The current space
The Canning Town Old Library has been vacant since 2017 following the relocation of the library function. It is significant for its design and history as a public library. There are several aspects to this significance as summarized below:
- It is historically important as an example of a Victorian public library, built in the 1890s as part of a wider movement to improve social and educational provision for working communities.
- It carries historical associations with figures that have contributed to the history of Canning Town including the architect Lewis Angell and the philanthropist John Passmore Edwards
- It has group value with the adjacent public hall which holds historical associations with the suffragette Daisy Parsons and the trade unionists Will Thorne and Keir Hardie
- Its architectural interest comes especially from its finely detailed elevation to Barking Road and from its generously scaled interiors
- There is interest in the plan-form, particularly in the division into three large rooms corresponding to lending, reading and reference
Front Room (onto Barking Road)
The front room adjacent to the street was the Lending Library. It incorporated the latest thinking in library technology: an ‘automatic step’ and a device called a Cotgreave Indicator, which was used to show which books were in or out.
Rear large room
The large room at the rear was the Reading Room or News Room. It originally held 300 newspapers and periodicals which could be consulted on timber reading stands. The furniture included specially designed umbrella holders.
Large first floor room
The large room at first floor was the Reference Library, to which visitors had no access. Staff would bring books to a serving hatch. The smaller rooms at first floor included storage rooms, binding rooms and, in the west corner, a caretaker’s residence.