Marx Memorial Library

Last updated

Marx Memorial Library
Marx Memorial Library 37a Clerkenwell Green.jpg
Marx Memorial Library
51°52′29″N0°10′57″W / 51.87472°N 0.18250°W / 51.87472; -0.18250
Location Clerkenwell Green
London, EC1R, United Kingdom
Type Library
Established1933(91 years ago) (1933)
Architect(s) James Steere
Branches1
Collection
Items collectedBooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, prints, drawings and manuscripts
Size60,000+ items (2021)
Legal deposit No
Access and use
Access requirementsOpen to anyone with a need to use the collections and services
Other information
Budget£2 million GBP (2020) [1]
DirectorProf David McLellan (president)
Website marx-memorial-library.org.uk
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameMarx Memorial Library
Designated29 September 1972 (1972-09-29)
Reference no.1279541

The Marx Memorial Library in London, United Kingdom is a library, archive, educational, and community outreach charity focused on Marxist and wider socialist bodies of work. [2]

Contents

The library opened in 1933, and is located at 37a Clerkenwell Green, formerly home to many radical organisations and base of an important publishing operation. The building, originally opened in 1738 as the Welsh Charity School, is Grade II listed. [3] [4] The library's collection comprises over 60,000 books, pamphlets, items, and newspapers on Marxism, socialism, and working class history. [5]

Building background (1738–1932)

Early history

The building now occupied by the library was originally built in 1737–1738 to house the Welsh Charity School. [6] It was designed by James Steer, and the construction funded by subscriptions. The school moved out to a new home in Gray's Inn Lane (now Gray's Inn Road) in 1772. The building subsequently became (in part) a public house, the Northumberland Arms; and was put to other commercial uses.

Part of it was occupied from 1872 onwards by the radical London Patriotic Society; and from 1893 (with the financial backing of William Morris) by the Twentieth Century Press Ltd, publishers of Justice , the newspaper of the Social Democratic Federation.

Vladimir Lenin and Iskra

In 1902–1903 exiled Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin worked in the building that would become the Marx Memorial Library, publishing seventeen issues of his newspaper Iskra (Spark) from within the building. [6] The office he allegedly used is preserved as a memorial to him, although this room did not in fact exist at the time he was there: however, he may have worked in an earlier office partly on its site. [7]

Marx Memorial Library (1933–present)

The worker of the future upsetting the economic chaos of the present: mural by Jack Hastings, 1935 Ben Sutherland - 16562901782.jpg
The worker of the future upsetting the economic chaos of the present: mural by Jack Hastings, 1935

The Marx Memorial Library was founded in 1933, originally only occupying a part of the building but eventually taking over every room.

The library features the fresco The worker of the future upsetting the economic chaos of the present, painted by Jack Hastings in 1935 with the assistance of the American artist, Clifford Wight. [8]

Through these changes of use, the fabric had undergone numerous alterations and dilapidations, and in 1968–1969 the building underwent a major programme of work to restore the 18th-century appearance of the front. [4] The necessary interventions and reconstructions were so drastic that the result is described by the Survey of London as "a modern quasifacsimile – of the original only the outer quoins can have survived". [9]

The library building was listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England in September 1972. [3]

Collections

As of 2021, over 60,000 items are held by the library. [5] Holdings include the first edition of The Red Republican (1850), the Votes for Women suffragette newspaper, and other socialist publications. [10]

The library now also houses "The Printers Collection" consisting of the archives of the printing and papermaking unions of the UK and Ireland. The collection includes union documents, magazines, photographs, badges and memorabilia. The archive was opened in March 2009 by Derek Simpson Joint General Secretary of Unite and Tony Burke, Assistant General Secretary of Unite.

Governance

The first president of the library in 1933 was Alex Gossip, president of the Socialist Sunday Schools. [11]

Journal

The library publishes an annual journal, Theory & Struggle, published by Liverpool University Press. Its current editor (2021) is Marjorie Mayo. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clerkenwell</span> Area of central London

Clerkenwell is an area of central London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gilbert Scott</span> English architect (1811–1878)

Sir George Gilbert Scott, largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started his career as a leading designer of workhouses. Over 800 buildings were designed or altered by him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Docwra</span>

Sir Thomas Docwra was Grand Prior of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England, and thus ranked as Premier Lay Baron of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Angel, Islington</span> Historic landmark in Islington, London, England

The Angel, Islington, is a historic landmark and a series of buildings that have stood on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road in Islington, London, England. The land originally belonged to the Clerkenwell Priory and has had various properties built on it since the 16th century. An inn on the site was called the "Angel Inn" by 1614, and the crossing became generally known as "the Angel". The site was bisected by the New Road, which opened in 1756, and properties on the site have been rebuilt several times up to the 20th century. The corner site gave its name to Angel tube station, opened in 1901, and the surrounding Angel area of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chetham's Library</span> Library in Manchester, England

Chetham's Library in Manchester, England, is the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world. Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and Chetham's School of Music, was established in 1653 under the will of Humphrey Chetham (1580–1653), for the education of "the sons of honest, industrious and painful parents", and a library for the use of scholars. The library has been in continuous use since 1653. It operates as an independent charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitzhanger Manor</span> English country house

