Library And Museum

The Library and Museum in Tunbridge Wells was built in 1939 and fitted out during the Second World War. It was designed by Percy Thomas and Ernest Prestwich after winning a competition in 1934, and is part of a series of municipal buildings. The structure is made of brown brick with reconstituted stone dressings, featuring stone coping and a band with the motto "LIBRARY AND MUSEUM." Although it is two storeys tall, the front displays windows only on the ground floor. There are eight 30-pane sash windows and a central tall window that includes a double door with lotus decoration on the side glazing, along with a bas relief frieze above showing various gods of Olympus, such as Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, and Athene. Inside, there is a large well staircase adorned with a stylised Greek key design on the cornice.