VISIT US

To discuss holding your wedding or any event at The Monastery, contact Kate or Fran to arrange a personal welcome tour.

Call 0161 223 3211 or email Kate or Fran now.

We would love you to visit us at The Monastery! You’ll be sure of a warm welcome, and we know you’ll enjoy the time you spend with us.

For more information, click here.

Keep up to date with the amazing array of events we hold all year around.

**Please note: The Monastery will be closed to the public for the festive break from Mon 23rd of December, 2024, reopening on Thu 2nd January, 2025**

Enjoy Our Private Collection

The Wisdom Library

& Study Centre

The Wisdom Library and Study Centre

Thank you for your interest in the Wisdom Library.

Please note that the library is currently closed as we are in the process of cataloguing and completely restructuring the library and all of its contents, so that it can also become the home and an exhibition for all of our Monastery historical treasures, archives and local heritage information.

We will be relaunching the library and publishing reopening times on our website in due course.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.


The Wisdom Library and Study Centre is a specialist reference library and archive, with subject matters often outside the realms of those covered in public and university libraries.

It came about because the late Andrew Sinclair (a descendant of the St Clair family who own Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland) wanted the Monastery to have such a library but unfortunately it never evolved in his lifetime.

The library is now realised thanks to the long-term loan of a truly incredible, private collection.

The library collection

The collection spans a wide range of subjects including:

St Francis and St Clare and their teachings; mysticism; sacred geometry; earth energies and ley lines; early Christian teachings; sacred architecture; Knights Templar; Druidism; Celtic studies; alchemy; the science of numbers; symbology; Freemasonry; dowsing; Hermetica; The Secret History of the World, Sacred history of Britain, sacred sites, Rosicrucians, Francis Bacon and the Elizabethan mysteries; resonance; Gnosticism; the Cathars; ancient civilisations; early navigation; and many, many more.

The Monastery, in its history, has links to many of these subjects and to the living authors of many of these books.

This resource is rare. Libraries of such subjects tend to be held privately and are not available to the public. This library will allow people from all walks of life to discover more about the world they live in, uncover hidden teachings, and maybe even understand themselves and the world from a different perspective. The subjects covered by the library have, often, been withheld or even censored throughout the centuries. This is a unique and valuable resource of often withheld wisdom, generally only made available to the public in the last 100 years. The books in the library are selected because of the authors’ depth of experience and knowledge in their subject areas. Readers will be able to access authoritative works of study.

Get in touch

The library is continually expanding and books on related subjects will continue to be added. If you might have something of interest, please do contact us. In the future, The Monastery archive and books about the history of The Monastery and Manchester will be added to the library.

  • The library is located on the first floor of The Monastery.
  • The books can be studied only within the reading room, as you would normally find in a reference library.
  • If you have specific questions please contact us.

Entry is free.


Thank you for your interest in the Wisdom Library.

Please note that the library is currently closed as we are in the process of cataloguing and completely restructuring the library and all of its contents  so that it can also become the home and an exhibition for all of our Monastery historical treasures, archives and local heritage information.

We will be relaunching the library and publishing reopening times on our website in due course.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.


Wisdom Library and study centre at Manchester Monastery
Gill Harbach, former owner of The Wisdom Library collection.
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