Brick walls with Stone or Terracotta dressings
In the Midlands and South East of England, the most common materials used for Carnegie Library (and many other public and institutional) buildings of the time, were red brick with contrasting stone or terracotta dressings. Our detailed study of Toxteth library showed that hollow walls were used in its construction but that these were significantly more substantial than the single skin cavity walls that became the norm later in the century.
construction (© Mahdi Boughanmi). Public Library Quarterly
Whilst Pevsner noted the eye-catching striped Tipton Library in Birmingham to be the architectural highlight of the town, the most enterprising use of terracotta dressings for a Carnegie library in the UK is probably at Manor Park Library in East London. The building was designed by a Scottish architect, Adam Horsburgh Campbell who was later noted for his experimentation with concrete[i].
Meanwhile the most inventive use of stone dressings and contrasting red brick is at Failsworth, Manchester. The design was won against 50 entries in competition with rather faint praise from its judge, Mr George H. Willoughby FRIBA, of Manchester: “The elevations are in a semi-Elizabethan manner, treated in the Manchester way, like a recent large school design, which was the subject of much controversy in the district. While suitable in this case, the treatment is not suitably dignified to warrant its adoption for other similar public buildings” The Builder’s Journal April 17, 1907.
Our study has identified 203 such buildings remaining in the UK:
| Library Name | Designed by | Date | Postcode |
| Accrington Carnegie Public Library | William J. Newton (Borough Engineer) | 1908 | BB5 1NQ |
| Ashby Library | W.H.Buttrick | 1906 | DN16 2JX |
| Ashton in Makerfield Library | J. B. & W. Thornley | 1906 | WN4 9BH |
| Askam Library | W. Richardson (District Surveyor) | 1905 | LA16 7AQ |
| Atherton Library | Arthur John Hope (Bradshaw, Gass and Hope) | 1905 | M46 9JH |
| Baldridgeburn Library | Hugh & David Barclay | 1909 | KY12 9EH |
| Banbridge Free Library and Technical School | Henry William Edward Hobart | 1902 | BT32 3JY |
| Bangor Carnegie Library | Ernest L. Woods (town surveyor) | 1910 | BT20 4AJ |
| Bangor Public Library | Dixon & Potter | 1907 | LL57 1DT |
| Barry Library | Charles Edward Hutchinson and A. H. Payne | 1906 | CF63 4RW |
| Battle library (one of 2 branches for Reading) | F.W.Albury | 1908 | RG30 1EE |
| Belfast – Carnegie Old park | Watt and Tullock | 1906 | BT14 6FR |
| Belfast – Donegall Road Carnegie Library | Watt and Tullock | 1909 | BT12 5JL |
| Belfast – Falls Road Library | Watt and Tullock | 1908 | BT12 4PD |
| Benwell and Fenham Library | F.H. Holford | 1909 | NE4 8XS |
| Beoley carnegie reading room | William Frederick Edwards | 1905 | B98 9AN |
| Bethnal Green Library | James Tolley | 1922 | E2 0HL |
| Bideford Library and Museum | A.J. Dunn | 1906 | EX39 2HR |
| Birkenhead South Branch Library | J.R. Mewton | 1908 | CH42 3UZ |
| Birmingham – Aston Cross | Council Surveyor | 1903 | B6 5RW |
| Birmingham – Bartley Green Library | William Frederick Edwards | 1905 | B32 3QG |
| Birmingham – Erdington Library | John P. Osborne | 1907 | B24 9HP |
| Birmingham – Kings Norton Library | Benjamin Bower | 1906 | B30 3EU |
