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Brentford Library is a Grade II listed building at Boston Manor Road, Brentford, London.
It was built in 1903 by Joseph Dorey and Co; for the then Brentford District Council. The benefactor was
Just outside the library are situated several memorials dedicated to the men of Brentford who lost their lives in the First World War and the Second World War. The main memorial, unveiled in 1923, is in the form of a stone pillar. On one side is an inscription which reads:
On the other sides are the names of Brentford's First World War dead. Next to the main memorial are three smaller memorials. The middle one originally stood outside the now largely neglected St Lawrence's Church in Brentford High Street near the bridge over the Grand Union Canal. Repaired and restored, it has stood outside the Library since 19 September 2009. The other two are dedicated to the employees of the
Hounslow council page
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hounslow Grade II listed library buildings Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hounslow Library buildings completed in 1903 Buildings by Nowell Parr Carnegie libraries in England Brentford, London
Brentford Library is a Grade II listed building at Boston Manor Road, Brentford, London.
It was built in 1903 by Joseph Dorey and Co; for the then Brentford District Council. The benefactor was Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
and the architect was Nowell Parr
Thomas Henry Nowell Parr FRIBA (1864 – 23 September 1933) was a British architect, best known for designing pubs in west London. Many of these were built while Parr was "house architect" for Fuller's Brewery. Parr designed various buildings i ...
. The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Jersey, who lived not far away at Osterley Park
Osterley Park and House is a Georgian country estate in west London, that straddles the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. Originally dating from the 1570s, the estate contains a number of Grade I and II listed buildings, with the park ...
.
The building is constructed from yellow stock brick laid in English bond
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...
and dressed with terracotta. The roof uses Welsh slate. It was designated a listed building on 2 October 1990.
On the floor of the entrance hall is a mosaic displaying the coat of arms of Middlesex (in the original form, identical to that of Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, without the Saxon crown). Also in the entrance hall, on the staircase leading up, is a marble memorial by Nowell Parr dedicated to the local men who died in the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...
.
It closed in November 2016 due to plaster falling from the roof in the children's area. Structural engineering surveys show that all three ceilings need repair, and as of end December 2016, Hounslow Council
Hounslow London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Hounslow in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London.
History
There have previously been a number ...
hope to re-open it "very early in the New Year". It partially reopened in January 2017, and in full in April.
Brentford war memorials
Just outside the library are situated several memorials dedicated to the men of Brentford who lost their lives in the First World War and the Second World War. The main memorial, unveiled in 1923, is in the form of a stone pillar. On one side is an inscription which reads:
On the other sides are the names of Brentford's First World War dead. Next to the main memorial are three smaller memorials. The middle one originally stood outside the now largely neglected St Lawrence's Church in Brentford High Street near the bridge over the Grand Union Canal. Repaired and restored, it has stood outside the Library since 19 September 2009. The other two are dedicated to the employees of the Gas Light and Coke Company
The Gas Light and Coke Company (also known as the Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company), was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The headquarters of the company were located on Ho ...
, and they were moved to Brentford after the Company's works in Fulham closed in 1949. The names are on metal plaques and there are separate ones for each of the World Wars. The names of Brentford's Second World War dead are on another metal plaque next to those of the Gas Light and Coke Company who lost their lives in that war, while another metal plaque displaying the First World War dead of an unidentified company is situated next to the First World War plaque of the Gas Light and Coke Company.
References
External links
Hounslow council page
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hounslow Grade II listed library buildings Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hounslow Library buildings completed in 1903 Buildings by Nowell Parr Carnegie libraries in England Brentford, London