Comedian Johnny Vegas is backing a campaign to save a huge public artwork which is under threat. The star unveiled a 80-foot-long ceramic mural on the side of Hulme library nine years ago.

Johnny, who studied ceramics at university and is still a keen potter, said: “I’d be really disappointed if the mural was damaged or lost due to the closure of the library.“It’s a fantastic piece of artwork that should be enjoyed by the local community for many years to come.”

The £20,000 mural, made with two tonnes of clay, cannot be removed from the building on Stretford Road without being severely damaged.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/johhny-vegas-joins-battle-to-save-856997

Hulme Library has been in basically the same location on Stretford Road since 1864, purpose built as a connection to Hulme Town Hall, next to (or part of? can't work that out) of what is now Z-Arts. That building was badly damaged during an air raid in WWII and demolished in the 1950s. The current building is from 1964, built by the city's architects and was much more beautiful as a free standing build without the cafe annex. Pictures here http://images.manchester.gov.uk

More interestingly, the original Hulme branch was the first local branch of Manchester's free library, which itself was the first free library in the country. It was such a success that within a few years the big building on Stretford Road was constructed. Lots of pages of history here https://archive.org/stream/manchesterpublic00mancrich/manchesterpublic00mancrich_djvu.txt .

I sign this petition to keep library services in Hulme as they are, and to keep the Hulme library building for community use.