Description

LANCASTER

SD4761NE MARKET STREET 1685-1/7/177 (North side) Public Library

GV II

Public library. 1932. Built for the Borough of Lancaster in the Neo-Georgian style. Sandstone ashlar, with channelled rustication to the ground floor and entrance bay, and a slate roof. Deep rectangular plan which links at the rear with the Children's Library on New Street (qv). 2 storeys and 3 main bays with a moulded band between the storeys, a first-floor sill band, and a cornice with blocking course. The entrance bay, towards the left, projects slightly; to its left is a small window on the ground floor, with blank walling above. The doorway has a flat arch with a triple keystone, above which is a panel carved with the words 'PUBLIC LIBRARY' in raised lettering and flanked by fasces; it is placed under an open segmental pediment carried on engaged Tuscan columns. Above is a window with moulded architrave and a cornice. Below the main cornice is the date '1932'; the blocking course rises into a tall panelled die which is decorated with an urn. To the right of the entrance there are 2 windows on each storey: those on the ground floor have round heads and are slightly recessed under round-headed arches with decorated keystones; those on the first floor are like that above the doorway. The right-hand end of the facade is recessed slightly and contains on the ground floor a service doorway under a flat arch with a panelled keystone. INTERIOR: the main library hall (behind the front block) is a single-storey space with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and rooflight.

Listing NGR: SD4761361753

External Links

• Lancaster Central Library official website
• Wikidata Q26489572

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)