| Birmingham – Rednal and Rubery Reading Room | Benjamin Bower | 1909 | B45 8EN |
| Birmingham – Selly Oak Library | John P. Osborne | 1906 | B29 6AE |
| Birmingham – Toll End Branch Library (with Tipton) | George H. Wenyon | 1907 | DY4 0lW |
| Blackpool Central Library | Alex Cullen, Lochhead & Brown | 1911 | FY1 1PX |
| Boldon Colliery Library | 1905 | NE35 9HZ | |
| Bolton – Astley Bridge Branch Library | Arthur John Hope (Bradshaw, Gass and Hope) | 1910 | BL1 8NP |
| Bolton – Farnworth Library | W.J. Lomax | 1911 | BL4 7PG |
| Bolton – Great Lever | Arthur John Hope (Bradshaw, Gass and Hope) | 1910 | BL3 2HE |
| Bournemouth – Boscombe Library | Charles Thomas Miles | 1910 | BH1 4AS |
| Bournemouth – Springbourne Public Library | Harry E. Hawker & Victor Mitchell | 1909 | BH8 8BX |
| Bournemouth – Westbourne Library | Charles Thomas Miles | 1916 | BH4 8DX |
| Bournemouth – Winton Library | Harry E. Hawker & Victor Mitchell | 1907 | BH9 2EN |
| Brentford Library | Thomas Henry Nowell Parr (Council Surveyor and Architect) | 1904 | TW8 8DW |
| Bridgend Library | P.J. Thomas | 1907 | CF31 1EF |
| Buckley Library (Town Council) | R. Cecil Davies (District Surveyor) | 1904 | CH7 2JB |
| Calne Library | Smith & Mashall | 1905 | SN11 0SQ |
| Cardiff – Whitchurch Library | R & S Williams | 1904 | CF14 7XA |
| Castleford Forum Library & Museum | G.H. Vernon Cale | 1905 | WF10 1BB |
| Castleton Carnegie Library | Jesse Horsfall | 1905 | OL112ST |
| Caversham Free Public Library (one of 2 branches for Reading) | W.G. Lewton | 1907 | RG4 8AU |
| Chadderton Library | Arthur Reginald Groome & James Lindsay Grant | 1905 | OL9 6JN |
| Chatham Library | George Edward Bond | 1904 | ME4 4NP |
| Chelmsford Public Library | Frederic Chancellor & Son | 1906 | CM1 1NG |
| Clapton Public Library | Sir Thomas Edwin Cooper | 1913 | E5 8RA |
| Coedfranc Carnegie Hall (ex) Skewen Libray (Carnegie Hall) | J. Cook Rees | 1905 | SA10 6LH |
| Colne | 1907 | BB8 0RY | |
| Colwyn Bay Library | JM Porter and Mr Hunter | 1905 | LL29 7DH |
| Coseley Library | 1905 | WV14 9DW | |
| Costessey Library | Postle and Webster | 1907 | NR8 5AA |
| Coventry – Earlsdon Library | J.E. Swindlehurst (City Engineer and Surveyor) | 1913 | CV5 6FZ |
| Coventry – Foleshill Library | J.E. Swindlehurst (City Engineer and Surveyor) | 1913 | CV6 5BG |
| Coventry – Stoke Library | J.E. Swindlehurst (City Engineer and Surveyor) | 1913 | CV2 4EA |
| Criccieth Library | Rowland Lloyd-Jones (County Architect) | 1905 | LL52 0RN |
| Crompton Library | Jesse Horsfall | 1907 | OL2 8PB |
| Custom House Library | John G. Morley (Borough Engineer) | 1905 | E16 3JJ |
| Dalton in Furness Library | W. Richardson (District Surveyor) | 1905 | LA15 8AF |
| Deptford Library | Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas | 1914 | SE14 6PD |
| Derby – Normanton Branch (Pear Tree) Library | Charles Bakewell Sherwin | 1916 | DE23 8NQ |
| Doncaster – Balby with Hexthorpe | 1903 | DN4 0PL | |
| Dover Library | 1903 | ct16 1bb | |
| Dudley – Brierley Hill Free Library and Technical Institute | L.J. Harper (Town Surveyor) | 1903 | DY5 3SU |
| Dundee – Coldside Library | James Thomson & Frank Drummon Thomson | 1908 | DD3 7SE |
| East Greenwich Library | Sidney Richard J. Smith | 1905 | SE10 0RL |
| East Ham Carnegie Library | Adam Horsburgh Campbell | 1908 | E6 2RT |