Pitzhanger Manor is an English country house famous as the home of neoclassical architect, Sir John Soane. Built between 1800 and 1804 in Walpole Park Ealing, to the west of London), the Regency Manor is a rare and spectacular example of a building designed, built and lived in by Sir John Soane himself. Soane intended it as a domestic space to entertain guests in, as well as a family home for a dynasty of architects, starting with his sons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danson Park</span> Historic site

Danson Park is a public park in the London Borough of Bexley, South East London, located between Welling and Bexleyheath. At 75 hectares, it is the second largest public park in the borough, and the most used by the community. Opened in 1925, it is often considered the finest green open space in the borough, and is Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The park also gives its name to the electoral ward that covers the park and the surrounding area. The park is located at grid reference TQ472752. The southern boundary of both the park and the ward is delineated by Rochester Way, the A2 road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Medical Institution</span> Historic site in Merseyside, England

The Liverpool Medical Institution is a historic medical organisation based in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Its building on the corner of Mount Pleasant and Hope Street was opened in 1837, but the site has been used as a medical library since 1779.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Arboretum, Nottingham</span> Public park in Nottingham, England

The Arboretum is a city park in Nottingham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freemasons' Hall, London</span> Headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England

Freemasons' Hall in London is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England, as well as being a meeting place for many Masonic Lodges in the London area. It is located in Great Queen Street between Holborn and Covent Garden and has been a Masonic meeting place since 1775.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Lane Masjid</span> Former public baths and library complex and current Muslim centre in Birmingham

Green Lane Masjid & Community Centre (GLMCC), is a mosque in Birmingham. It has been a registered charity in England since 2008. The Masjid occupies a prominent corner site in Green Lane, Small Heath, Birmingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St David's School, Middlesex</span> School in Ashford, Surrey, England

St David's School was an independent girls' school in Ashford, England. The school was originally established in London in 1716 as the British Charity School or Welsh Charity School. It was located in a purpose-built home on Clerkenwell Green from 1738, before moving to Gray's Inn Road in 1772, and eventually to Ashford in 1857. It was at first a boys' school, and then from 1758 co-educational, but from 1882 it began to admit girls only and became known as the Welsh Girls' School. It changed its name to St David's School in 1967, and closed in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of Japan, London</span>

The Embassy of Japan in London is the diplomatic mission of Japan in the United Kingdom. The embassy occupies a large Victorian building on Piccadilly opposite Green Park, which is Grade II listed. It was once the former Junior Constitutional Club, which was the first building in London to have its exterior entirely clad in marble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Bradshaw</span> English sculptor, printmaker and artist

Laurence Henderson Bradshaw was an English sculptor, printmaker, and artist. Bradshaw was a life-long socialist and joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in the 1930s, remaining a member for the rest of his life. He is most famous for being the sculptor who created the bust of Karl Marx for the Tomb of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Bench Walk, London</span>

King's Bench Walk is a street in Temple, in the City of London. It is mainly made up of barristers' chambers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society for Photographing Relics of Old London</span> British organization (1875–1886)

The Society for Photographing Relics of Old London was founded in 1875 in London, England, initially with the purpose of recording the Oxford Arms, a traditional galleried public house on Warwick Lane that was to be demolished as part of the redevelopment of the Old Bailey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomb of Karl Marx</span> Tomb in Highgate Cemetery, London

The Tomb of Karl Marx stands in the Eastern cemetery of Highgate Cemetery, North London, England. It commemorates the burial sites of Marx, of his wife, Jenny von Westphalen, and other members of his family. Originally buried in a different part of the Eastern cemetery, the bodies were disinterred and reburied at their present location in 1954. The tomb was designed by Laurence Bradshaw and was unveiled in 1956, in a ceremony led by Harry Pollitt, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which funded the memorial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tish Collins</span>

Patricia 'Tish' Collins is Chief Executive Officer of rural women's development charity Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW). Born in London, she studied in the UK and East Germany, and worked for the National Farmers' Union and several charities before starting with ACWW in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Freemasonry</span> Museum in London, England

Museum of Freemasonry, based at Freemasons’ Hall, London, is a fully accredited museum since 2009, with a designated outstanding collection of national importance since 2007 and registered charitable trust since 1996. The facility encompasses a museum, library, and archive.

References

  1. "MML Accounts & Report of Work 2020 | Marx Memorial Library". www.marx-memorial-library.org.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. "Marx Memorial Library, registered charity no. 270309". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  3. 1 2 Historic England. "Marx Memorial Library (1279541)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Our History". www.marxlibrary.org.uk.
  5. 1 2 "Collections | Marx Memorial Library". www.marx-memorial-library.org.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Marx Memorial Library". www.lonelyplanet.com.
  7. Temple 2008, p. 112.
  8. Temple 2008, pp. 111–13.
  9. Temple 2008, pp. 107–8.
  10. "Marx Memorial Library". Islington Directory. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  11. Gerard, David (1 January 2002). "The Marx Memorial Library, Clerkenwell Green, London". Library Review. 51 (8): 417–419. doi:10.1108/00242530210443163. ISSN   0024-2535.
  12. "Theory & Struggle". www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

Bibliography