📝 Dunblane’s historic Leighton Library launches consultative Survey
Added at 13:39 on 29 May 2023
📝 Dunblane’s historic Leighton Library launches consultative Survey
A consultative survey about Dunblane’s historic Leighton Library has been launched. The Leighton Library was erected in 1687 some 336 years ago and is a national treasure. A ‘Category A’ listed building, it houses the book collection of Robert Leighton (1611-1684), former Principal of Edinburgh University, Bishop of Dunblane and Archbishop of Glasgow. The oldest volume dates from 1504 and the collection is of international importance, containing 4500 books in 90 languages with some of the country's rarest books. The building has been undergoing major restoration, and work is now underway to plan how best to make use of an existing space (known as the undercroft) on the ground floor (beneath the library on the first floor) to create a new visitor facility, engagement space, and exhibition area for the social and economic benefit of the community and visitors. The successful completion of these works aims to deliver a vibrant and atmospheric space to engage the public and develop strong community links, safeguarding the building and its contents for future generations as a valuable educational asset, raising the profile and maximising the opportunities for the Library as a visitor attraction, and contributing to the historic environment around The Cross in Dunblane, where the Leighton Library sits right beside Andy Murray’s Olympic Gold Postbox, Dunblane Museum and Dunblane Cathedral.
Completing the survey at the following link (or by using the QR code) would be a great help with planning how to develop Dunblane's historic Leighton Library as a stronger cultural asset going forward into the future: tinyurl.com/LeightonLibrary2023