The English Public Library 1850 – 1939 – Susie Barson

Among the many important political and social reforms of the mid-19th century was the Public Libraries Act of 1850. While this allowed municipal boroughs to establish public libraries, few were built until Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. Then, private philanthropy saw the construction of a vast number of libraries, and by 1914, 62 per cent of England’s population lived within a library authority area. Highgate Library which opened in 1906 was one of these.

Susie Barson is one of the authors of this Historic England guide which looks at the external architecture of the libraries built under these and later initiatives, and how they were fitted out and used. Come and hear her talk about it.

• No need to register – just arrive on the evening