Bermondsey Public Library And Attached Railings And Piers

Bermondsey Public Library, built between 1890 and 1891, is designed by architect John Johnson and constructed by builders F and H Higgs. The building features brick in Flemish bond with terracotta and stone trim, topped with slate roofs that are hipped over the end ranges and have a mansard over the center.

The library stands two storeys high with an attic over a basement and has a five-window range. The central entrance is elliptical-arched, with original doors set beneath a porch supported by rusticated, coupled Ionic columns. Similar Ionic pilasters frame the ground floor, which includes 2-light, flat-arched windows with stone surrounds and mullions. To the right, there is a single-storey wing with alternating stone courses and brick, featuring a plaque with the inaugural inscription. The return of this wing has flat-arched windows. Below the ground-floor windows, a spandrel band is decorated with a bull's eye.

There is a second entrance on the left-hand range. The first-floor windows are also 2-light and flat-arched, but are set within a round-arched arcade. The piers of this arcade are adorned with an acanthus-leaf springing band, and the tympana feature floral sprays. The arches are constructed with brick and stone voussoirs, with historiated keystones. The arcading continues on the right return.

In the attic storey, the rhythm of the windows doubles, with all windows featuring elliptical arches, springing bands, and polychromed arches similar to those on the first floor. The center pair of attic windows has a balcony enclosed by a cast-iron railing. The building is topped with an entablature that has a garland frieze in terracotta, a segmental pediment in the centre range, and a Dutch gable with urns and finials.

The library also includes subsidiary features such as walls, piers, and railings at the entrance and areas, as well as a pair of stone piers with hipped capstones that lead to what was formerly an alley along the right return.