{{Short description|Public library in Blackpool, Lancashire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Use British English|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox building | name = Blackpool Central Library | alternate_names = | image = Central Library, Blackpool.jpg | image_alt = | caption = Blackpool Central Library viewed from Queen Street | pushpin_map = United Kingdom Blackpool | pushpin_map_alt = | altitude = | building_type = | architectural_style = | structural_system = | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | current_tenants = | landlord = | address = | location_town = [[Blackpool]] | location_country = United Kingdom | coordinates = {{coord|53.8206|-3.0531|display=inline}} | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = 1911 | opened_date = | renovation_date = | height = | diameter = | roof = | architecture_firm = Cullen, Lochhead and Brown | awards = | designations = | ren_awards = | references = | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Grade II Listed Building | designation1_offname = Central Library and Grundy Art Gallery | designation1_type = | designation1_criteria = | designation1_date = 20 October 1983 | delisted1_date = | designation1_partof = | designation1_number = {{National Heritage List for England|num=1072014|short=yes}} }} }} '''Central Library''' is a [[public library]] in [[Blackpool]], Lancashire, England, operated by the [[Blackpool Council]].<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Residents/Libraries-arts-and-heritage/Libraries/Libraries-and-opening-times/Libraries-and-opening-times.aspx |title= Our libraries |publisher=Blackpool Council |work=blackpool.gov.uk |access-date= 2026-02-28 }}</ref>. The building that contains the library and the [[Grundy Art Gallery]] has been designated a Grade&nbsp;II listed building by English Heritage.

==History== In 1908, a site was picked for a new library and art gallery on Queen Street.<ref name=Morris /> It was partly financed by [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]] artists Cuthbert and John Grundy. Construction started on the building in 1909, and it was completed in 1911.<ref name=EH /> It was designed by Scottish architecture firm Cullen, Lochhead and Brown, who had won a competition for the project.<ref name=Morris /> In August 2010, the library closed to the public to undergo a year-long renovation that cost £3&nbsp;million. It reopened on 26 September 2011.<ref name=bbc1 /><ref name=bbc2 /> The Library celebrated its centenary on 26 October 2011.

==Architecture== The library is in the [[Edwardian Baroque]] style.<ref name=Hartwell /> It is on two storeys and is constructed of red brick with stone [[ashlar|dressings]] and striped [[pilaster]]s.<ref name=EH /><ref name=Hartwell /> The library occupies the corner part of the building; the west and south walls have flanking [[pylon (architecture)|pylon]]s on [[plinth]]s made of stone.<ref name=EH /> The corner entrance is flanked by three [[ionic column]]s on each side.<ref name=EH /> Over the doorway is a large, rectangular window, and above that, a [[frieze]] carved with the words "{{smallcaps|Central Public Library}}". At the top, there is an octagonal leaded dome, which has a [[finial]] shaped like an urn.<ref name=EH /><ref name=Hartwell />

On 20 October 1983 the building that contains the library, and the adjacent [[Grundy Art Gallery]], was designated a Grade&nbsp;II [[listed building]] by [[Historic England]]. The Grade&nbsp;II listing—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".<ref name=ListedBuildings />

==Stained Glass== As part of the centenary renovation of the building in 2011, 8 new stained glass windows were commissioned. Designed by Nick Robertson<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-15197838|title = Blackpool Central Library reopens after £3m revamp|work = BBC News|date = 6 October 2011}}</ref> with a brief from the staff of the Library and input from Library users which were made by [[www.rainbowglassstudios.co.uk|Rainbow Glass Studios]] based in London.

==See also== *[[Listed buildings in Blackpool]] *[[List of libraries in the United Kingdom]]

==References== ;Footnotes {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Hartwell>[[#Hartwell|Hartwell & Pevsner]], p. 141</ref> <ref name=Morris>[[#Morris|Morris]], p. 34</ref> <ref name=EH>{{NHLE | desc = Central Library and Grundy Art Gallery | num = 1072014 | accessdate =10 June 2011 |mode = cs2 }}</ref> <ref name=bbc1>{{Citation | title = Blackpool Central Library Closes for Refurbishment | work = [[BBC News]] | publisher = [[BBC]] | date = 22 August 2010 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-11052819 | access-date =10 June 2011 }}</ref> <ref name=bbc2>{{Citation | title = Blackpool Central Library Reopens After £3m Revamp |work=BBC News | date = 6 October 2011 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-15197838 | access-date =9 October 2011 }}</ref> <ref name=ListedBuildings>{{Citation |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/ |title=Listed Buildings |access-date=10 June 2011 |work=National Heritage List for England |publisher=English Heritage |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222203826/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/ |archive-date=22 December 2012 }}</ref>

}} ;Sources *{{Citation | last1 = Hartwell | first1 = Clare | last2 = Pevsner | first2 = Nikolaus | author2-link = Nikolaus Pevsner | title = [[Pevsner Architectural Guides|Lancashire: North]] | publisher = [[Yale University Press]] | location = New Haven and London | year = 2009 | orig-year = 1969 | isbn = 978-0-300-12667-9 | ref = Hartwell}} *{{Citation | last = Morris | first = Edward | title = Public Art Collections in North-west England: A History and Guide | publisher = [[Liverpool University Press]] | year = 2001 | isbn = 0-85323-527-9 | ref = Morris}}

{{Blackpool buildings}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1911]] [[Category:1911 establishments in England|Blackpool Central Library]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Blackpool|Central Library]] [[Category:Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire|Blackpool Central Library]] [[Category:Public libraries in Lancashire|Blackpool Central Library]]