‘Libraries Gave Us Power’

“Libraries gave us power” was the opening line from the Manic Street Preachers’ first major hit ‘A Design for Life’, and reflected their pride in their working-class upbringing in industrial South Wales, the line being inspired by the main entrance to the Central Library in Newport which contains an inscription of the said legend. The library was built for the poor of the town around the turn of the 20^th century, a first class public facility to enable those less fortunate to better themselves, the provision of the building driven forward by the local Labour movement, hence the inscription: “libraries gave us power”.

The function of public libraries has changed dramatically since those days, with fewer people choosing to read books, and more and more people relying on technology following the internet revolution. What is also changing is the attitude to the facilities, the buildings themselves. Public buildings should be statements of civic pride, local landmarks, and should contribute to the public face and image of a place, but more and more public bodies and authorities seem to be taking a different view.

For example, there is talk of providing a new library facility in Biddulph to replace the old single-storey, flat roofed facility that currently provides local people with such services. The idea in Biddulph would be for the new library to be provided at first floor level over the top of a new supermarket, the facility branded an ‘ideas store’. Presumably the supermarket chain would fund the construction of the library, allowing the County Council to sell on the old site for a nice profit thank you very much. It could be argued that this a sensible approach; the public get a shiny new modern library with the County Council ploughing the proceeds from the sale of the former site into other services. On the other hand, you could argue that if a local authority cannot demonstrate some real pride in a place, what chance the residents themselves?

However, despite these changes in attitude, public libraries still play a major role in the lives of towns and cities throughout the country, with the Potteries being no exception: each of Stoke-on-Trent’s six towns is blessed with its own public library, and each one is a major architectural statement.

Just a mile or so up the A50 in Burslem is the Wedgwood Memorial Institute on Queen Street.

Dating from 1869, the Wedgwood Memorial Institute was built to house a free library and art and science school – one of the science school’s students being the great scientist Sir Oliver Lodge – in memory of the great Josiah Wedgwood to plans by G. B. Nichols of Wolverhampton (the design was to be modified by Robert Edgar and John Lockwood Kipling). This ornate Venetian Gothic building, with its beautiful sculptured façade decorated in terracotta, and with local tiles, is arguably the most memorable building in the Mother Town, and possibly even the city. The building relied heavily on the skills of local craftsmen and truly reflects the status of Burslem at that time.

I once attended art classes in the School of Art on the opposite side of Queen Street, and was lectured in a room with a great view of the Institute’s spectacular frontage. My lecturer would pontificate on certain points of art techniques and styles, and all the while I would just think, “turn around!!!” The building is still home to the town’s public library, but unfortunately is in a very poor state of repair. There is talk of a multi-million pound revamp; let’s hope that it is an innovative and thoughtful initiative that fully respects the importance of this incredible building, and not simply something shallow such as a façade retention scheme fronting a dreary new structure.

the Wedgwood Memorial Institute - Burslem

 

The finest and most distinctive example of Modernist architecture in Stoke-on-Trent can be found in Hanley. The current Hanley Library opened its doors in 1970 and was built by the City Architect J. W. Plant. Hanley Library This replaced the original facility on Pall Mall, and sat alongside the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, which also replaced former facilities on Pall Mall.   a postcard of the former library on Pall Mall Hanley Library is home to the city’s largest library, and also the city archives, and is a very well used and important local public building. It is also sits within an area of Hanley that will be the subject of major change over the coming years. Plans are being formulated to build a new business district between the site of the now demolished Unity House, and the city centre, and last summer the Sentinel reported that the land on which Hanley Library sits is worth in excess of £1million. Hopefully Hanley Library will remain as a key asset within a thriving new quarter and will not be disposed of for a quick buck with the services it offers shifted to another location.

One of the city’s most memorable library buildings is to be found on London Road in Stoke. The library was built by local contractor John Gallimore to a very striking design by Charles Lynam in a variety of local materials, such as blue and red brick, terracotta and tiles, with its most impressive features being its circular windows on the upper ground floor, and the Shakespeare mosaic on the façade.

The site on London Road was donated by Colin Minton Campbell MP, and the building, as well as providing a free public library, provided a canteen for local workers within the its basement.

the impressive Stoke Library on London Road

However, Stoke may soon be getting a new library. The original London Road facility is considered to be outdated, with the creation of disabled access proving difficult and prohibitive in terms of cost, and so the City Council is planning to provide a new purpose built facility in the square where the original Stoke Indoor Market once stood. The concept is interesting, and as well as providing new library facilities, new office space and public service facilities will be created to ease pressure on the congested Swann House: a joint service centre.
The building itself is potentially one of the most innovative of recent times in Stoke-on-Trent, with the structure planned to be extremely high quality in terms of its environmental design and performance. The scheme will go before the City Council’s Development Control Committee in the very near future. Here’s hoping that Stoke-on-Trent gets a new library that will be as impressive as those of years gone by.

At the heart of the ‘Neck End’ of the Potteries is Longton, the most southerly of the six towns, and home to another impressive library building: the Sutherland Institute and Free Library.

The Sutherland Institute was often referred to as “Longton’s Temple of Learning”, and strongly supported the industries of the time, coal, steel, and ceramics, by providing the town with a public library and technical school.

the Sutherland Institute

The scheme was the brainchild of the Duke of Sutherland, who was the Mayor of Longton at the time, and a major figure in the history of the Potteries, and he gifted the site to Longton to provide a convenient site for the facility. The Sutherland Institute was built to a Renaissance-style design by Hutchings and the ubiquitous Wood in red brick with yellow terracotta embellishments, and cost £10,000 to construct. It is a superb local landmark.

The Sutherland Institute is still home to Longton’s public library, and while it no longer also functions as an educational facility, it does continue to support industry and commerce, being the second phase of the City Council’s successful Hothouse business and enterprise centre. As well as providing the Neck End with a public library, it also provides 10 office and studio suites to modern technological standards, and a 120 seat lecture theatre. 

Most of Stoke-on-Trent’s library buildings share a common problem: that of under utilised floorspace, as many were designed as multi-purpose facilities. Important lessons can be learned from the Sutherland Institute; while it may have lost its raison d’etre, it has found a new, positive future that reflects its historic function.

David Proudlove     5 January 2008