The site for the Archibald Corbett Library was formerly tennis courts, and was donated by Archibald Corbett. The £4,500 construction cost was donated by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
“… presumably would have made good use of the new Library which opened in Torridon Road in 1907. The local council had wanted to build one for several years, and Corbett was willing to donate land, but they were short of funds so it wasn’t until Andrew Carnegie – world famous philanthropist and serial builder of around 3,000 libraries – stepped in with a donation of £4,500 that it finally came into existence. Sadly for the estate’s tennis fans it was the recreation ground that Corbett offered up for the new building: maybe he figured the new Mountsfield Park over the other side of Brownhill Road was close enough to provide for healthy exercise.”
Extract from the history of the Corbett Estate on the Corbett Society website - see: https://thecorbettsociety.org.uk/the-estates/catford-hither-green/
Photo by Paul de Zylva, library volunteer, of a red Jaguar E-type on the road in front of the Corbett Community Library, known to many as Torridon Library on the junction of Torridon Road and Sandhurst Road in Catford, Lewisham, London, SE6.
The commemorative plaque for the 30th November 1907 opening of the Archibald Corbett Library can be seen high on the right hand side wall as you enter the foyer of the library.
The library was opened by Mrs ECB Philpott, who was the wife of the vicar of nearby St Andrews’s Church which opened in 1904.
View of the library from the top deck of a London bus at the top of Sandhurst Road.
It’s an odd thing that even from at that height, our magnificent dome is hard to see.
Come in to see it from below.
118 years ago today, St Andrew’s Day, 30 Nov 1907, our library opens to serve the people of #Catford #SE6 #HitherGreen #SE13 #Lewisham
1907 also saw the serving of the first school meals and the start of London’s first metered taxi service.
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