The Leighton Library is the oldest purpose built library in Scotland and also has a well-documented history as one of the earliest public subscription libraries in Scotland. Its collection of around 4000 volumes and 78 manuscripts from the 16th to 19th century is founded on the personal collection of Robert Leighton (1611–1684), Minister at Newbattle, Principal of Edinburgh University, Bishop of Dunblane and Archbishop of Glasgow. Robert Leighton's personal collection consisted of 1,400 books and the Leighton Library was built to host the books which had been left to Dunblane Cathedral.
The library was completed in 1687, with Dr James Fall the Principal of the University of Glasgow coming to inspect the building erected in his friends memory.
The two-storey building consists of one apartment which is entered from a stone staircase, beneath the apartment are two vaults which have previously been used as a plasterer's store and at a later point as a painter's store. The library is lit by three windows, two to the west of the building and one to the south, it is a wood lined library with sixteen bookcases lining the walls and low presses for books stand in the centre of the room. The fore-stair into the building had originally run from east to west but at the start of the 19th century it was changed to run north to south.
References:The Château de Chantilly comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency, and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s. Owned by the Institut de France, the château houses the Musée Condé. It is one of the finest art galleries in France and is open to the public.
The estate"s connection with the Montmorency family began in 1484. The first mansion (now replaced by the Grand Château) was built in 1528–1531 for the Constable Anne de Montmorency by Pierre Chambiges. The Petit Château was also built for him, around 1560, probably by Jean Bullant. In 1632, after the death of Henri II, it passed to the Grand Condé who inherited it through his mother, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency.
Several interesting pieces of history are associated with the château during the 17th century.