ABSTRACT
Located in the heart of Manchester, on a sandstone bluff next to Victoria Station, sits the Chetham’s College complex, overlooking the river boundary between Manchester and Salford, two cities forever in redevelopment. Chetham’s remains open to readers and writers alike and often hosts events that reference the collection. The rich archive attracts thousands of visitors from across the world who climb the tilting stairs to peer through the gates to the book presses and touch the scorch mark reportedly left by the devil’s hoof. The medieval interior of original wood and flagstone at Chetham’s contains the main library, a hidden scriptorium, adjoining baronial hall, audit room, courtyard, hidden passageways, heavy historic furniture, and paintings of patrons alongside the shelves and chained cases of leather-bound books. The historical connection with alchemy and the detailed illustrations of apparatus offered the possibility of revisiting approaches to material transformation and the bringing together of physical and digital making.
