Aylesbury Literary Club At Pegatty'S Restaurant And Tea Rooms

A library and reading room, later adapted for use as a restaurant and literary club, was built between 1879 and 1880 for Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, designed by George Devey. The building was extended in 1903, and further alterations occurred in the 20th century. Constructed primarily of brick, with a pebble-dashed and painted finish, it has a plain tile roof and brick stacks. It is two storeys high, with a partial attic, and comprises four bays, the two bays on the left being added in the 1903 extension.

The building features a plinth and a modillion eaves cornice. The mullion and transom windows have segment-headed central lights, apron panels, and cornices on the ground floor. The windows in the two leftmost bays have leaded glazing; those in the right bay have replacement glazing from the late 20th century. The right-hand bay incorporates a foundation stone dated 1879, a two-storey oriel window, rusticated pilasters to the first floor, and a recessed gable with a blocked attic window, decorative barge boards, and a pendant finial. The bay to the left, slightly set back and of the same date, houses the entrance: a step leading to a late 20th-century double door with a fanlight within a bolection-moulded architrave surmounted by a broken pediment and an old iron lantern. Above the door is an architraved and corniced recess containing the initials “NR” enclosed within a wreath bearing the motto, "Concordia, Industria, Integrita". The two bays on the left have a foundation stone dated 1903; the narrow, right-hand bay has a one-light window to each floor, while the left-hand bay has a five-light window on each floor, with coloured glass on the ground floor, and a gable above. Raised brick verges are present. Corniced brick end stacks flank the roof. A ridge louvre has battered, tile-hung sides, a wooden lantern, and a swept pyramidal roof with a wooden finial.

Inside, panelled doors lead to ground-floor rooms which are also panelled, featuring decorative wooden fireplaces. The fireplace in the left-hand room is particularly notable, with pilasters bearing garlands and Ionic capitals, a dentilled cornice, and a clock within a bracketed wooden surround. A coffered ceiling adorns the stair hall; the stair itself is plain but features panelled newels. Originally the Reading Room was on the ground floor with the Library located above.