On a corner site in Jesmond, one of Newcastle’s inner northern suburbs, Jesmond Library is a compact circular building that has served the local community since 1963. The library lies within easy reach of Jesmond’s residential streets and is unusual among Newcastle’s public buildings for its distinctive modernist design and its story of community rescue.
Architecture and Listed Status
Designed by Harry Faulkner Brown of Williamson, Faulkner and Brown and Partners, the building went up between 1962 and 1963. Its lending area is a small circular structure with a steel frame painted black, windows above precast panels of pink granite aggregate, and a flat roof. The external windows and panels follow a sawtooth arrangement around the curve of the building. A two-storey administrative block connects to this circular lending space. The design earned the RIBA Bronze Medal in 1965, and the building holds Grade II listed status in recognition of its architectural merit.
Closure, Community Action and Reopening
Following a budget review, Newcastle City Council announced in March 2013 that Jesmond Library would close as part of a wider reduction in the city’s library provision. The library shut on 29 July 2013. Local residents responded quickly, forming Friends of Jesmond Library to oppose the closure and to draw up a plan for volunteer management. The group registered as both a limited company and a charity, and reopened the library on 21 September 2013 – less than two months after it had closed. Newcastle City Council retains ownership of the building, and in July 2016 the Friends group signed a 20-year lease with the council. By 2017, around 90 volunteers were keeping the library running. At the suggestion of residents, the building also functions as a community hub for the local area.