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

• Historic England Listing
• 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

• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings