The Passmore Edwards Public Library on the

Uxbridge Road Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon. Uxbridge Road is a major r ...

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, was built in 1895 and funded by the journalist and philanthropist

Passmore Edwards John Passmore Edwards (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911)ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 Nove ...

. It is one of a number of public libraries that still bear his name today. In 2008 a new library was built in Shepherd's Bush, part of the substantial

Westfield London Westfield London is a large shopping centre in White City, west London, England, developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn, on a brownfield site formerly the home of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition. The site is bounded by the ...

development, and the Passmore Edwards library fell into disuse. In October 2011 it re-opened as the new home of the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

History

Maurice Bingham Adams Maurice Bingham Adams FRIBA (1849–1933) was a British architect in the Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts style.Curl, J. S., & Wilson, S., (2015) ''The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture'', 3rd edn, (OUP, Oxford) Life Adams was born in ...

, and originally known as the Passmore Edwards Free Library Hammersmith, the project was one of many public libraries built around the end of the nineteenth century by John Passmore Edwards (1823 – 1911).

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

article by A. J. A. Morris, ‘Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200

accessed 15 Nov 2007. Edwards was a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, newspaper owner and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. The son of a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

, he was born in Blackwater, a small village between

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

and

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Maurice Bingham Adams designed five of the Libraries funded by Passmore Edwards. He and Edwards shared a belief in self-help and the importance of good architecture, which would provide the educational institutions required to educate the British working man and help give Britain a competitive edge. The library was built in 1895, when Shepherd's Bush was still largely open land, but in the process of being developed to house London's expanding suburbs. A foundation stone, laid by Passmore Edwards, bears the date 4 July 1895. The library was opened by

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

on 25 June 1896. Many of Shepherd's Bush's new inhabitants were poor and badly educated. In the early 20th century Irish labourers sought work and opportunities in London; their arrival in the capital created fears of urban slums and the spread of disease. At the turn of the century Hammersmith MP Sir William Bull was appalled to see Shepherd's Bush Green become home to destitute unemployed sleeping rough, gambling, and playing pitch and toss.

Today

In October 2011 the library re-opened as the new home of the

. The building is currently included on the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

's list of Buildings of Merit, deserving of protection.Market Regeneration Brief, 2010
Retrieved January 2012

References

* Denny, Barbara, ''Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush Past'', Historical Publications Ltd, London (1995), * Farrell, Jerome, ''Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush in Old Photographs'', Sutton Publishing Ltd (Sep 1995)

Notes

External links

John Passmore Edwards 1823-1911 His life and Philanthropic works
Retrieved November 2011 {{Coord, 51.5053, -0.2259, type:landmark_region:GB-HMF, display=title Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Theatres in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Victorian architecture in England Shepherd's Bush

History

Today

See also

References

Notes

External links