Best for
History, literature and book lovers, anyone near King's Cross with an hour to spare
Time needed
45–90 minutes for the Treasures Gallery
Worth it?
Yes — a free, world-class collection that's easy to underestimate
Skip if
You have zero interest in historic manuscripts or literature
About British Library
The British Library was formally established in 1973, splitting off from the British Museum's library department, but its collection dates back far further — inherited from the museum's founding 1753 holdings and expanded ever since through legal deposit, which entitles the library to a free copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland. It moved into its current purpose-built home beside St Pancras station in 1998, a striking red-brick building that took over three decades to complete.
The library now holds over 170 million items, but for a visitor without a reader's pass, the destination is the free Treasures Gallery in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery — a genuinely astonishing single room holding two of the four surviving original 1215 Magna Carta documents, Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, a Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare's First Folio, and handwritten lyrics by the Beatles and Bob Dylan, rotated periodically from the wider collection.
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Beyond the Treasures Gallery, the library's public spaces include the striking King's Library Tower — a six-storey glass column holding King George III's personal library of 65,000 volumes, visible through the atrium — and a programme of major ticketed exhibitions on themes from historical maps to specific authors and movements.
Guided library tours, covering areas not otherwise open to the public, run most days for a modest fee and are worth booking if the building's architecture and history interest you as much as the collection itself.
What to See: Highlights
- 1Two of the four surviving original 1215 Magna Carta documents
- 2Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks and a Gutenberg Bible
- 3Shakespeare's First Folio and handwritten Beatles lyrics
- 4The King's Library Tower, a six-storey glass column of George III's books
- 5Free entry to the Treasures Gallery, one of London's most underrated free sights
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Insider Tips
The Treasures Gallery is free and needs no advance booking — just walk in
Guided tours (around £10) cover areas not normally open to the public — book ahead
Displayed treasures rotate periodically, so items on view can vary by visit
Combine with St Pancras station next door, itself a striking Gothic Revival building
The on-site café and piazza make a good stop before or after King's Cross train travel
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Getting There
96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB
Open in Google Maps →- 1King's Cross St Pancras (multiple lines) — directly adjacent, a 2-minute walk.
Where to stay
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before you visit.
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Should You Visit?
Visit if...
- You want to see an original Magna Carta and Shakespeare's First Folio in one room
- You're already at King's Cross or St Pancras for train travel
- You appreciate historic manuscripts, literature or the history of the book
- You want a free, quiet, indoor stop away from central London's busier sights
Skip if...
- Manuscripts and rare books hold no interest for you
- You're very short on time and other King's Cross-area sights are a priority
- You were hoping for a large-scale museum experience rather than a single gallery room
Ready to Book Your Visit?
More to See in London
British Museum
The world's oldest national public museum — eight million objects spanning two million years of human history, free to enter, from the Rosetta Stone to the Parthenon Marbles.
Maughan Library
King's College London's Gothic Revival main library, a former Public Record Office headquarters whose round Weston Room reading room is genuinely worth a look for its architecture alone.