Tunstall Public Library And Public Baths

Tunstall Public Library and Public Baths is a public library, formerly known as the Victoria Institute, and public baths built in 1889. The building is constructed of brick with stone and terracotta dressings and has plain tiled roofs. It stands three storeys high, with a main elevation featuring nine bays arranged in a 4-1-4 pattern. The central entrance porch is prominent, showcasing Jacobean detailing, including a round-arched doorway flanked by stone pilasters and a coat of arms set in a shallow segmental pediment. Above the entrance, there are two large mullioned and transomed windows, topped by a pedimented gable displaying the coat of arms.

The outer bays of the ground floor are made of banded brick, featuring stone mullioned windows with continuous sills and hoodmoulds. A terracotta frieze above the windows reads "Free Library Public Baths, Art and Science Institute." Consoles support pilasters that define the first storey, and there is a projecting cornice beneath a round-arched arcade of windows on the attic storey. The building also has four bays facing Greengates Street, similarly detailed, and features a large hanging wrought-iron sign that reads "Thomas Nash Peake gave this AD 1901" on one side and "Tunstall Free Library. William Dunrose made this, AD 1901" in Gothic script on the reverse.

The public baths are housed in a two-storeyed brick building on Greengates Street, which is connected to the library via a rear courtyard range. This building is a significant example of the provision of municipal facilities in the late 19th century.