Hammersmith Library is a

Grade II listed 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, H ...

building at Shepherd's Bush Road,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London W6 7AT. It was built in 1905 by the architect Henry Hare, with sculpture by F. E. E. Schenck. Plan of the Hammersmith Library

Perspective drawing of the Hammersmith Library

The statues in the

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

are as follows: immediately to the top left of the main entrance, on the first floor, is a statue of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

, while to the top right of the main door is a statue of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. To the right of these statues, between the windows on the south wing of the library, are a male figure with a book, representing Literature, and a female figure with a paintbrush, representing the Arts; while to the left of the statues of Milton and Shakespeare, between the windows on the north wing, are a female figure with a wheel, representing Spinning, and a male figure with a pair of compasses, representing Astronomy.

References

Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Grade II listed government buildings Public libraries in London Libraries established in 1905 Hammersmith 1905 establishments in England {{Library-struct-stub