Muswell Hill Public Library
MUSWELL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY, QUEEN'S AVENUE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1247005
- Date first listed:
- 07-Feb-1994
- List Entry Name:
- Muswell Hill Public Library
- Statutory Address:
- MUSWELL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY, QUEEN'S AVENUE
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2002-09-13
- Reference:
- IOE01/05025/29
- Rights:
- © Mr Neal Cox. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1247005
- Date first listed:
- 07-Feb-1994
- List Entry Name:
- Muswell Hill Public Library
- Statutory Address 1:
- MUSWELL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY, QUEEN'S AVENUE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- MUSWELL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY, QUEEN'S AVENUE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Haringey (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 28716 89665
Details
TQ 2889 QUEEN'S AVENUE (south side) 800-/21/10009 Muswell Hill Public library II
Public library. 1931 by W H Adams for Hornsey Borough Council. Red and brown brick with stone dressings, flat roof. Rectangular plan of two storeys, the lower for adults and the upper for children - this with central four-bay raised attic and skylights. Three bay main frontage has deep plinth, a giant order of pilasters, cornice, frieze and pediment, with central double panelled doors flanked by giant volute brackets and carriage lamps. Over it are arrayed the Hornsey Borough arms and the date - 1931 - in stone surround linking door with first-floor window. The flanking windows are similarly paired vertically, but have between them raised stone panels inset into contrasting brickwork. This motif is repeated on the first bay of the side elevations; these also have a giant order, but have brown brick panels at first-floor level and clerestorey glazing in raised attic. All windows have metal glazing with margin lights and diagonal panes in various patterns. The interior has an elaborate iron stair leading to children's library. This room is significant for the survival of its panelling, some original shelving and especially for a deep frieze of murals painted by the Hornsey School of Art in 1937-8; they are the earliest mural decorations known to survive in a children's library, - once a popular repository for mural painting as a device to encourage learning, but now rare. The murals depict local scenes through the ages, and were the work of J B Shaw, D Fuller, R Woodward, G Makins and Miss W M Gamlen of-the Hornsey School of-Art.
Listing NGR: TQ2871689665
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 456121
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 23-Jun-2026 at 03:12:12.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.