Carnegie Library, Carnegie Street., Lurgan, Co Armagh, BT66 6AS

Carnegie Library, Carnegie Street, Lurgan

This is a red brick Edwardian Freestyle Carnegie library built in 1905–06 to a design by Henry Hobart of Dromore, with a large two-storey extension added in 1991–92. The building stands in Carnegie Street, a cul-de-sac (originally an open-ended thoroughfare) opening off the south-west side of Market Street on noticeably sloping ground. Together with the neighbouring Danske Bank and adjacent public house, the original building forms an important Edwardian grouping at the northern end of Carnegie Street. The original section is largely intact externally and retains a memorable dressed sandstone entrance and decorative gable parapets. Internally, although there have been changes to the layout, a significant amount of original features survives. The 1991–92 extension is ill-judged in terms of scale and detailing; however, it is clearly distinguishable from the earlier structure, and despite its size its position on sloping ground has ensured a degree of visual subservience to the older building.

Form and Plan

The original section of the building is roughly rectangular in plan, with the main two-storey block to the south. The roof consists of two main gabled portions to the east and west, linked by a narrower transverse gable. To the south of this is a lean-to, and to the north — in line with the entrance — is a steep pyramidal roof topped with a weathervane. Apart from the eastern side of the lower gabled section, much of the roof is now covered in replacement slate-like tiles with a mixture of terracotta and replacement concrete ridge tiles. There is a relatively small brick chimneystack to the rear of the gable of the two-storey portion, and two lead-clad fleche-like projections to the ridge of its single-storey counterpart, which appear to have been altered in recent years.

North (Front) Elevation

The frontage is asymmetric and divided into three sections: a large gabled bay to the left, an equally broad two-storey bay to the right, and a narrower tower-like two-storey central portion containing the entrance. The façade is largely in brick and rises into a parapet coped in discoloured — but possibly originally red — ashlar sandstone, adorned with sub-Baroque scrolled apexes and ball finials. Shallow brick buttresses delineate each bay, with sandstone sill and header courses to the two-storey section, and a bevelled brick plinth spanning the whole elevation. Windows throughout have sandstone sills and moulded sandstone dripstones.

The entrance is set within a generously proportioned arched recess in dressed red sandstone, with pairs of half-height decorated Ionic pulvinated columns supporting a cusped semi-circular arch bearing the raised lettering "FREE LIBRARY" and a drip moulding over. Within the recess and protected by a sliding metal concertina gate — described at the time of the 1906 opening as a "Botwick's collapsible steel gate" — is a threshold with encaustic tiling and a timber screen whose central double doors have leaded glazing in a simplified Art Nouveau manner to the upper panels, as well as to the sidelights and expansive fanlight.

Directly above the entrance is a large segmental-headed first-floor window whose mullioned and transomed timber frame has typically Edwardian multi-paned glazing filled with decorative leaded tracery in the upper lights. Above this window is a projecting sandstone relieving arch on dentilled brackets; below the window sill is some moulded brickwork.

To the left of the entrance, within the single-storey section, is a Venetian-like grouping of three tall windows, each with transomed timber frames with multi-paned uppermost lights, all covered by a continuous drip moulding. Above this, within the gable, are three slit recesses also with drip moulding. To the right of the entrance is another triple-light window with a much wider central light but with similar frames and moulding; centred above this at first-floor level is a large semi-circular window with a similar frame but a more decorative drip moulding, and some moulded brickwork supporting the sill.

East Elevation

This elevation, along with the rear, is of more functional appearance — wholly in brick and largely without decoration, save for a moulded brick eaves course. On the single-storey section there are two large square windows with frames similar to those on the front but without the smaller panes; both are covered by modern security grilles. To the left of this section, on a small rear lean-to set back from the main elevation, are two small windows with modern replacement frames, and directly above, on a taller lean-to, a larger window with a timber sash frame. On the east face of the two-storey block is a large semi-circular-headed stairwell window divided into a series of lights — some upper ones pointed — all filled with leaded Art Nouveau glazing.

