| Kensington Central Library | |
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| General information | |
| Address | Hornton Street and Phillimore Walk,Kensington |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′05″N0°11′40″W / 51.5015°N 0.1945°W /51.5015; -0.1945 |
| Opened | 13 July 1960 |
| Owner | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Vincent Harris |
| Website | |
| www | |
Kensington Central Library is a Grade II* listed building onHornton Street and Phillimore Walk,Kensington, London. It was built in 1958–60 by the architectE. Vincent Harris on the site of The Abbey, aGothic house which had been constructed for a Mr Abbot in 1880 and destroyed by bombing in 1944.[1] It was opened by theQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 13 July 1960.[2] The building was designed in a traditional, English, renaissance-style.[3] There were demonstrations against the project by those who advocated for the building to be in a modern style.[4]
The public library is within theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and is managed as part of a tri-borough integrated library and archive service, alongside those ofWestminster andHammersmith and Fulham.[5]
On the south side of the library, facing Phillimore Walk, are two statues of a lion and a unicorn, both holding theRoyal Arms of the United Kingdom. They were sculpted byWilliam McMillan in order to reflect the "Royal" status of the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[2]
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| National | |
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