Leigh Technical School (former) and Public Library: Railway Road Leigh

The town of Leigh has won its way to the front rank of those industrial communities that are now taking such strenuous part in the great educational revival which we express in the phrase technical instruction. Tomorrow afternoon the Earl of Derby will inaugurate for the benefit of the townspeople one of the most completely equipped technical schools in the country, with which under the same roof, will be associated a comprehensive public library. ..... Building operations were begun more than two years ago, and the work has cost £23,000, of which the land, electric light, heating and ventilating apparatus and the fittings have cost nearly £4,000. In designing the building the architects, Mr J C Prestwich and Mr J H Stephen, were guided by the condition that the library and school entrances should be separate, that the buildings should be capable of easy extension and be well lighted, that the library should be wholly on the ground floor and so arranged that the librarian should have easy command of all the rooms, that in the school there should be no classrooms in the basement, and that the chemical theatre and laboratory should be on the upper floor. Those “leading ideas” have been adhered to with best results. The style of architecture is described as English Renaissance and the colour scheme, which is carried out in Ruabon brick, red-stone, and Elterwater green slates, has a pleasing effect. A feature has been made of a tower over the library entrance, which brings the whole edifice into graceful prominence. The library comprises a vestibule, news and magazine room, lending library and reading room all fitted in the best style. The school occupies not only part of the ground floor but the whole of the first floor and included on the ground floor a vestibule and hall, committee and secretary's room, porter's room, classrooms for the teaching of mathematics, languages and domestic economy and cookery, and a women's cloakroom and offices. On the first floor are a physics classroom, chemical lecture theatre and chemical laboratory, photographic room, model drawing room, engineering and building drawing room and a number of offices. [Manchester Guardian 25 September 1894 page 9]

In 1890 a site costing £900, between Ulleswater Street and Thirlmere Street, was bought on which to build a Technical College with a Library incorporated in the same building. The foundation stone was laid by John Powys on 10 September 1892. Beneath the stone was placed a bottle containing details of the building.

 The building was opened by the Earl of Derby on 10 September 1894. The cost of the building was £11300, books cost £567 and the furniture cost £1299. At the time of opening, the Library had 3300 books for lending and 1000 reference books.

College building has elements of the Flemish Renaissance but overall has a French Renaissance Revival character. Note especially the tower windows and cornices over the narrow first floor windows. Also notice the relatively large area of glass in the facade.

Reference    Manchester Guardian 25 September 1894 page 9
Reference    British Architect 28 September 1894 Page 231 - Additional notes not taken
Reference    Pevsner: Lancashire: South