Great Horton Library

Great Horton Library

Library completed in 1912, designed and built for Bradford Corporation. The building is constructed of coursed dressed stone with ashlar dressings and a slate roof laid to diminishing courses. All windows feature leaded lights in metal framed casements, and original iron rain-water goods are retained throughout.

The library comprises a central two-storey block with single storey wings to either side, presenting street frontages to the front and right return. The central block breaks forward from the wings and is symmetrical, with a hipped roof surmounted by an octagonal fleche with splayed roof and weathervane.

The main entrance features a segmental arch with floral carving, and displays a deeply carved Bradford City coat of arms above with the words PUBLIC LIBRARY. Iron lamps stand to either side of the entrance. The outer doors are wooden with carved panels in tear-drop shape. Above the entrance is a canted oriel window with a central mullioned and transomed light and transomed lights to each side. The oriel rises above eaves level to form a parapet carved with a wreath and the date 1912 centrally. The ground floor has two transomed windows to each side of the entrance, and six-light mullioned and transomed windows to either side of the oriel.

The right hand wing has a gabled front end with parapets and a central nine-light mullioned and transomed window with single light transomed windows to either side, the central window having a heavy lintel with prominent keystone. The left wing has the same window arrangement but with its gable end to the side; the front eaves line is broken by the central window and a gablet above.

The right return features a central section breaking forward with two nine-light mullioned and transomed windows as at the front, with gablets above. In the top outer lights are carved stone panels with cartouches, swags and entwined initials. To either side is a six-light mullioned and transomed window. The gable end to the rear is raised.

The left return has an asymmetrical roof line, lower to the rear, with a single nine-light mullioned and transomed window and a small rear door. The rear wall of the main block is curved with a raised gable. A small extension with steeply pitched hipped roof and central tall chimney stands behind the left wing, featuring small wooden framed windows matching the building in style and materials.

Internally, the main doors lead to a short flight of steps with a blocked hatch to the left and a dedication plaque inset to the right. Inner doors are half glazed wood with brass furniture, set in a shouldered arch. The inner hall contains double doors at each end: to the children's room on the right and to offices on the left (now blocked), both similar to the entrance doors. To the right of the entrance is a flight of concrete stairs with wooden handrail and a metal plaque reading General Reading Room. Beyond is a single door of the same type leading to a store. Facing the entrance are two panelled half glazed doors with leaded lights in shouldered arch frames, flanking a canted bay half glazed in the same way with pilasters at the corners, the whole framed with a Tuscan style architrave.

The main reading room has a barrel vaulted ceiling with panels and ceiling vents, and a curved back wall with original wooden shelving. The glazed panels between the entrances form the back of the reception desk with two sides sloping towards each other and a gate at the end, all in panelled wood. Behind the desk, set into the glazing, is a clock in a round wooden frame with carved wooden wreath below. An architrave with frieze and dentils runs above the glazed panels and entrance doors, with pilasters to each side. Original wooden shelving continues beyond to the edges of the room. On the right hand side are shouldered arch openings to the children's room, with plastic glazing. The children's room contains replacement shelving. To the left of the main room is a door to the office area containing a large room and a smaller office at the front end, with windows similar to other internal windows but blocked at inspection. Kitchen and toilet facilities are located in a later extension, with cellars containing a boiler.

The library opened in 1913 and has remained in continuous use with little alteration. A small extension at the rear, providing toilet facilities, appears to be a later addition. The building is well-preserved both externally and internally, designed in a well-detailed Jacobean revival style with good quality relief carving. The original plan form of the library remains clearly readable, enhanced by contemporary fixtures and fittings.