Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Early Modern cultures of reading in North West England: case studies from the collection of Chetham’s Library
Speakers
Ellen Werner (University of Manchester)
2 Jun 2026
North West England has hitherto received little attention in studies of the history of reading in England, which often focus on the prominent centres of learning in the capital and around the universities. The collections of annotated early modern books in Chetham’s Library, however, show that the North West was home to lively cultures of reading, both regionally distinctive and linked to national and international cultural developments. Traces of these communities of readers show the North West as a multifaceted ‘reading region’ and simultaneously point to the wider significance of locality in the history of reading.
Ellen Werner is a PhD researcher working on an AHRC-funded collaborative PhD project with the University of Manchester and Chetham’s Library. Her research focuses on early modern cultures of reading in North West England.
Early Modern cultures of reading in North West England: case studies from the collection of Chetham’s Library
Speakers
Ellen Werner (University of Manchester)
2 Jun 2026
North West England has hitherto received little attention in studies of the history of reading in England, which often focus on the prominent centres of learning in the capital and around the universities. The collections of annotated early modern books in Chetham’s Library, however, show that the North West was home to lively cultures of reading, both regionally distinctive and linked to national and international cultural developments. Traces of these communities of readers show the North West as a multifaceted ‘reading region’ and simultaneously point to the wider significance of locality in the history of reading.
Ellen Werner is a PhD researcher working on an AHRC-funded collaborative PhD project with the University of Manchester and Chetham’s Library. Her research focuses on early modern cultures of reading in North West England.
