The Books

For the Egerton family, the Library was an academic as well as a recreational resource.

The main library contains approximately 8,000 volumes, with a further 4,000 volumes kept elsewhere within the house. The earliest printed book is a copy of Vitruvius Iterum et Frontis a Jocundo Revisi Repurgatique Quantium ex Collonatione Licuit (Florence: 1513).

The watercolour of the Library, as seen left, was painted by John Chessel Buckler in 1820 at the time that the Mansion alterations had just been completed and shows a plainer design to the current décor. After the ceiling had been damaged, the plasterwork was replaced with the present design in the 19th century.


A page from the Tatton Park Visitors Book dated 1884 to 1908, (as seen right), shows members of the Egerton family with royal visitors to Tatton Park. Alongside are the signatures of Princess Mary Adelaide; Francis, Duke of Teck and Victoria Mary of Teck, dated 24th October 1887.

This volume has been selected for a programme of conservation during 2007 which will include consolidation of paper and photographic materials and re-binding. This project has been made possible by a generous donation from the Tatton Park Trust.

Amongst the treasures in the Library collection is a set of 4 volumes of Japanese woodblock prints dating from the 19th century which were probably bought back from Japan by Wilbraham, Earl Egerton, who visited Japan in the 1850’s. These beautiful albums show vivid images of the Japanese culture, including prints of Samurai, wrestlers, battle scenes and Japanese “beauties”, one of which is pictured left.


The Library has a huge variety of subject matters and languages – French, German, Swiss, Russian, Japanese to name a few. Designed for comfort and utility, the library is south facing with five huge windows which take advantage of the natural light and commands spectacular views across the Cheshire countryside to Bosley Cloud, some 13 miles away.