Purley Library Including Forecourt Wall

Purley Library, including the forecourt wall, is a public library designed by the architectural firm of Gold and Aldridge in the Moderne style, which opened in 1936. The building is constructed of brown facing bricks laid in Flemish bond, with Guildstone re-constituted stone dressings and steel-framed Crittall windows. It features hipped roofs covered with pantiles.

The front of the library is divided into a Junior Library on the left and a Reference Library on the right, with a central Lending Library at the back. This is flanked by offices and toilets on one side and a Local Studies Room on the other. The front range is a single storey and has six tall windows, each with moulded architraves and keystones. Notably, the penultimate windows have keystones shaped like five book spines. Above the central doorcase, there is a bas relief depicting a boy and girl drinking at the Fountain of Knowledge. The entrance features double doors with three panels and cast iron railings.

On the right side elevation, there is a gable with one window, a dedication tablet, and an ornate blank shield. Adjacent to this is a section of lower elevation that includes eight top-opening casement windows and a cambered doorcase with double oak doors featuring fielded panels.

To the right, the library is connected by a round-headed entrance to a low boundary wall made of brick, which includes two square gatepiers topped with a ramped parapet and a cast iron overthrow with a tapering square lamp, enclosing a lawn at the front. The interior retains original oak glazed double doors, purpose-built adjustable oak shelving, and lettering in the Reference Library. The same architectural firm also designed libraries in Sanderstead, Coulsdon, and Kenley.