all of those books! That's a beautiful room in itself, but heaven to me because I love libraries and especially old books.

    18. ducky9658 (11 months ago | reply)

      It looks like the residents grabbed only the sentimental or valuable books from the room and left the rest. I couldn't stand leaving that many books. Is this in GB?

    19. saint magenta (11 months ago | reply)

      i could die happy there!

    20. kyberia (11 months ago | reply)

      What an amazing find! Did you happen to note any of the titles? I'm wondering if it was a standard issue library or if these were children's books.

      I miss UrbExing so much. After I messed up my arm in an accident I got too afraid to go poking about, but maybe I should at least start exploring places I can get around with both feet on the floor.

    21. Misja van Laatum (11 months ago | reply)

      I WANT that room! :)

    22. charliethelibrarian (11 months ago | reply)

      This is awesome! Greetings from librarian from Poland...

      I wish to look at those books:)

    23. rchrd (11 months ago | reply)

      Where is this?

    24. ethanthej42 (11 months ago | reply)

      I want to get to the bottom of the story of this library. My husband guesses it belonged to an old woman/man who died intestate with no heirs, and so there was no executor or estate sale or any way to dispose of the assets. Terribly sad to think about, really. If you have the address, I'd love to investigate the property history (I'm a real estate paralegal in the US so I'm somewhat familiar with these kinds of property searches - I'm sure the records are online somewhere...)

    25. Schmidt-Family (11 months ago | reply)

      A part of me dies when I see this. I would love to collect the old books - find pictures - - save everything.

    26. Colin Doyle (11 months ago | reply)

      I wonder how long it's been abandoned. What was the most recent book you noticed? Fascinating photos.

    27. _sarchi (11 months ago | reply)

      redemption of the lost souls

    28. Stewart_Kirkham (11 months ago | reply)

      A picture with thousands of words.

    29. This photo was invited and added to the Your books group.

    30. jamescharlick (11 months ago | reply)

      Wow, you don't check your flickr for two days and the place explodes. To answer any comments:

      The location in in the UK, near-ish London. To protect the location I won't be going into specifics in a public location.

      The library is part of a large manor house, where the situation is (I believe) that the residents passed away and ownership passed to their son - a local farmer. He wants nothing to do with the manor and it has slowly fallen into disrepair. Despite how the pictures may appear, the place is in quite poor condition and is probably beyond economical repair.

      The books themselves include childrens books but are not limited to. They are mostly dated between 1920 and 1970 from what I looked at, but obviously I only looked at a small selection. The manor dates back decades so there is potential for some hidden gems in there.

      Thank you for all the comments!

    31. schmuela (11 months ago | reply)

      Heartbreaking. There are few things sadder than an abandoned library, books left to decay.

    32. naturezak (10 months ago | reply)

      I'm quite taken with this evocative shot. If anyone is interested in developing a short story or work of short fiction from the premise this photo provides, I hope they'll contact me -- it may well be that I'd buy it from them for one of the literary magazines I work with.

    33. FineHomeDecor101 (10 months ago | reply)

      This is both charming (the idea of such a beautiful library as it once must have been...) and the sadness (of the family who loved and collected the books and the books slowly crumbling to dust over years of neglect...) Very touching. Thanks for sharing this.

    34. Steerforth esq (10 months ago | reply)

      I sell old books (many of which were destined to be thrown away) and also repair old photos, which I upload on to the internet. I blog about them here: ageofuncertainty.blogspot.co.uk/

      Would the owner be interested in selling these books?

    35. AlternativeDayOut (10 months ago | reply)

      Just awesome!

    36. lucasbfr (10 months ago | reply)

      Wow, awesome picture!

      Too bad you only published the smaller version of the picture, that would have made a fantastic desktop background! ;)

    37. jamescharlick (10 months ago | reply)

      I doubt it but I don't know - I'm not in touch with the owner.

      Thanks for the kind comments everyone!

    38. Smaddy (10 months ago | reply)

      I would love to have a space like this to store books and read by the fireplace. Sad to see it left to rot.

    39. josepha13 (10 months ago | reply)

      It gives for stunning images, but oh, does it ever break my heart... Thanks for the pictures!

    40. jamescharlick (10 months ago | reply)

      A lot of people seem to be interested in the books themselves. Unfortunately I don't have a close-up of the oldest section of books, but here are a list of the titles / authors I can read from the top shelf of this close up:

      "The Hungry Hills" - x
      "Just Across The Room" - W.R. Calver
      "Gentleman" - John Halifax
      "Suffolk Punch" - George Cross
      "The Palindrome" - x
      "Travelers To The Tower" - Ruth Cobb
      "Dr Claudius" - Marion Crawford
      "Minusforte" - Eric C. Corbould
      "Man Made Miracle" - Theresa Charles
      "Schonbrune" - Cramb
      "Weatherley Parade" - Richmal Crompton
      "Company of Heaven" - x
      "The Honeymoon and A Religious Man" - Richard Chase
      "Leadon Hill" - Richmal Crompton
      "Through The Looking Glass" - Lewis Carroll
      "Alice In Wonderland" - Lewis Carroll
      "The Side of The Angles" - Jean-Louis Curtis
      "The Spirit In The Cage" - Peter Churches
      "The Green Years" - x

