Chelsea Chained Library
books chained up since the 1600s
London's only surviving chained library, free to see, a tiny shelf of rare old books literally chained to their case inside the historic riverside Chelsea Old Church.
Free to visit · Chelsea · Sloane Square · SW3 5LT
Opening: Church open select days · check before visiting
Inside Chelsea Old Church, a riverside church with roots going back to Norman times, sits the only chained library left in London. In an age when books were as valuable as silver, they were secured to their shelves with chains so they could be read but never carried off, and this little collection survives exactly so.
The books were given in 1718, among them a Vinegar Bible famous for a printing error, and they remain chained to their case as a rare survival of how reading once worked. It is a small thing, free to see, but a genuinely unusual window into the history of the written word.
The church around it is worth the trip in its own right, rebuilt after wartime bombing, full of monuments including one to Thomas More, who worshipped here, in a peaceful pocket of old Chelsea by the Thames.
Getting there: At Chelsea Old Church on Cheyne Walk by the river, a walk down from Sloane Square or along the Embankment.
Best time to go: Check the church opening hours before you go, as access is limited. A weekday visit is usually quietest.
Insider tip: Access depends on when the church is open, so check ahead rather than turning up on spec. While you are on Cheyne Walk, the riverside row of historic houses and the nearby statue of Thomas More make a lovely free Chelsea wander.
Official site: https://www.chelseaoldchurch.org.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide