Leeds Central Library - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Leeds Central Library is a public library

Public library

A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...

in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, located on the Headrow in the city centre. It houses the city library service's single largest general lending and reference collection, as well as hosting an art gallery

Leeds Art Gallery

Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England is a museum whose collection of 20th century British Art is recognised by the British government as a collection "of national importance". Its collection also includes 19th century and earlier art works. The gallery opened on 3 October 1888 as...

in the adjoining building.

Services available from the building include:

Art Library
Central Children's Library
Central Lending Library
Information Centre (Business and Research Library)
Local Studies Library
Music and DVD Library

History of the Central Library building

The Central Library is a Grade II* listed building and was constructed between 1878 and 1884. The building was opened on 17 April 1884 by the Mayor, Alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

Edwin Woodhouse as the Leeds Municipal Offices. It was intended that various scattered borough departments would be accommodated in the building so that the administration of Leeds would be concentrated in the Municipal Offices and the Town Hall

Leeds Town Hall

Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 on Park Lane , Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to a design by architect Cuthbert Brodrick.-Background:...

. A design competition was held to choose a design for the building. There were 26 entries and the winning architect was a Leeds

Leeds

man of Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

origin - George Corson

George Corson

thumb|right|Spenfield House, 1875-77George Corson was a Scottish architect active in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.He was born in Dumfries, where he was articled to Walter Newall before moving to Leeds in 1849 to work with his brother William Reid Corson who was working there with Edward La Trobe...

. He said

I determined that the new buildings adjacent to the Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 on Park Lane , Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to a design by architect Cuthbert Brodrick.-Background:...

would be similar in style to the Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 on Park Lane , Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to a design by architect Cuthbert Brodrick.-Background:...

but not identical in treatment.

Corson's

George Corson

plans included dividing the buildings into a 'business' side, which fronted on Calverley Street, and the 'popular' side which led onto Centenary Street (now the Headrow). The 'popular' side was occupied by the Free Public Library

Public library

and took up less than a third of the whole building. This consisted of a Reading Room (currently the Tiled Hall cafe) on the ground floor, a lending library

Lending library

A lending library is a library from which books are lent out. The earliest reference to or use of the term "lending library" yet located in English correspondence dates from ca. 1586; C'Tess Pembroke Ps. CXII. v, "He is .....

on the 1st floor and Reference Library

Reference library

A reference library does not lend books and other items; instead, they must be read at the library itself. Typically such libraries are used for research purposes, for example at a university. See List of closed stack libraries...

on the 2nd floor. The 'business' side was represented on the ground floor by the large pay office (currently the Central Lending Library) where local people came to settle their gas, water and rates bills. The borough engineer and the sanitary departments were on the first and second floors respectively. The total cost of the building was estimated in the region of £120,000 (approximately £6m today). On 3 October 1888 the Mayor, Alderman

Alderman

Scarr opened the new Art Gallery extension, designed by W.H. Thorp. The Tiled Hall, formerly the Reading Room, was then converted to a sculpture gallery and the Reading Room was transferred to the Art Gallery and renamed the News Room. The Commercial

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

and Technical

Vocational education

Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

Library was established in the News Room in 1918, but in cramped conditions. In 1955 it moved into the Tiled Hall. The Commercial

Commerce

and Technical Library was then able to expand and have both a lending and a reference collection.

A gallery for staff use was also created in the Tiled Hall where further book stock was shelved and work space was created for the typists from the cataloguing department. The ceiling and walls of the Tiled Hall were then hidden for nearly fifty years behind a false ceiling, bookcases and panelling. The Music Library was moved into the Tiled Hall space in 1998 but was only there until 1999, when the Central Library building closed for refurbishment and rewiring. The 1950s panelling and bookcases were removed, along with the false ceiling, to once more reveal the Tiled Hall and the inevitable damage caused by work done in the 1950s.

The present restoration work has now fully restored the Tiled Hall to its original magnificence, after a £1.5m refurbishment of the gallery and the adjacent Art Gallery

Leeds Art Gallery

. The renovation was completed in June 2007, including opening up the magnificent Victorian tiled hall (used as a café and bookshop) which links the gallery and the library. At first floor level there is direct access from the gallery to the Art Library.

Exterior

The building was constructed of Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

stone from the local quarries at Dacre Bank, Harehills

Harehills

Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 and the A64 .- Overview :...

, Meanwood

Meanwood

Meanwood is a suburb and former village of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Origins and History:The name Meanwood goes back to the 12th century, and is of Anglo-Saxon derivation: the Meene wude was the boundary wood of the Manor of Alreton, the woods to the east of Meanwood Beck...

and Weetwood

Weetwood

Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 , on the west by the A660 , on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the south by Hollin Lane...

. Corson

George Corson

was a perfectionist and instructed the contractors in how to dress and lay the stones to minimise weathering. The roof is made of Westmoreland slate. The entrance steps are made of Shap granite, a tough, slip proof material commonly used for kerb edges in Leeds

Leeds

. The exterior columns are also made of granite and it would have taken much work to get them perfectly smooth.

Calverley Street: Entrance Hall & Stairwell

The Calverley Street entrance was originally the main entrance. The foyer pillars are Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

shire marble and the doors leading to the stairwell have alabaster surrounds; the alabaster was probably bought from Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

. Foundation stones are set over the inner entrance doors. In the stairwell area itself the carved areas are made of limestone from Caen in Normandy, as this limestone is softer than English limestone and was easier for the stonemasons to carve. This also meant that it was more fragile and liable to damage. The stairwell area pillars are made of Devonshire marble and there are beautiful stained glass windows, though unfortunately their provenance is unknown. The windowsills are made of Devonian marble, the same material as the seats on the stairways. The blue and white tiles with a floral motif are made by Smith and Co., of Coalville

Coalville

Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...

