Central Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, Lancashire, England. The building that contains the library and the

Grundy Art Gallery The Grundy is an art gallery located in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Its eclectic programme consists of regional historic to recent contemporary art exhibitions. Opened in 1911, it is owned and operated by Blackpool Council. It is a Grade II ...

has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage.

History

In 1908, a site was picked for a new library and art gallery on Queen Street. It was partly financed by Bury artists Cuthbert and John Grundy. Construction started on the building in 1909, and it was completed in 1911. It was designed by Scottish architecture firm Cullen, Lochhead and Brown, who had won a competition for the project. In August 2010, the library closed to the public to undergo a year-long renovation that cost £3 million. It reopened on 26 September 2011. The Library celebrated its centenary on 26 October 2011.

Architecture

The library is in the

Edwardian Baroque Edwardian architecture usually refers to a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to 1914 is commonly included in this style. It can al ...

style. It is on two storeys and is constructed of red brick with stone dressings and striped

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s. The library occupies the corner part of the building; the west and south walls have flanking pylons on

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

s made of stone. The corner entrance is flanked by three

ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite o ...

s on each side. Over the doorway is a large, rectangular window, and above that, a

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

carved with the words "". At the top, there is an octagonal leaded dome, which has a

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

shaped like an urn. On 20 October 1983 the building that contains the library, and the adjacent

, was designated a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 ...

. The Grade II listing—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".

Stained Glass

As part of the centenary renovation of the building in 2011, 8 new stained glass windows were commissioned. Designed by Nick Robertson with a brief from the staff of the Library and input from Library users which were made by Rainbow Glass Studios based in London.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * * {{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1911 Blackpool Central Library Central Library Blackpool Central Library Blackpool Central Library

History

Architecture

Stained Glass

See also

References