Enriqueta Augustina Rylands Manchester and the library she had founded). She received the honorary degree Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) from the Victoria University in February 1902, in connection with the 50th jubilee celebrations of the establishment of Owens College. In 1901, Mrs Rylands paid £155,000 for more than 6,000 manuscripts owned by James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford of Haigh Hall. The "Bibliotheca Lindesiana" was one of the most impressive private collections in Britain at the time, both for its size and the rarity of some of its contents. A full-length statue of Mrs Rylands, by Manchester sculptor John Cassidy, was commissioned by
John Rylands Library demolished to make way for the construction. Champneys incorporated this suggestion into his design, setting the two towers of the facade twelve feet back from the boundary and keeping the entrance block low, to allow light into the library. He designed the building in a series of tiered steps with an almost flat roof to give a 'liberal concession' to the neighbours' 'right to light'. The library was built on a rectangular plan and subsequent extensions are to the rear. It was designed to resemble a church in a decorated neo-Gothic style with Arts and Crafts details. It is constructed