| Edinburgh – Balerno | 1907 | EH14 7EQ | |
| Eltham Central Library (Woolwich) | Maurice Bingham Adams | 1906 | SE9 1HA |
| Enfield (central) Town Library | Richard Collins (Borough Architect) | 1912 | EN2 6AX |
| Enfield Highway Library | Richard Collins (Borough Architect) | 1910 | EN3 5BN |
| Erith Carnegie Library | William Egerton | 1906 | DA8 1TL |
| Exeter City Library | Sidney K. Greenslade | 1930 | EX4 3EG |
| Fenton Library | F.R. Lawson | 1906 | ST4 3AF |
| Folkestone Library | Brightwen Binyon | 1910 | CT20 1HD |
| Fratton Carnegie Library (Portsmouth) | George Rake & Arthur Edward Cogswell | 1906 | PO1 5EZ |
| Fulham Central Library | Henry Thomas Hare | 1909 | SW6 5NX |
| Gainsborough Library | H.G. Gamble | 1905 | DN21 2NG |
| Gateshead Central Library | David William Ditchburn | 1926 | NE8 4LN |
| Grantham Museum | Gilbert A. Ballard (Borough Surveyor) | 1926 | NG31 6PY |
| Gravesend Library | Edmund John Bennett | 1905 | DA12 1AQ |
| Hackney Library | Henry Arthur Crouch | 1908 | E8 1HE |
| Hammersmith Library | Henry Thomas Hare | 1905 | W6 7AT |
| Hanwell Library | T. Gibbs Thomas | 1905 | W7 3HL |
| Harlesden Library | John Cash Originally in 1894 | 1910 | NW10 8SE |
| Hartlepool Headland Library | H.C. Crummack (Borough Engineer) | 1904 | TS24 0LT |
| Hendon Library | T.M. Wilson | 1929 | NW4 4BQ |
| Huthwaite Library | Ernest W. Bostock | 1913 | NG17 2NE |
| Ilkeston Library | Hunter and Woodhouse | 1904 | DE7 5RN |
| Ipswich County Library | Henry Munro Cautley | 1924 | IP1 3DE |
| Irchester Library | Edward Sharman & Archer | 1909 | NN29 7AA |
| Islington North Library | Henry Thomas Hare | 1906 | N7 6JX |
| Islington South Library | Sir Mervyn Edwin Macartney | 1921 | N1 2SL |
| Islington West Library | Arthur Beresford Pite | 1907 | N1 1BD |
| Johnstone Library | Thomas Graham Abercrombie and James Steel Maitland | 1935 | PA5 8AR |
| Keighley Library | Arthur Ernest McKewan & James Arthur Swan | BD21 3SH | |
| Kensal Rise Library | Donne, Hunter & Co. (Orig 1900) | 1904 | NW10 5JA |
| Kettering Library | J. Goddard, A.H. Paget & W.A. Catlow | 1904 | NN16 0AY |
| Kilburn Library | Mr G.A. Sexton (Original building by Edmeston & Gabriel in 1894) | 1907 | NW6 6NN |
| Kingston-upon-Thames Public Library (Museum and Art Gallery) | Alfred Cox | 1903 | KT1 2PS |
| Knutsford Library | Alfred Darbyshire | 1904 | WA16 8BN |
| Lambeth Herne Hill Carnegie Library | H. Wakeford & Sons | 1906 | SE24 0AG |
| Larne Carnegie Library | Nicholas Fitzsimons | 1906 | BT40 1RN |
| Lea Bridge Library | William Jacques | 1906 | E10 7HU |
| Leeds – Bramley Library | George Herbert Foggitt & J. Addison | 1927 | LS13 3ND |
| Leeds – Burley Library | Gilbert Burdett Howcroft | 1926 | LS6 1QL |
| Leeds – Compton Road Library (Harehills) | Arthur William Kenyon | 1927 | LS9 7BG |
| Leicester Central Library | Edward Burgess | 1905 | LE1 6AA |
| Littleborough Library | S. Butterworth & W.H. Duncan | 1903 | OL15 9HE |
| Littlehampton Library | Harry Howard | 1906 | BN17 5NA |
| Liverpool – Crosby Library | C.J. Anderson | 1905 | L23 3DP |
| Liverpool – Old Swan Library | Thomas Shelmerdine (Corporation Architect and Surveyor) | 1913 | L13 5XG |
| Liverpool – Sefton Park Library | Thomas Shelmerdine (Corporation Architect and Surveyor) | 1911 | L17 4JS |