West Elevation

This side of the building is almost entirely abutted by the 1991–92 extension and is virtually invisible. The extension itself is almost twice the size of the original structure and is built in brown-red brick. Although largely modern in appearance, its gabled end bay does attempt to echo the style of the earlier building, albeit in a considerably more pared-down form.

Rear Elevation

The two-storey gabled bay to the left has a large semi-circular arched upper-floor window and three ground-floor doorways leading to stores and plant rooms, all of which are later 20th-century insertions with concrete heads and modern flat-panel doors. To the immediate right of this is another doorway, now with a modern door, with three relatively small windows to its right, all with modern frames. Above these are two further windows: the left-hand one retains a timber sash frame while the right-hand one has a replacement timber frame. To the far right, on the rear gable of the single-storey block, is a group of three windows matching the arrangement on the front gable of this section but without the drip moulding; these windows are also covered by a security grille.

Rainwater Goods

Cast-iron with moulded guttering. Later 20th-century soil pipes.

Interior

Although the layout has been altered, a significant amount of original fabric survives internally. A contemporary account from the Belfast News-Letter's report on the 1906 opening describes the interior as follows: on the ground floor was a vestibule entrance leading to a spacious hall communicating through swinging doors with a recreation room of 25 ft by 25 ft and a reading room of 26 ft by 40 ft. Leading from the hall was a handsome staircase in three easy flights, lit by a cathedral glass window bearing the Lurgan town coat of arms. On the upper floor was the lending library, a spacious room of 25 ft by 40 ft containing shelves and cases capable of holding thousands of volumes. A men's lavatory was provided on the ground floor, and a cloakroom and ladies' lavatory were located conveniently adjacent to the lending library.

The official opening programme adds further detail: the walls throughout had a dado finished in Keene's cement with bold mouldings at the top, all window jambs similarly finished and moulded. The staircase and ceilings were in selected pitch pine with moulded mahogany rails, and all interior woodwork was in yellow pine painted green satin and varnished.

Historical Background

The building was constructed on land previously occupied by garden plots belonging to properties fronting onto Market Street. These long plots had been laid out in the early 17th century and stretched south-westwards towards the lower ground where Millennium Way now runs, interspersed with narrow lanes and passages opening onto Market Street. One of these, Margery's Lane, ran roughly along the line of today's Carnegie Street. The area around the lane was deemed "unhealthy" in a report of 1897, and around 1900 Lurgan Urban District Council embarked on an urban improvement scheme for the vicinity, purchasing all properties within the lane as well as the former nos. 29–39 Market Street, clearing everything away, and laying out a new street from Market Street to Roger's Court — another narrow passage whose eastern half ran roughly along the line of today's Millennium Way.

In 1902 the council decided to site a new library in this recently created street, intended to replace the free library it had established in 1894, which was then located in the basement of the Town Hall in Union Street. The council applied to the Scottish-born American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for financial assistance — his library funding scheme having been introduced to Ireland in 1897 — and by early 1903 Carnegie had agreed to donate £2,000. In commemoration of this gift the council named the new thoroughfare after him.

The following year, architect Henry Hobart of Dromore was engaged to provide a design, and building work commenced in 1905. The contractor was William Callaghan of Magheralin, who sourced the perforated brick from Seagoe, near Portadown. The Cumbrian sandstone came from Aspatria parish, near Allerton, supplied by a Mr McCormick of Antrim Road, Belfast. The stained glass was the work of Campbell Brothers of Belfast, and the low-pressure hot water heating system was provided by Messrs John Long & Sons of Lurgan.

Alterations

The building underwent some alterations to the rear in the mid-20th century; the concrete heads to the three plant-room doorways suggest these date from around the 1960s or were altered around that time, and some of the smaller windows have replacement frames of that era or slightly later. Just prior to the completion of the 1991–92 extension, the original building was partly damaged by fire, which necessitated further works to that section.