Category: London

Willesden Green library

Brief description

The library was originally opened on July 18, 1894, but by 1901 Willesden’s rising population meant more space was needed. The library committee applied to Carnegie, who donated £3,000 for an extension. The architect was AH Murray Rust, who had also designed the extension for Kensal Rise library.

The wings of the building were increased from one to two storeys, and a bigger library was opened on April 26, 1907.

In 1980, Brent council planned to demolish it, but a campaign by locals meant it was instead saved and extended again. The new Willesden Green Library Centre finally opened in October 1989, at a cost of £5million, and Brent archives moved to the site later.
In 2011 there were again plans to close the library, and the compromise reached was that the library closed, and 70% of the former library was sold and flats were built. The new cultural centre and library was built behind, and the facade of the original building was retained.

Current status: Still open as a public library, run by Brent (2023)

  • Year grant given: 1901 (for the extension)
  • Amount of grant: £3,000
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): 26 April 1907

Photo of library in 2020 :


Photo credit: Oriel Prizeman 2020. Image shared under CC license CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 Cardiff University AHRC Shelf Life project

Details:

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Visited?

Not yet

Web links:

Harlesden library

Brief description

The original library was built in 1897. Carnegie funded an extension in which was opened in 1903. The architect was John Cash.

Appears to have been refurbished several times (see links below), and is now known as Harlesden library and learning centre. 

Current status: Still run as a public library by Brent council (2023). Temporarily closed for refurbishment from August 2022, due to reopen in February 2023.

  • Year grant given (if known):
  • Amount of grant:
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): 1903 (extension)

Photo of library in 2022 :

Photo credit: Oriel Prizeman 2020. Image shared under CC license CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 Cardiff University AHRC Shelf Life project

Details:

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Visited?

Not yet

Web links:

Bromley (Poplar) library

Brief description

The mayor of Poplar heard a speech by Andrew Carnegie in 1902 at the Guildhall, which included his offer to finance public libraries. He responded quickly, and within a  month it had been agreed that £15,000 would be provided for the erection of libraries at Bromley and Cubitt Town.The architects were Squire, Myers and Petch. This library is on the approach to the Blackwall Tunnel – now on a busy dual carriageway.

Awarded Grade II listing in 1973.

Current status: Not sure when it closed as a library. Now repurposed as offices (2021)

  • Year grant given (if known): 1902
  • Amount of grant: Part of the £15,000 provided for Bromley-by-Bow and Cubitt Town.
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): 1905

Photo of library in 2021 :

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Visited?

Driven past a number of times.

Web links:

Kensal Rise library

Brief description

The library was  built on land belonging to All Souls College, Oxford, by Architects Done Hunter and Co. of Cricklewood. It was built in two stages, first a reading room and librarian’s office, but when that became too small, the decision was made to appeal to Carnegie for funds to enlarge the building and make space for a lending library. The extension was also designed by Done Hunter and Co – specifically, their architect Murray Rust.

Current status: Closed by Brent council in 2011, but re-opened and run by a community group in 2019  (2019)

  • Year grant given (if known): 1903
  • Amount of grant: £3000
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): Reading room opened on 27 September 1900, by Mark Twain, and the library by Judge Rentoul on 13 May 1904.

Photo of library in 2011:

kensal-rise-geograph

Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Details:

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Visited?

Not yet

Web links:

Bethnal Green library

Brief description

The original architect in 1896 was James Tolley. Building converted by borough architect A.E.Darby. History (taken from the listing entry): The Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green did not pass the Public Library Act until 1913, subsequently preparing plans for a new library by the borough engineer and surveyor A.E. Darby in 1915. However, WWI intervened and the prohibitive rise in building costs afterwards resulted in their constructing instead a temporary institution in 1919. When soon afterwards deciding to undertake a permanent institution, the borough purchased part of the Bethnal House Asylum Estate, the former male wing that had been built in 1896. A.E. Darby instead designed the conversion of what was a much larger facility, including an Adult Lending, Reference and Children’s libraries, as well as a Lecture Hall and Newsroom. It cost £36,000 and was built by Messrs. Patman and Fotheringham, with G.W. Hammer & Co. supplying the furniture.

Funding awarded by the Carnegie UK Trust.

Awarded Grade II listing in 2005. Listing describes it as “Late Victorian Classical exterior with inter-war library interior in the mid-C18 Adam-inspired style” and mentions “4 plaster medallions in curved niche behind colonnade (Richard Wagner, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and William Morris) commemorate interesting choice of cultural heroes.”

Refurbished in 2015.

Current status: Still open as a public library, run by Tower Hamlets council (2017)

  • Year grant given (if known):
  • Amount of grant:
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): 13 October 1922, the the Mayor, Councillor JJ Vaughan

Photo of library today (2012):

6952322595_435d897953_z

Thanks to flickr user Tom Bastin (shared under cc licence)

Details:

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Visited?

Not yet

Web links:

Ripple Road library, Barking

Brief description

Library was designed by architects CJ Dawson Son and Allardyce. The grant was made by the Carnegie UK Trust.

Destroyed by fire in 1967

  • Year grant given (if known):
  • Amount of grant:
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): 1924

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Web links:

 

Southall library

Brief description

Architect: Reginald Brown, council surveyor.

No longer a public library, it closed in 2014 when library services moved to the Dominion centre.

Current use: Thanks to a note on a Shelflife photo, which led to a bit more research, I think the buildng now is home to a chuch – the Southall Christian Fellowship (2021)

  • Year grant given (if known):
  • Amount of grant:
  • Year opened (and by who – if known): 1905

Photo of library in 2006:

1165243_92b9a437

Photo © J Taylor (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Old photo of library (postcard):

southall-osterley-road

Visited?

Not yet

Web links:

Wood Green library

Brief description

The architect was Charles J Gunyon. Few other references found, other than the line: A central library, built at the junction of Station and High roads with a donation from Andrew Carnegie, opened in 1907.

Current status: Demolished in 1973

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

Old photo of library (postcard):

Nothing in my collection yet

Web links: