Passmore Edwards Library

The Passmore Edwards Library, now a registry office, was built as a public library between 1898 and 1899 by architect Silvanus Trevail. It is constructed of red brick with stone dressings and features a slate roof topped with a three-stage cupola that has a clock. The building has two storeys and a gabled attic over the entrance bay.

The façade consists of three bays, with the outer bays featuring five-light mullion and transom windows beneath parapets that have trefoil-headed panels. The central entrance is designed like a Diocletian window and is flanked by a pair of blue marble Ionic columns supporting an arch, with spandrels that display bas-reliefs of seated figures holding a scroll and a book. The aprons of the first-floor windows are inscribed in raised letters with the words 'PASSMORE EDWARDS PUBLIC LIBRARY'.

There are gabled two-storey returns with windows on both the first and attic storeys. The lower rear section contains a reading room, and a low projecting bay on the east side originally housed the ladies' bay. Inside, the rear reading room features a hammerbeam roof. The first and attic storeys were originally used by the chief librarian. The library was opened by Herbert Gladstone, MP, on 30 November 1899, and was largely funded by John Passmore Edwards, a philanthropist known for promoting libraries in poorer areas of London. This library is a notably richly decorated example of his contributions in a suburban setting.