South Norwood Library is a purpose-built public library in South Norwood, South London. Also known locally as 'Brutalist Library' it stands in the London Borough of Croydon and is part of the Croydon Libraries arm of the council. The site on the corner of Selhurst Road and Lawrence Road first had a library built in 1897, which was replaced by the current building in 1966. Following a risk of moving the library and demolition of the building in 2019, the library service remains in the purpose-built 1968 library with reduced opening hours and a promise of renovation. The Friends of South Norwood Library campaign for the library service, supported by authors including

Alex Wheatle Alex Alphonso Wheatle MBE (Order of the British Empire), MBE (born 3 January 1963) is a British novelist, who was sentence (law), sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the 1981 Brixton riot in London. Biography Born in 1963 in London to J ...

. The Brutalist Library Campaign also worked alongside this campaign, with an aim to protect the building due to its architectural, historical and social merit.

History

The library was designed by

Hugh Lea Hugh Cecil Lea (27 May 1869 – 29 January 1926) was a British Liberal Party politician and newspaper proprietor. Background He was a son of Carl Adolph Lea and Elizabeth Maria Matthews. He was educated in Boulogne, Reims and Munich. Career L ...

, Borough Architect for

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in 1966 together with the Chief Librarian T.E. Callander and opened in 1968. It is locally listed, within the South Norwood conservation area and a national listing application has been made to Historic England. The community take great pride in this central landmark of South Norwood, and in 2006 the participatory arts organisation 'Mosaic Art' worked with hundreds of children and community members in the borough to create a

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

design which would form a permanent art installation in front of the library. Passers-by can enjoy the mosaic heritage treasure map which contains many clues about the history of the area. In the year April 2012 to March 2013 the library saw 52,916 visitors, this rose to 74,455 April 2016 to March 2017. Between 2019 and 2022 the library building was under threat of being demolished as a new purpose built building was developed at the Pump House on nearby Station Road to move into, but in 2022 it was announced that the library would stay at the Brutalist Library on Lawrence Road and be refurbished. This was met with celebration from campaigners.

Architecture

The library is a fine example of 1960s

Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

and shows the influences of

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

in its structural clarity and simplicity. The frontage features bold black steel letters reading "LIBRARY" in Grotesk font typography on a concrete cuboid above a glass lower part of the building. The library building is arranged over five open-plan levels, split across the front and rear of the building. The front part of the building has the ground floor entrance level, which houses the reception, and the second floor which houses the children's library (formerly a general reading room). The rear of the building has the basement, first and third floors. The levels are offset so that the floors in the front and rear of the building appear like mezzanine levels to each other. There is a lift serving all five floors. South Norwood Library has been part of Open House London in 2021, which was organised by the Brutalist Library Campaign, and was featured in the must-see buildings of Open House London alongside

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

and

City Hall, London (Southwark) City Hall is a building in Southwark, London which previously served as the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA) between July 2002 and December 2021 (GLA are now located at now located on Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE). It ...

Edwin Heathcote Edwin Heathcote (born London) is a writer, architect and designer. He has been the architecture and design critic of ''The Financial Times'' since 1999, and is the author of books on architecture and design. He is the founder and editor-in-chie ...

, the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

's architecture critic picked South Norwood Library as one of six places to see during the Open House London Festival 2021. The

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...

also included South Norwood Library as one of their highlights of Open House London 2021. The building style has had praise from architecture experts, such as Bridget Cherry who enjoyed its opening saying it had "quite an impact in the street", art writer Javier Pes called it "the rough diamond of Norwood" whilst Brutalist historian Dr Barnabas Calder described the building as neighbourly and respectful.

Services

Services available at South Norwood Library include Books & CDs for reference and loan at the reception area. There is a children's library on the second floor. Other services include: *Enquiry service *Free access to PCs including the internet *Black and white photocopier *Books in community languages *Newspapers and periodicals *Community information *Reading groups *8 study spaces The need for computer use is particularly high at South Norwood Library, with only the central library in Croydon busier in the borough. The library has had special one off events over the years such as author visits from Jamie Rix (in June 2001) and Jeremy Strong (in November 2001). At present the library is open two days a week.

References

External links

South Norwood LibraryFriends of South Norwood LibraryWhat's on in London Libraries
*https://brutalistlibraryse25.org/heritage {{Authority control Libraries in the London Borough of Croydon Public libraries in London

History

Architecture

Services

See also

References

External links