Westminster Public Library

Westminster Public Library is a public library built in 1893 by Francis J R Smith. The building is constructed of red brick with extensive stone dressings and features a tiled roof with crestings, along with iron railings in front. It has a nine-bay range that varies between three storeys and two storeys, with dormers set behind parapets, all over a basement. The central three-bay section projects, creating a tripartite composition, with each block of three bays featuring crested gables adorned with numerous stone finials. The building has a balustraded parapet and ornate moulded brick stacks.

All windows are fitted with stone mullions and transoms, arranged in a 2-3-2-3-canted 4-3-2-3-2 formation. The main entrance is highlighted by a projecting central bay, which includes a stone porch supported by Ionic pilasters. This porch features an entablature dated 1893, dedicated to the parishes of St Margaret and St John. There are two pairs of panelled doors accessed by steps and situated beneath a segmental, highly moulded arch. The end bays contain single double doors, and the ground floor windows, except those immediately adjacent, are topped with swan's-neck pediments adorned with lavish volutes. The first-floor windows above these have segmental pediments. The other bays are set between pilasters and include relief panels, three per floor, depicting medallions of Spenser, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dryden, Milton, and Tennyson on the ground floor, while the upper row features armorial roundels.

The interior of the library is notably complete and small in scale, with screens dividing the lending library from the reading area and entrance. A cast iron balcony surrounds the lending library, which retains its original panelling and partitions beneath a trabeated ceiling and early bookstacks, which are now rare. Even rarer is the book lift from the basement, reflecting the original 'closed access' system of storage and selection. The library is recognized as one of the most impressive civic designs of its time in London, executed in an intricate Jacobean style, with sculpture work by Henry Poole and Son that is of special interest.