Kensington Central Library
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| Kensington Central Library | |
|---|---|
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 Interactive map of the Kensington Central Library area | |
| General information | |
| Location | Hornton Street and Phillimore Walk, Kensington, London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′05″N 0°11′40″W / 51.5015°N 0.1945°W |
| Opened | 13 July 1960 |
| Owner | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Vincent Harris |
| Website | |
| www | |
Kensington Central Library is a Grade II* listed building on Hornton Street and Phillimore Walk, Kensington, London. It was built in 1958–60 by the architect E. Vincent Harris on the site of The Abbey, a Gothic house which had been constructed for a Mr Abbot in 1880 and destroyed by bombing in 1944.[1] It was opened by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 13 July 1960.[2] The building was designed in a traditional, English, renaissance-style.[3] There was a student demonstration against the building being done in a traditional style, although the architecture of the building has been popular with locals.[4]
The public library is within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and is managed as part of a tri-borough integrated library and archive service, alongside those of Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham.[5]
On the south side of the library, facing Phillimore Walk, are two statues of a lion and a unicorn, both holding the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. They were sculpted by William McMillan in order to reflect the "Royal" status of the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[2]
