Allahabad Public Library
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Allahabad Public Library, also known as Thornhill Mayne Memorial, is a public library situated at Chandrashekhar Azad Park in
Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


History

Established in 1864, it is the biggest library in the state of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. The building was designed by Richard Roskell Bayne and is considered a remarkable example of Scottish Baronial Revival architecture. The monument served as the house of legislative assembly in the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
when Allahabad was the capital of the United Provinces. In 1879, the Public library was shifted to the present premises at Chandrashekhar Azad Park.


Holdings

The library has an approximate collection of 125,000 books, 40 types of magazines, and 28 different newspapers in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, English,
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
and Bangla and it also contains 21
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
manuscripts. It also has a collection of old government publications, parliamentary papers, and blue books of the 19th century, and old manuscripts and journals.


Building

The building known as Thornhill Mayne Memorial is situated at
Alfred Park Chandra Shekhar Azad Park (also known by its List of renamed places in India, former name Alfred Park, and Company Bagh during the Company Raj) is a public park in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. Built in 1870 to mark Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Co ...
and was designed by Richard Roskell Bayne in
Scottish Baronial architecture Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...
with sharp pillars and turrets of granite and sandstone. It represents structural polychromy with lofty towers and arcaded
cloisters A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southe ...
. When completed in 1870, the building cost approximately INR 94,222. It was funded by Commissioner of Allahabad, Mr. Mayne and was opened as a memorial to Cuthbert Bensley Thornhill.


Gallery


See also

*
List of tourist attractions in Prayagraj Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), a city in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India is an important tourist destination attracting many tourists annually. Enriched with a glorious history and being one of the oldest cities in the world. Prayagraj is famo ...
*
List of libraries in India This is a list of libraries in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (Unite ...


References

{{Authority control Public libraries in India Buildings and structures in Prayagraj Libraries in Uttar Pradesh Tourist attractions in Prayagraj Library buildings completed in 1870 1870 establishments in India