| Liverpool – Toxteth Library (South-end) | Thomas Shelmerdine (Corporation Architect and Surveyor) | 1902 | L8 1XF |
| Liverpool – Walton and Fazakerley Library | Arnold Thornely | 1911 | L9 2AF |
| Liverpool – Waterloo Library | Black & Milligan | 1908 | L21 6NH |
| Liverpool – West Derby (Tue Brook) | Thomas Shelmerdine (Corporation Architect and Surveyor) | 1905 | L13 7GD |
| Long Eaton Library | Child, Gorman and Ross | 1906 | NG10 1JG |
| Loughborough Library | Barrowcliff & Allcock | 1905 | LE11 3DZ |
| Lurgan Library | Henry William Edward Hobart | 1906 | BT66 6AS |
| Maidenhead Library | Arthur Ernest McKewan & G.H.V. Cole | 1904 | SL6 1RF |
| Malvern Library | Henry Arthur Crouch | 1906 | WR14 2HU |
| Manchester – Didsbury Library | Henry Price (City Architect) | 1915 | M20 2DN |
| Manchester – Failsworth Library | Ernest Ogden & Percy Cartwright Hoy | 1909 | M35 0AE |
| Manchester – Levenshulme Library | James Jepson | 1904 | M19 3QE |
| Manchester – Norden Old Library | 1903 | OL12 7RB | |
| Manchester – Radcliffe library | Henry Lord | 1907 | M26 1WR |
| Manor Park Library | Adam Horsburgh Campbell (Borough Surveyor) | 1905 | E12 5JY |
| Melton Mowbray Library | Edmund Jeeves | 1905 | LE13 1RB |
| Merthyr Tydfil – Treharris Library | William Dowdeswell | 1909 | CF46 5ET |
| Neston Library | Green Knowles & Russell | 1907 | CH64 6QE |
| New Cross Library | Castle & Warren | 1911 | SE14 5BA |
| Newbury Library | S. James Lee Vincent (Borough Surveyor) | 1906 | RG14 5DH |
| Newport Carnegie Library | C.T. Ward (Borough Architect) | 1907 | NP19 0GP |
| Normanton Library | Arthur Hartley | 1907 | WF6 2EE |
| Northfleet Library | 1903 | DA11 9JS | |
| Nottingham – Carlton Library | J.C. Haller (County Surveyor) | 1906 | NG4 3AY |
| Nottingham – Meadows Southern Branch Library | Arthur Dale City Engineer’s Office) | 1925 | NG2 2DR |
| Nottingham – Radford Lenton Library | T.Wallis Gordon (City Engineer) | 1926 | NG7 2BY |
| Oswaldtwistle Carnegie Library | Frank Quentery Farmer | 1915 | BB5 3HS |
| Pemberton Library | J. B. & W. Thornely | 1907 | WN5 9DQ |
| Peterborough Library | Alfred George Hall & John Henry Arthur Phillips | 1905 | PE1 1RS |
| Plumstead Public Library | Frank Sumner (Borough Surveyor) | 1904 | SE18 1JL |
| Plymouth Library, Museum and Art Gallery | Thornley & Rooke | 1910 | PL4 8AJ |
| Pontefract Library | Garside & Pennington | 1905 | WF8 1BA |
| Pontypool Library | Speir & Bevan | 1908 | NP4 6JL |
| Portadown Library | James William Walby | 1905 | BT62 3NE |
| Rawmarsh Carnegie Library | Joseph Platts | 1905 | S62 6DS |
| Runcorn Library | James Wilding | 1906 | WA7 1JL |
| Rushden Library | William Beresford Madin (Town Surveyor) | 1905 | NN10 0PT |
| Salisbury Library | Alfred Champney Bothams | SP1 1BG | |
| Sandown Library | James Newman | 1905 | PO36 8AF |
| Sandwell – Blackheath Library (Rowley Regis) | Herbert Winkler Wills and John Anderson | 1909 | B65 8BY |
| Sandwell – Cradley Heath Library (Rowley Regis) | Herbert Winkler Wills and John Anderson | 1909 | B64 5JU |
| Sandwell – Dudley Library | George H. Wenyon | 1909 | DY1 1HR |
| Sandwell – Langley Green Library (Oldbury & Langley) | Abel Round | 1909 | B68 8QT |
| Sandwell – Wednesbury Library | Crouch Butler and Savage | 1908 | WS10 9EH |