      That is the top shelf only, the rest of this unit also appears to be novels. From the pile of older looking books next to or in front of these I can make out:

      "Goethe's Faust"
      what looks like "Cowper's Poems"
      "Inferno Dante"
      "The Ladies of The Covenant"
      "Cowper's Poems II - Tilt's Illustrated Edition"
      "Holy Bible"

      The books on the fireplace include:

      "Comrade Jacob" - David Caute
      "The Concertgoer's Handbook"
      "The Winners" - James Mitchell
      "Waiting For The Night" - Alec Hilton
      "79 Park Avenue" - Harold Robbins
      "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" - x
      "God Is For Real Man" - Carl Burke
      "The Enchanted Garden" - Iris x

      Again, mostly novels. Other titles from an unpublished close-up taken near the door include:

      "Life Of The Land" - F. Kitchener
      "Julius Caesar" - John Buchan
      "Voltaire" - André Maurois
      "Lenin" - James Maxton
      "Prince Charlie" - Compton Mackenzie
      "A Country Chronicle" - Brian x
      "Good Hunting" - Theodore Roosevelt
      "Readers Digest Condensed Books"
      "The Hands of Esau" - Hiram Haydn
      "White's Junior Student Latin-English Dictionary"
      "Science From An Easy Chair" - Sir Ray Lankester
      "More Science From An Easy Chair" - Sir Ray Lankester
      "Bells & Grass" - W. de la Marr
      "Adventures Among Birds" - x
      "School Method" - Gladman
      "The Elements of Radio Communication" - Trown
      "A Handbook For Horse Owners" - M.R. McTagg...x

      Obviously fewer of these are novels and more are instructional or informational books. The floor was littered with mostly magazines and children's titles, including:

      "Collins Magazine Annual for boys and girls"
      numerous copies of "Picture Post"
      a "TV Times Supplimentary" with the headline "A Nation In Mourning, The Funeral Of Sir Winston Churchill"

      There is also a large selection of John Galsworthy on one shelf, A 10 volume selection of Universal Encyclopedia, and bound volumes of Family Treasury (at least 4).

      I hope that helps some of the book enthusiasts among you.

    41. vzangari (10 months ago | reply)

      Faust, Alice in Wonderland, Voltaire?!

      I think I would die, I would have to rescue those books and preserve them all...

      I may consider donating them to a library's special collections department, but I would have to retain a few for myself...this is just too amazing...

      You also have to wonder what the copyright date on the bible is, and wonder if there is family history / genealogies stored there, as so many others had done over the years...

      Amazing and wonderful are blasphemies when compared to this find....there are no words for it, just a sense of awe and wonder and remorse at the loss of such literary treasure...

      Thank you for sharing this with us James....

    42. Sara MacGregor (10 months ago | reply)

      Someone should tell the owner to get his act together, what a waste! This should be punishable by law.

    43. Nick_Walch (10 months ago | reply)

      Great vintage feel.

    44. izastadnik (10 months ago | reply)

      Hi! This is Izabella from tumblr. (the girl you just msg about places in England to shoot)...
      Just thought you should know that this person has posted your photo as their own. Maybe you should contact them? sarahsaint.tumblr.com/post/28056741362/book-p orn
      I'd want to know if someone was doing this to me, and I couldn't link to it through tumblr, bc your "ask" doesn't allow links, and I don't know how to msg you any other way. Sorry!

    45. jamescharlick (10 months ago | reply)

      Hi Izabella, Thanks for letting me know, I've dropped them a message about it. See what happens.

      Thanks for the kind comments everyone!

    46. NightSnapper (10 months ago | reply)

      Great picture.

    47. Martin Widlund (10 months ago | reply)

      Fantastic shot!

    48. amirmsharifi (8 months ago | reply)

      this is a superb subject . great shot.

    49. jamescharlick (8 months ago | reply)

      Cheers fellas.

    50. This photo was invited and added to the Bookcase design group.

    51. Lilla~Rose (6 months ago | reply)

      Such a sad story
      such a wonderful home once upon a time

    52. Mariachi. (5 months ago | reply)

      so, so, so, so good!

    53. Samantha Pugsley (4 months ago | reply)

      I think I would die if I found a room like this while exploring. Really excellent shot.

    54. Alex Vetri (4 months ago | reply)

      fantastic..analogic?

    55. lewislalala (3 months ago | reply)

      It worries me that this was taken so long ago, those books may not have lasted this rather cold winter. I think I'd give anything to be able to contact whoever owns them and buy them in order to save them. ;_; This is some really amazing photography, especially of derelict places, leaves you feeling rather inspired but also hollow.

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