. The blue and white tiles near the lift are by Minton, Hollins and Co. The brown tiled border was probably supplied by Maw and Co.

Lending Library

The current Central Lending Library was originally the office where people went to pay their rates, gas and water bills. The pay office measured 78 ft by 38 ft and had a counter 62 ft long; the central portion for the Water Department, the right side for the Rates Department and the left side for the Gas Department. Beyond the counter was a row of double desks to seat clerks. There are still original Victorian tiles on the wall and it is hoped these will be restored in the future.

The Tiled Hall

This room was originally the main library reading room and is 80 ft long by 40 ft wide. The Reading Room was used for the opening ceremony and was described by The Yorkshireman as "a magnificent place. The floor is the finest parquetry in oak, walnut and ebony.." The roof was so magnificent it was feared that "people will be continually gazing up at it, instead of quietly reading the magazines and newspapers". A report of the opening noted that "inside the edifice a select company assembled to participate in the opening ceremony. On a slightly raised dais were seated the Mayoress and other ladies of note. Behind… stood a mixed group of politicians, barristers, clergymen, magistrates, merchants and manufacturers. Here and there in various parts of the handsome reading room were well known local dignitaries and would-be dignitaries." The floor is parquet and is made of oak, ebony and walnut. During the recent extensive restoration a gallery and shelving from the 1950s/60s were removed. The original marble pillars were revealed and restored, as well as the tiled walls, with medallion portraits in relief - among them Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

, Shakespeare, Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

, Goethe, Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...

, Scott

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

, Horace

Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...

and Macaulay. The original sculptor was a Mr. B Creswick of London.

The roof is divided into segmental arches, each arch composed of a mosaic in red, buff, grey, blue and green hexagon bricks with golden bosses. There are less of the green ceiling tiles than other colours. It is thought this is because the green tiles were more expensive. The gold ceiling bosses, which are open-ended, were part of the original Victorian ventilation system. Each ventilation pipe is entirely separate from all other others and vents directly to the roof. Originally, the room was lit by 72 incandescent electric lamps. This room is now the home of the Tiled Hall cafe.

Staircases

The stone staircases have a polished and moulded wide hand rail of marble with stone dogs carved on them at the top and bottom of flights. The steps have iron edges and the floor is mosaic. The pillars on the staircase are made of 380 million-year-old Devonian coral reef and coral fossils can be seen in them. On the second landing, just before the Arts Floor, are Devonian Marble seats. The carved heads of Chaucer, Lamb, Shakespeare and two unnamed individuals can be seen here.

Arts Floor

The Art Library was originally the lending library which had aisles and a central nave. The library had terracotta columns and arches. The lending library bookcases were made of American walnut. These have subsequently been lost. The side room was originally a small museum, only 22 ft square, and contained, among other exhibits, a stuffed crocodile.

Information Floor

The Local

Local history

Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history...

& Family History

Family history

Family history is the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family, or specific families.- Introduction :...

Library was originally a Reference Library

Reference library

and remains fundamentally unchanged, though with recent redecorations and cleaning to the woodwork. The room is 36 ft high and has terracotta alcoves on both sides. The oak roof is divided by wrought iron principals into panels - and there are mirrored walls at each end of the room at gallery level. The 15 ft long English walnut tables are part of the original furniture.

Special Collections

The library is home to several significant collections of antiquarian

Antiquarian

An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...

and special-interest materials:

The Gott bequest of early English gardening books

The Gott

Benjamin Gott

Benjamin Gott was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the Armley Mills Industrial Museum.Gott was born in Calverley, Pudsey in West Yorkshire,...

bequest is a collection of around 600 early English gardening books and periodicals including works published in the 16th ,17th and 18th centuries. The books in the collection include herbals, books on garden design

Garden design

Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise...

and many fine examples of hand coloured botanical illustrations. There is also a long run of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine dating from 1787.
The collection originally belonged to Alderman Beryl Gott, of the local textile manufacturing family, and the books were deposited in the Central Library on her death in 1941.

The Porton collection of Judaica

The Porton Collection of Judaica has its roots in the volumes of Judaica originally housed in the Rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

Moses Abrahams Memorial Library in Sheepscar

Sheepscar

Sheepscar is an inner city district of Leeds in West Yorkshire England, lying to the north east of Leeds city centre. It is overlooked by the tower blocks of Little London and Lovell Park to the west, and gives way to Meanwood in the north-west, Chapeltown in the north-east and Burmantofts in the...

, Leeds

Leeds

. The collection was added to over the years and presented to Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...

along with Mr Joseph Porton’s Judaica collection in 1965, by Mr Porton’s son Leslie.

The collection covers all aspects of the religion and culture of the Jewish people and includes works in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Hebrew and Yiddish, in all some 3,500 items. The collection is strong in theological works and religious texts, Jewish and Anglo-Jewish history and biography and also contains backfiles of the Jewish Yearbook, Jewish Chronicle and Jewish Gazette. Rare books, pamphlets and parts of journals, largely in Hebrew and Yiddish, and published in the 19th century, are a feature of the collection.

The Gascoigne collection of militaria

This collection was donated to the Library in 1968 by Sir Alvary Gascoigne, in memory of his father, Colonel F.R.T. Gascoigne, of Lotherton Hall

Lotherton Hall

Lotherton Hall is a country house near Aberford, West Yorkshire, England. It lies a short distance from the A1 motorway, 200 miles equidistant between London and Edinburgh....

, Leeds. There are over 3,000 items in the collection of books, pamphlets and periodicals, the majority covering the subjects of military and naval history.
The collection includes army and navy lists from the early nineteenth century and histories of regiments and is a rich source for researchers of 19th century military history.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.