Cheshunt library

Brief description

The architect was J Myrtle Smith, who designed the library in the Wren revival style. The building included a School of Art.

Every detail in the building was crafted with a meticulous eye for design; the banisters on the stairs, the handles to the doors, the stained glass windows, all were manufactured for this specific building and to the highest possible standard. The first Librarian was Oswald C Hudson. [from the caption to a photo on the Francis Frith site]

Wings were added, in the same style, to the left and right in 1956.

Awarded Grade II listing in 1983.

Current status: Still open as a public library, run by Hertfordshire county council (2016)

• Year grant given (if known):
• Amount of grant:
• Year opened (and by who – if known): 1 July 1907

Photo of library today:

Nigel Cox [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Details:

Old photo of library (postcard):

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Web links:

• Entry on the listed buildings register
• Article on the centenary celebrations
• Memories of the library (includes photos showing before and after the wings were added)