Public Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit is a Grade II listed building in the Birmingham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 8 July 1982. Library and council house. 7 related planning applications.
Public Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit
- WRENN ID
- night-flue-lichen
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Perry Barr MP: Ayoub Khan (Ind)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 8 July 1982
- Type
- Library and council house
- Address
- Public Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit, Soho Road B21, B21 9DP
- OS grid reference
- SP 047 894
- Coordinates
- 52.50284, -1.93074
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Public Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit was built in 1878-9 by architects Alexander and Henman as the Urban District Council Offices. This building features red brick and terracotta with stone dressings and has a slate roof. It is mostly two storeys tall with an attic.
On the left side, the library section has a polygonal advanced bay topped with an octagonal glazed and louvred lantern that includes small gablets. This section has four bays of windows and a broad gabled bay with a large tripartite window of seven lights on the first floor. The clock tower is situated centrally, featuring an entrance beneath a gable that supports an oriel window, along with machicolations, a parapet, and a glazed and timbered clock stage. There are two bays of windows on either side of the clock tower, and on the right, there is another gabled bay. All the windows are designed with mullions and transoms, and the building includes several attractive sculptural details.
Local climate
Public Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 60% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 76% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 39 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 75% of listed buildings. Of these, 19 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 7 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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