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swirling leaves, and the
Borough coat of arms. The entrance, up a few steps, has a circular mosaic floor. Over the oak porch doors with distinctive handles, is the Battersea Council motto "Non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis", translating as "Not for me, not for you, but for all of us". Several decorative and emblematic references are found on the entrance elevation; above the hipped roof of the central turret, is a pierced copper weather vane in the form of a 'bearded professor looking man reading a book'. On the face of the turret shaft, the council's motto encircles a copper and gold lamp of knowledge. On the two piers of railings nearest entrance, two lamps of copper show gothic workings of the borough's initials, the tops pierced with fleur-de-lys. Finally the distinctive drainpipe guttering has 'reference library', 1924, flowers and basic geometrical shape motifs.
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78:. It incorporated a 24' by 45' galleried, glass-roofed reference library room. A decision was made after World War 1, based on agitation for increased reference library space, to add a new library building adjacent and connected to the existing library, on land to the east which had been earmarked for a School of Art and was being used by the Borough's Highway and Works department. The Borough's ability to afford a new building was connected to the
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central bay is a steel-arched glass roof glazed with leaded panes. An oak first-floor gallery runs around the outer walls. Both the columns and the gallery front are decorated, the former with oak-leaf and acorns and painted circular shields denoting science, art, philosophy and commerce; the latter with pierced carved diamond monograms incorporating a variety of mottos, the 1924 date, and a dove of peace (from the
Borough's coat of arms).
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The expectation, at the time of building, was that two additional floors would be added to the reference library when economic conditions improved, but this never came to pass. By the 1960s, when librarian Harold Smith sought to have such floors added, plans for foundations could not be found and his
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The library was designed to provide space for 100 readers; according to an article in the South
Western Star on its opening, each was provided with a "well-shaped chair ... and desks are divided into compartments which give students a measure of privacy and make them feel at home". The paper suggests
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The Arts and Crafts design of the new building appears to have been by Harry Hyams, probably in conjunction with T. W. A. Hayward, the borough surveyor. The new building provides a 51' by 70' interior, divided into three bays by two sets of three steel columns supporting the ceiling. The roof of the
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The entrance, according to Bailey, betrays little indication of the nature of the building; she cites friends guessing it might be a church, mission hall or
British Legion building. Boundary railings curve inwards to the entrance porch, which is beneath an oriel window decorated with lions, acorns,
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Post World War I policy prioritised housebuilding local authorities, and so the council required permission from the Board of
Education to construct a new library. It argued that the studies of the growing youthful population of Battersea was hampered by existing poor housing, and thus a reference
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The entrance to the new reference library was from
Altenburg Gardens, a side-road running south from Lavender Hill road and east of the existing library. The site was fairly congested, and the design reflects this in the choice to employ top-lighting through the roof, rather than side window
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lighting. The side walls of the library are plain of yellow brick. The entrance elevation of the library has a basic pyramidal shape established by its diagonal roof-lines, surmounted by a square bell turret concealing a ventilation shaft. A hipped tile roof overhangs an
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to 1 penny in the pound per annum and which allowed more flexibility and discretion to civic authorities in respect of provision of library services. In 1918–19, for a population of 148,000, Battersea's library budget had been £3,793; this was soon doubled after the Act.
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Bailey cites the discovery that Hyams had been appointed to a temporary post in the
Borough in 1924, which was converted to a permanent position three years later, albeit Hyams was made redundant three years after that. Bailey identifies illustrations in 1922 copies of
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184:, which exhibit identical or similar elements to those found in the reference library, including the distinctive door handles, and fleur-de-lys decorations. Bailey concludes that Hyams, already by 1922 a fellow of the
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the design of the library showed a clear overall concern to make the reading public feel at ease, perhaps reflecting the lowering of the age limit for entrance to the reference library, from 18 to 14.
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article on the library; architects appear to have had a relatively low status at the time of the library's construction. Hyams was acknowledged as the architect of another
Borough building,
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showing an illustration attributed to Hyams, of a doorway at Deller's Cafe, Paignton, having door handles identical to those found in
Battersea Reference Library.
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The Public
General Statutes: with a list of the Local and Private Acts passed in the Fifty-Fifth and Fifty-Sixth years of the Reign of Queen Victoria 1892
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The Public General Statutes: with a list of the Local and Private Acts passed in the Ninth and Tenth Years of the Reign of King George the Fifth 1919
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article, but his name does not feature on the plaque at that building's entrance, nor in the programme published to commemorate its opening.
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Battersea Central Library, the main library of the settlement, was built by the Battersea Vestry between 1889 and 1890, to a design by
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Bailey, Pat (March 1985). "Battersea Reference Library : A History and Architectural Appreciation".
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Identification of the architect rests on research undertaken by Pat Bailey for her 1985
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The library was built in 1924 by the council's direct labour force.
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The reference library is connected to, and now accessed through,
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Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth
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base of the oriel window, and arch of the entrance porch door
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Battersea Reference Library's Altenburg Gardens entrance
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294:. Vol. XXIX. Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited. 1892.
278:. Vol. LVII. Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited. 1920.
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418:"Chapter 9 - West of Plough Lane".
190:Institution of Structural Engineers
224:National Heritage List for England
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507:Grade II listed library buildings
404:"Chapter 15 - Public Buildings".
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40:building at Altenburg Gardens,
487:1924 establishments in England
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219:"Battersea Library (1200731)"
421:Survey of London - Battersea
407:Survey of London - Battersea
188:and in 1927 a member of the
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84:Public Libraries Act 1892
80:Public Libraries Act 1919
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397:The Wandsworth Historian
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150:Henry Hyams (architect)
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427:. Vol. 50. 2013.
413:. Vol. 49. 2013.
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463:51.46382°N 0.16375°W
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174:The Builder
165:The Builder
144:Harry Hyams
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49:Henry Hyams
481:Categories
451:51°27′50″N
399:(44): 1–7.
329:SoL49 2013
244:SoL50 2013
196:References
454:0°09′50″W
42:Battersea
36:within a
182:Paignton
389:Sources
70:History
178:Exeter
99:Design
425:(PDF)
411:(PDF)
88:rates
32:is a
232:2014
180:and
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