Eltham Library

Eltham Library is a public library built in 1906 by Maurice B Adams. It features red brick construction with Portland and Ancaster stone dressings, tile-hung gables, and a tiled roof. The central section, made of Portland stone, is set back from the street and has three bays, flanked by two projecting sections with two bays each. The central entrance is flanked by twin Doric columns that support an open segmental pediment, which features a palm-flanked cartouche inscribed with "ELTHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY." Above this, there is a mullion and transom window within a pilaster-flanked surround, topped by an open pedimental canopy that contains a scrolled cartouche over crossed palms. The attic has a ball-capped design with the inscription "BOROUGH OF WOOLWICH."

The central frontispiece is flanked by lesser doors within pedimental doorcases, each with twin leaded lights, and there are mullion and transom windows at the first-floor level. The roof is hipped, with Portland stone chimneys in the center and lower brick chimneys at the ends. The flanking gabled sections have paired eight-light mullion and transom windows within semi-circular topped surrounds, above lower courses of glazed brown brick set between Portland stone bases and central pilasters. The first floor is rendered and features twin canted bay windows. The tile-hung gable ends are adorned with moulded urns. The eastern elevation has two eight-light mullion and transom windows and connects to a later northern extension built around 1935.

The interior does not retain any original fittings, featuring an open trussed roof over the issue desk and skylights above the central western areas. The librarian's flat on the first floor was not inspected.

The library was largely funded by American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and was originally planned to be the focal point of a larger civic complex that was never completed. It is recognized as a notable example of English Renaissance style, designed by one of the leading architects of public libraries, Maurice B Adams.