The Carnegie Library is a public library in the
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...
in
Herne Hill
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 London ...
,
South London
South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
. The library opened in 1906. It closed as a
public lending library in 2016 as a result of cuts to funding, reopening in 2018 with a reduced librarian service.
History
The Carnegie Library was funded by a grant of £12,500 from
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
(1835–1919) and designed by the architects Wakeford and Sons. This building was one of
2,509 libraries established worldwide with a legacy from Carnegie.
Like many Carnegie libraries, the Herne Hill library has elegant architectural features, such as large windows and a glass dome which provide plenty of natural light, graceful Corinthian columns, and parquet floors. It was opened in 1906 and is a Grade II listed building.
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
notes as one of its reasons for the Grade II designation that "the library is almost unchanged externally, and the internal arrangement remains legible despite later, internal alterations which are largely reversible."
Present day
The library was closed by Lambeth Council from March 2016 to February 2018, when it reopened with a reduced service. The library was occupied in protest at its closure for nine days by members of the local community, including senior citizens and teenagers studying for A level exams. Protesters from campaign group Defend The Ten voluntarily left the library before being evicted, and the occupation ended with a protest march to Brixton Library.
The occupation was supported by many famous authors including Stella Duffy, Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby and Colm Tóibín, and had a great deal of public support, as shown by a mass demonstration of over 2,000 people who marched from the library to the town hall when the occupation ended.
In October 2018, the Carnegie Community Trust received a Heritage Lottery Resilience Fund grant to run a Community Hub within the building. According to local news site BrixtonBuzz, "Lambeth Council wants the Trust to manage the building – despite opposition from the Friends of Carnegie Library."
References
Libraries in the London Borough of Lambeth
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Lambeth
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