| Carnegie Library, Runcorn | |
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Carnegie Library, Runcorn
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| OS grid reference: | SJ 510 830 |
| Built: | 1906 |
| Built for: | Runcorn Urban District Council |
| Architect: | James Wilding |
| Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated: | 13 June 2007 |
| Reference #: | 1392040 |
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Location in Cheshire
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The Carnegie Library is in Egerton Street, Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It has been designated as a Grade II listed building and "possesses special architectural and historic interest within a national context".[1] It was built in 1906 to replace an earlier library with a grant from Andrew Carnegie. Although a larger library has been built adjacent to the new town shopping area, the Carnegie Library continues to serve the population of the older part of the town.
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The first free public library in Runcorn was established in 1882.[2] This was housed in a room in the Town Hall, which was at that time Waterloo House in Waterloo Road. It was opened with great celebration by Sir John Picton, the chairman of the Liverpool Free Library Committee. The demand was so great that within a year two more rooms were required and a reading room was opened. Three years later two additional rooms were opened and in 1889 a lady's reading room was provided. In 1897 further books and a natural history collection were added to the library and it was further expanded the following year. This was still inadequate for the demands being made upon it and it was decided that the only solution would be an entirely new building.[3] An appeal for a grant towards a new building was made to Andrew Carnegie, who had provided grants for many other libraries in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Following what seemed at first to have been a refusal, Carnegie gave a grant of £3,000.[4] The new library was built adjacent to Waterloo House. It was designed by James Wilding, surveyor and water engineer to the Runcorn Urban District Council.[3] The library was opened with little ceremony on 1 December 1906 by Mr. D. Bisbrown, chairman of the Council.[3] It remained Runcorn's central library until the development of a new town in Runcorn in the 1960s and 1970s. Then a larger library was opened adjacent to the new shopping centre at Halton Lea, and the Carnegie Library became a branch library.[5]
The library has a reverse L-shaped plan. The front and side elevations are in red sandstone, and the rear extension is in brick. The main section, on Egerton Street, has two storeys and the extension is in red brick. The front elevation has four bays; the left hand bay projects forward and has the form of a tower. Its ground floor has an arched entrance, above which is a series of five lights containing stained glass and the words "Free Library and Reading Room". Above this is a carved stone frieze bearing the inscription "The Gift of Andrew Carnegie 1906". The upper storey has a six-light mullion and transom window containing stained glass with Mackintosh-style designs. At the summit is a parapet. In the ground floor of the other three bays are three four-light windows and in the upper floor is one eight-light window. Between them the frieze from the tower is continued and is carved with floral and foliage designs. These bays have a parapet similar to that on the tower. Inside the entrance lobby is a tiled mosaic floor, and the walls have dados of green and dark brown glazed tiles. Since it was built, there have been considerable changes to the interior but an ornate cast iron spiral staircase is still in situ.[1]
The library is open to the public on five days each week. In addition to containing books for study or loan, it also has videos for loan, and computers for public use with internet access.[6] The archives of the Runcorn and District Historical Society are held in the library and are available to the public.[7]