| Sandwell – West Bromwich Central Library | Stephen James Holliday | 1907 | B70 8DZ |
| Seven Kings Library (Ilford) | H. Shaw (District Surveyor) | 1909 | IG3 8RW |
| Sevenoaks Library | Edwin Evans Cronk | 1905 | TN13 3AB |
| Skipton Library | J. W. Broughton & J. Hartley | 1910 | BD23 1JX |
| Southall Library | R. Brown (Council Surveyor) | 1905 | UB2 4BL |
| Southend Library | Henry Thomas Hare | 1906 | SS2 6EW |
| St Albans Carnegie Library | Francis Guilford Waddell-Dudley | 1911 | AL1 3JJ |
| Stanley Road Reading Room (Kirkdale Library) | 1911 | L5 7QQ | |
| Stapleford Library | R. Smith | 1906 | NG9 8EY |
| Stisted Montefiore Institute | 1909 | CM7 8AW | |
| Stoke Newington Library | H.H. Bridgman & Goss (originally 1892) | 1904 | N16 0JS |
| Stourbridge Library | Frederick Woodward (Council surveyor) | 1906 | DY8 1QH |
| Sunderland – Hendon Carnegie Library | Edward Cratney | 1908 | SR2 8JG |
| Sunderland – Kayll Road West Branch Library | Hugh Taylor Decimus Hedley | 1909 | SR4 7TW |
| Sunderland – Monkwearmouth Branch Library | Edward Cratney | 1909 | SR6 0DR |
| Sutton Library | Briggs & Wolstenholme | 1905 | WA9 3PZ |
| Sydenham Library | Albert L. Guy | 1904 | SE26 5SE |
| Tamworth Central Library | Ernest Robert Danford | 1905 | B79 7DN |
| Teddington Library | Henry Arthur Cheers | 1906 | TW11 8NY |
| Thatto Heath Library | Arthur W. Bradley (Borough Engineer) | 1915 | WA10 3QX |
| Thornaby-on-Tees library | 1904 | TS17 6DE | |
| Thorne Library | E.H. Ballan | 1906 | DN8 4BQ |
| Thornton Heath Library (Croydon) | Eric Edwin Hodder & G.F. Carter | 1914 | CR7 7JB |
| Tipton library (with Toll End) | George H. Wenyon | 1906 | DY4 8SW |
| Tiverton Library | 1902 | EX16 6SA | |
| Tonbridge Library | John Henry Arthur Phillips | 1905 | TN9 1TG |
| Torquay Library | Thomas Davison | 1907 | TQ2 5RA |
| Torridon Library (Hither Green – Corbett Community Library) | Henry Hopton | 1907 | SE6 1RQ |
| Torryburn Library | William Ramage | 1911 | KY12 8SR |
| Tottenham Central Library | Extension by Borough Engineer, W.H. Prescott. Originally Edmeston & Gabriel 1896 | 1907 | N17 6QN |
| Townhill Branch Library | Peter Lyle Barclay Henderson With Mr Brown Inspector of Works | 1906 | KY12 0EN |
| Twickenham Library | Howard Goadby | 1907 | TW1 3JT |
| Tyldesley Library | Col. Arthur John Hope (Bradshaw, Gass and Hope) | 1909 | M29 8AH |
| Uxbridge Library | 1904 | UB8 1HD | |
| Walkley Library | William Frederick Hemsoll & Henry Leslie Paterson | 1905 | S6 3TD |
| Wallasey (Liscard) Central Library | R.B. MacColl & George Edward Tonge | 1911 | CH45 5DX |
| Walsall Central Library | James Glen Sivewright Gibson | 1906 | WS1 1TR |
| Walthamstow Central Library | J.Williams Dunford | 1909 | E17 7JN |
| Watford Central Library | Hugh Andrew Gold & W.W. Newman | 1928 | WD17 3EU |
| West Greenwich Library | Herbert Winkler Wills and John Anderson | 1907 | SE10 8NN |
| Westhoughton Library | Halsall, Tonge & Campbell | 1906 | BL5 3AT |
| Willesden Green Library | A.H. Murray Rust | 1907 | NW10 2SF |
| Wolverhampton Library | Henry Thomas Hare | 1902 | WV1 3AX |
| Wrexham Carnegie Library | Vernon Hodge | 1907 | LL11 1AT |
| Yarlington | 1919 | BA9 8DY | |
| York Central Library | Brierley and Rutherford | 1927 | YO1 7DS |
[i] http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=206589 accessed 15.5.20