Westminster Reference Library | |
---|---|
51°30′35″N0°07′47″W / 51.50964°N 0.12980°W | |
Location | St Martin's Street London, WC2H |
Type | Public Library |
Established | 8 October 1928 |
Architect(s) | A. N. Prentice |
Collection | |
Items collected | Books, sheet music, art and manuscripts. |
Size | 89,080 (2022) |
Access and use | |
Access requirements | Open to the general public, a Westminster library card is needed to borrow items or use computers. |
Other information | |
Website | https://www.westminster.gov.uk/leisure-libraries-and-community/libraries/westminster-reference-library |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | Westminster Reference Library |
Designated | 17 March 2016 |
Reference no. | 1430775 [1] |
Westminster Reference Library is a reference library in St Martin's Street, London, in the City of Westminster, part of the Westminster Libraries network.
The library was opened by W. Foxley Norris, dean of Westminster, on 8 October 1928 to replace the former library of the parish of St Martin in the Fields. The Leicester Fields chapel, built by the Huguenots in 1693, was once located on the site. Isaac Newton lived on a house on the site from 1710 to 1727, and later the house was occupied by the novelist Fanny Burney. The cellars of that house are part of the current building. The library was designed by the architect A. N. Prentice for Westminster City Council, and built by Walden & Company of Reading. [2] [3] It was modified in the 1950s and 1980s. [3]
In addition to a general reference collection, the library has specialist fine art and performing arts, business and law collections.
Since 2021 the library has also been home to the Westminster Music Library collection, which was formerly based at Victoria Library. Westminster Music Library is one of the largest public music libraries in the UK, holding a wide range of sheet music, scores, and books about music. [4]
Outside library opening hours the library has hosted many events and concerts including Telemachus, Sea Power, Mr Hudson and The Library, Polar Bear, Harry Keyworth, Chisara Agor, Piney Gir and The Real Tuesday Weld. [7] [8]
The library also has art exhibition spaces. [9]
London is the capital and largest city of England, and the United Kingdom, with a population of around 8.8 million, and the largest city in Western Europe by metropolitan area, with a population of 14.8 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea and has been a major settlement for nearly two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. In the 19th century, London grew rapidly, becoming the world's largest city at the time, as it expanded and absorbed the neighbouring county of Middlesex, and parts of Surrey and Kent. In 1965 it was combined with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire to create the administrative area of Greater London, which is governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.
The City of Westminster is a city and borough in London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central London, including most of the West End. Many London landmarks are within the borough, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Westminster Cathedral, 10 Downing Street, and Trafalgar Square.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.
Pinner is a suburb in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, England, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 38,698 in 2021.
Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a department of His Majesty's Government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. Its main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street.
Herne Hill is a district in south London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. There is a road of the same name in the area, as well as a railway station.
The Middlesex Guildhall is a court building in Westminster which houses the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The building stands on the south-western corner of Parliament Square, near the Palace of Westminster. In 1970, the historic building was listed Grade II*.
Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a de facto public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered statue of the monarch has stood in the square, with an extended interruption, since 1661, one year after the restoration of the monarchy.
Royal Victoria Park is a public park in Bath, England. It was opened in 1830 by the 11-year-old Princess Victoria, seven years before her ascension to the throne, and was the first park to carry her name. It was privately run as part of the Victorian public park movement until 1921, when it was taken over by the Bath Corporation.
Heaton Park is a public park in Manchester, England, covering an area of over 600 acres (242.8 ha). The park includes the grounds of a Grade I listed, neoclassical 18th century country house, Heaton Hall. The hall, remodelled by James Wyatt in 1772, is now only open to the public on an occasional basis as a museum and events venue. It is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, and also the largest municipal park in Europe.
Queen's Park is an area located partly in the City of Westminster and mostly in the London Borough of Brent. Some of the area within Westminster forms a civil parish, the first to be created in London since the right of communities to establish civil parishes was enacted in 2007. The area is located 3.9 miles (6.3 km) north-west of Charing Cross, and centred around a 30 acres (12 ha) park, which opened in 1887 and was named in honour of Queen Victoria. The area gives its name to Queens Park Rangers football club.
Cape Town City Hall is a large Edwardian building in Cape Town city centre which was built in 1905. It is located on the Grand Parade to the west of the Castle and is built from honey-coloured oolitic limestone imported from Bath in England.
Vincent Square is a grass-covered square in Westminster, London, England, covering 13 acres, lined with mature trees including London Planes. In among a network of backstreets, it chiefly provides playing fields for Westminster School, who own it absolutely; otherwise, it functions as a green lung and a view for the homes, hotel and other organisations adjoining. Nine of its adjoining buildings have been given strict statutory architectural recognition and protection.
Churchill Gardens is a large housing estate in the Pimlico area of Westminster, London. The estate was developed between 1946 and 1962 to a design by the architects Powell and Moya, replacing Victorian terraced houses extensively damaged during the Blitz.
Putney Library is a Grade II listed public library in the London Borough of Wandsworth.
Andrew Noble Prentice was a British architect.
Tufton Street is a road in Westminster, London, located just outside of the Westminster Abbey precinct. It was built by Sir Richard Tufton during the 17th century. Today it hosts a number of right-leaning lobby groups and thinktanks. As a result, the street name is most often used as a metonym for these groups.