Lewisham Public Library
LEWISHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY, LEWISHAM HIGH STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1261963
- Date first listed:
- 11-Jan-1995
- List Entry Name:
- Lewisham Public Library
- Statutory Address:
- LEWISHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY, LEWISHAM HIGH STREET
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2003-05-22
- Reference:
- IOE01/07356/02
- Rights:
- © Mr George Davey. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1261963
- Date first listed:
- 11-Jan-1995
- List Entry Name:
- Lewisham Public Library
- Statutory Address 1:
- LEWISHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY, LEWISHAM HIGH STREET
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:
- LEWISHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY, LEWISHAM HIGH STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Lewisham (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 37905 74717
Details
LEWISHAM HIGH STREET
TQ 3774
779-/18/10018 Lewisham Public Library
II
Public Library. 1901 by Alexander Hennell, extended 1929. Red brick with extensive terracotta dressings, slate roof Central entrance oftwo storeys and attic, with banded chimney stack on south side, flanked by single-storey side ranges of four bays each. Side elevations two windows with pedimental end to clerestorey; main lending library set at rear, also of two bays with clerestorey, this in hipped roof. Entrance doors set within arched flame inscribed 'PUBLIC LIBRARY', reached up steps set withjaunty iron railings. Tripartite window over with broken pediment; the windowsill with scrolled,
shouldered surround and linked by dramatic voussoir to the door below. Other windows to front and return elevations all with shouldered surrounds over scroll-flanked aprons. Interior with barrell-vaulted lending library under clerestorey with coloured glass, behind a sequence of top-lit reference rooms and offices to front. The earliest of Lewisham's distinctive group of terracotta-embellished libraries: a strong, clear composition with a well-lit interior and good use of materials.
Listing NGR: TQ3790574717
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 436198
- 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 14-Jun-2026 at 19:23:10.
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.