Prince Consort Library

The Prince Consort Library is a library and flat, later converted into an office, dating from 1860. It was designed by Captain Francis Fowke of the Royal Engineers, commissioned and funded by Prince Albert, and extended in the early to mid-19th century. The building is constructed of yellow brick with red brick dressings, a ridge stack encased in weatherboard and a rear gable stack, all under a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan with a parallel left-hand extension.

The front gable is single-storey with three bays, divided by pilaster strips into three sunken sections, wider in the centre. A brick corbel table and red brick eaves cornice runs to the coped gable. A recessed ground floor is set behind a loggia of open segmental red brick arches. First-floor arcades feature round-arched windows, three in the centre and two on each side, with a royal coat of arms above and decorated panels beneath. The right-hand return includes an arcade of blind segmental arches and an enriched brick eaves cornice. The roof has long flush glazed lights. A lower, 20th-century range to the left features a four-sectioned gable and a projecting mid-20th century porch, with paired round-arched first-floor windows.

Inside the main section, a timber gallery runs along three sides, supported by diagonally-braced rails and iron ties bolted to timber trusses. A front flat, now an office, is situated above a ground-floor meeting room, accessed by a staircase with stick balusters, column newels, and a wreathed rail. Original fittings remain, including bookshelves, reading desks, and chairs.

The library originally included accommodation for the librarian, explaining the heating in the front section. It was one of the first barracks libraries built, with Prince Albert donating 2000 books. The building is notable for the involvement of both Prince Albert and Captain Fowke, the designer of the Albert Hall, and for the survival of many original fittings.