Hungerford House

Hungerford House is a former generating station, now a library, built between 1900 and 1901 by the London County Council Architects Department. Originally constructed as an electricity generating station for street lighting, it features Portland stone and a slate roof, with a brick rear. The building showcases an Arts and Crafts Free Style Baroque design and consists of one storey and an attic beneath a steep hipped roof, set on a basement.

The front facade is symmetrical with three bays, articulated by pilasters, and includes similar returns on one bay, while the rear is canted for service and staircase access. The central entrance has double doors that are recessed and accessed by a flight of steps cut through the plinth. The entrance is framed by moulded jambs with a dentilled doorhead under a fanlight and a semicircular arch with spaced voussoirs and a keystone. This is boldly framed by pairs of rusticated Doric pilasters on high pedestals, supporting a break in the entablature topped by a large semicircular pediment that features high relief sculpture reminiscent of William Silver Frith.

The flanking bays contain large semicircular arched small paned casement windows, which have cyma drip moulds and cartouche keystones carved with symbolic light rays. The deep plinth includes 2-light mullioned windows, and there are projecting pedestals similar to those at the entrance, leading to paired quoin pilasters. The building is adorned with a frieze and a heavy cornice, topped by a parapet balustrade between dies. The roof features tent dormers and a squat polygonal cupola vent with Ionic columns, showcasing a more overtly Arts and Crafts design.