Derby Central Library was the main public and reference library in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, England, between 1879 and 2018. It was established in 1879 along with

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The colle ...

, with which it shared a red brick building designed in the Domestic Flemish Gothic style by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by

Michael Thomas Bass Michael Thomas Bass, DL (6 July 1799 – 29 April 1884) was an English brewer and a Member of Parliament. Under his leadership, the Bass Brewery became the largest brewery in the world, and Bass the best known brand of beer in England. Bass r ...

. It was formerly the largest branch of Derby City Libraries run by

Derby City Council Derby City Council is the local government unitary authority for Derby, a city in the East Midlands region of England. It comprises 51 councillors, three for each of the 17 electoral wards of Derby. Currently there is no overall control of the co ...

History

Prior to the Public Libraries Act 1850, a number of circulating libraries existed in Derby. Typically these libraries were run by booksellers and relied on a subscription payment by their members. The "permanent" library in Derby was established in 1811 in Queen Street. This library was open to people who by the 1830s could afford to buy a four guinea share and pay an annual subscription of another guinea. In 1832 this library had 84 members. In 1858, the book collection incorporated the 4,000 volume library of the

Derby Philosophical Society The Derby Philosophical Society was a club for gentlemen in Derby founded in 1783 by Erasmus Darwin. The club had many notable members and also offered the first institutional library in Derby that was available to some section of the public. P ...

. In 1863 the botanist Alexander Croall was appointed the first Librarian and Curator and the following year the museum and library were joined together. Croall left in 1875 to become the curator of the Smith Institute in Stirling. Although the possibility was considered by the council, Derby Borough did not take advantage of the powers conferred by the 1850 Act for some years. Then in 1878 the

7th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, (27 April 1808 – 21 December 1891), styled as Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and known as Earl of Burlington between 1834 and 1858, was a British landowner, benefactor, nobleman, ...

donated his Derbyshire collection of books and papers to the Borough. A suitable home for this material was needed, but it wasn't until the following year that the Borough was able to provide the people of Derby with a free library service, as a result of Mr. Bass's gift. On Saturday 28 June 1879 Mr. Bass performed the official opening of The Derby Free Library and Museum, the cause of great celebration in the town. The ceremony involved an official reception of Mr. Bass at the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

Station followed by an elegant luncheon at the Midland Hotel and a procession to the Market Place, along decorated streets packed with excited crowds of people. Mr Bass then presented the title deeds to the Mayor at the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The party then moved on to the Free Library itself, where Mr. Bass took a tour before returning to the steps and declaring the building open. The book collection offered by the new library included the Devonshire collection as well as the contents of the Permanent Library and Philosophical Society. By September 1898 the lending collection totalled almost 20,000 volumes and the reference collection over 11,000. In 1914 the curator's house alongside the library was demolished to make way for an extension to the building, intended to house the recently acquired Bemrose Library. The Bemrose Library had been purchased after the money was raised from the public. The Library had been in the possession of Sir Henry Howe Bemrose. In 1964 the Museum and Art Gallery expanded into a newly built wing on The Strand, but leaving the original 19th-century building partly shared between the Library and the Museum. One of the library's quiet rooms is named for Alfred Goodey, who funded the additional building. After 139 years, the Central Library was closed on 9 June 2018 as part of

's restructuring of their library services. The new Riverside Library, located within the city's

Council House A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

, opened in July 2018.

References

External links

* – Official webpage * {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Derby Public libraries in Derbyshire 1879 establishments in England Libraries established in 1879 Cultural infrastructure completed in 1878 2018 disestablishments in England Libraries disestablished in 2018

History

See also

References

External links