Elswick Road, Stephenson Library

Shown on 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map. Now a housing office. Known locally as the Stephenson building. Sir W.H. Stephenson (1836-1918) presented the building to the City in 1896 as its first branch library. It became West End Leisure and Learning in 1984. Described in 1895 as having a refreshment room, committee room, ladies reading room, general reading room and lavatory on the ground floor. The principal entrance into the entrance hall was to the west, from which there was a staircase to the upper floor where the main hall (library and meetings) was located. The external walls were faced with red Leicestershire bricks, with dressings of stone and pink terracotta. The building was roofed with red tiles. The internal woodwork was stained canary wood. The roof of the main hall was of hammer-beam construction in pitch pine and the ceiling panelled with moulded ribs. The stircase had a fine stained glass window. The west entrance is carried up into a tower and in the parapet was a stone shield with the arms of Alderman Stephenson. The building cost around £4000. Stephenson also helped found the Methodist Church to the east of the library. LOCAL LIST