Swiss Cottage Library

Swiss Cottage Library, is the central library in the public library service of the London Borough of Camden, housed in an architectural landmark building in Avenue Road designed by Sir Basil Spence. It has been Grade II Listed building since 1997.[1]

Swiss Cottage Library
Swiss Cottage library from above in 2022
CountryUnited Kingdom
Typepublic library
Established1964 (1964)
ArchitectSir Basil Spence
LocationLondon Borough of Camden
Coordinates51.542364°N 0.173411°W / 51.542364; -0.173411
Branch ofCamden Libraries
Branches9
Access and use
Population served270,029 (2019)
Websitewww.camden.gov.uk/swiss-cottage-library
Map

History

Swiss Cottage Library was constructed as part of the Swiss Cottage Centre development by the now defunct Hampstead Borough Council in the 1950s.[2] In 1959, British architect Sir Basil Spence created a scheme for the Library and Swiss Cottage Sports Centre, which the queen opened in 1964.[3] The merging of Hampstead Borough Council with the larger London Borough of Camden as part of the London Government Act 1963 brought complications to the scheme, with Camden Council instead wanting to focus on Euston Road developments.[2] As a result, in 1981 the Council sold parts of Swiss Cottage Centre to London and Paris Holdings, who constructed 100 Avenue Road, an office block later demolished in 2016 to make room for luxury flats.[3][4] Camden Council announced in the late 1990s that it intended to regenerate Swiss Cottage Centre, and refurbished Swiss Cottage Library to include a children's library, and aid accesibility. The plan, including the demolition of Swiss Cottage Sports Centre and construction of Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, designed by Sir Terry Farrell, was finished in 2007 at a cost of £85 million.[2]

References
  1. Historic England (2 December 1997). "Swiss Cottage Library (Grade II) (1272259)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  2. Denford, Steven (2009). The Hampstead Book: The A-Z of Its History and People. Historical Publications. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-1905286331.
  3. Wade, Christopher (2009). Streets of Belsize. Camden Historical Society. p. 39. ISBN 978-0904491777.
  4. Cio, Stefania Di (16 November 2021). "100 Avenue Road developer tells inspector affordable housing "not viable"". Ham & High. Retrieved 22 January 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.