John Rylands Library has been extended four times, the first time to designs by Champneys in 1920 after the project was delayed by World War I. The Lady Wolfson Building opened in 1962 on the west side and a third extension, south of the first was built in 1969. In January 2003, an appeal to renovate the building was launched. Funds were generated from grants from the University of Manchester and Heritage Lottery Fund and donations from members of the public and companies in Manchester. The project, Unlocking the Rylands, demolished the third extension, refurbished parts of the old building and erected a
Rylands Papyri the Rylands Papyrus iii.458) respectively; Papyrus 31, a fragment of a papyrus manuscript of the "Epistle to the Romans"; and Papyrus 32, a fragment of the "Epistle to Titus." Also held in the collection is Papyrus Rylands 463, a copy of the apocryphal "Gospel of Mary" in Greek, and John Rylands Papyrus 470, a prayer in Koine Greek to the Theotokos, written about 250 CE in brown ink, the earliest known copy of such a prayer. It was acquired by the Library in 1917. Rylands Papyri The Rylands Papyri are a collection of thousands of papyrus fragments and documents from