Portico Library

The Portico Library (or Portico Library and Gallery) on Mosley Street, Manchester is a subscription library designed in the Greek Revival style between 1802 and 1806 by Thomas Harrison of Chester. It was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952 and been described as "the most refined little building in Manchester".

The library was established as a result of a meeting of Manchester businessmen in 1802 which resolved to found an "institute uniting the advantages of a newsroom and a library". A visit by four of those men to the Athenaeum in Liverpool inspired them to achieve a similar institution in Manchester. Money was raised through members' subscriptions and the library opened in 1806.

The library, mainly focused on 19th century literature, was designed by Thomas Harrison, architect of Liverpool's Lyceum and built by one of the founders, David Bellhouse. One of the secretaries was Peter Mark Roget who began his famous Thesaurus here.

Today, the building accommodates an exhibition space and the ground floor is tenanted by The Bank public house which takes its name from the Bank of Athens which leased the property in 1921, while the library remains upstairs with its entrance on Charlotte Street.