Lillington Library

A branch library, in Festival of Britain style, dating from 1959-60, designed by Henry Fedeski, ARIBA of Fedeski and Rayner Architects, and built by George Wimpey and Co.

MATERIALS: brick and concrete, with Hornton stone, glass, slate and coloured aggregate panels over breezeblock; copper roof to the first floor.

PLAN: T-shaped plan, with irregular arms.

EXTERIOR: the building is of brick and concrete construction, in two blocks: a long, single-storey range running left to right, housing the public areas of the library, with concrete beams supporting the flats which form the upper storey of the two-storey range running front-to-back and slightly oversailing what was formerly the centre of the now seven-bay range. The ground floor is glazed to full height, with aluminium frames, under a flat roof. The end walls are built from coursed, hammer-dressed Hornton stone. The entrance bay, which forms the ground floor of the front-to-rear range, tips outwards to carry the overhanging first floor, and is flanked by polished Broughton Moor slate panels. Above, the three-window cross wing has a low-pitched, gabled roof clad in copper; the breezeblock is clad in a checker-board pattern of alternating light- and dark-coloured aggregate panels. The returns to either side are clad in coarse, pinkish aggregate panels along the first floor of the seven-window range; the blind rear elevation is similarly clad. The ground floor and the rear of the main range are of brick.

INTERIOR: the interior of the ground-floor library forms a single, open space, with a central entrance housing the issue desk. To the rear of this section, four steps lead up into the rear corridor, which has offices and facilities for staff. An internal door within a service room gives access to the ground-floor lobby, primarily accessible from outside, which houses a concrete dogleg stair which rises to the first floor flats. The stair has square section metal balusters with ball details, and a metal handrail. The first-floor landing has opposing doors giving access to the former flats, now offices.