Story & Heritage

1841

The Library opens at 49 Pall Mall, London as the capital’s first “large, general, comprehensive lending library” with 2,500 books. The Earl of Clarendon is appointed inaugural President, WE Gladstone and Sir Edward Bunbury were on the first committee. John Cochrane is appointed first Librarian (and serves until 1852).

Before the Library even opened its doors in 1841, 500 members had signed up in support of the committee’s endeavours.

1842

An additional room is rented at 49 Pall Mall creating the Library’s first reading room. The collection reaches 13,000 volumes.

1845

The Library moves to its present location in St James’s Square after quickly outgrowing its first home.

1855

Alfred Lord Tennyson is appointed President, serving until his death in1892.

1879

The Library purchases the freehold of the premises.

1893

Charles Hagberg Wright is appointed Librarian and serves until his death in 1940. He develops the unique and much-loved classification system with books organised by subject rather than author and catalogues the collection of 200,000 volumes.

1896

From 1896-98, the building is entirely reconstructed to accommodate the rapidly expanding collection. The present eclectic facade, the Issue Hall, Reading Room, St James's Stacks and the grille-floored Back Stacks are erected and remain hallmarks of the Library today. The building is one of the first steel framed buildings in London.

1904

Virginia Woolf joins the Library as a life member, four days after the death of her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, who was President of the Library from 1892. The Library holds first editions from Woolf’s Hogarth Press.

1921

The building is extended: seven new floors are constructed to house a further 200,000 volumes. The radical glass floors and steel frames are constructed and shipped in from America.

1932

From 1932-34, the Art Room and the committee room that has since become The Study are constructed. The Reading Room is extended and additional bookstacks, the Central stacks, are built. The collections now number around 450,000 volumes.

1934

On 13 April 1934, life member Stanley Baldwin MP gives the opening address at a ceremony to open the newly built Central stacks.

Librarian Charles Hagberg Wright is knighted after more than 40 years of extraordinary service to the Library.

1944

The Library is hit by a German wartime bomb - over 16,000 volumes are destroyed and the new Central stacks and Art Room are heavily damaged. Staff and passers-by, including American servicemen, help to retrieve books and clear spaces. Repairs take 10 years to complete.

1948

Winston Churchill accepts the honorary position of Vice-President.

1952

T.S. Eliot is appointed President in 1952, serving until his death in 1965.

1960

E.M. Forster saves the Library from bankruptcy by auctioning his 'A Passage to India' manuscript. He remains a London Library member for 64 years, a dedicated Committee member and a significant supporter.

1995

The Anstruther Wing is completed. This new building is environmentally monitored and allows for the safe housing of our special collections - 30,000 of the rarest and most vulnerable volumes.

2004

Duchess House (now T S Eliot House) is purchased, increasing the overall capacity of the building by 30%.

2010

Work is completed to create the Foyle Lightwell Reading Room, the new Times Room, staff offices, the restoration and extension of the Library’s Art Room, and the refurbishment of the Issue Hall.

2013

The historic Reading Room is extensively refurbished and the Writers' Room (now the Stoppard Room) and the Study are opened as additional reading rooms.

2014

Architects Haworth Tompkins win RIBA Awards for their work on the Library’s refurbishment.

2015

The Library’s collection stands at almost one million volumes covering over 2,000 subjects across the Arts and Humanities in 55 different languages. The books range in date from 1500 to 2015 complemented by bound copies of over 2,000 periodicals dating from 1699 to today.

2016

The Library celebrates its 175th anniversary with a five day literary festival in St. James's Square. 'Words in the Square' features over 40 separate events and talks by leading writers and public figures, over half of whom are London Library members.

2018

Following the success of 'Words in the Square' the Library launches a public events programme celebrating reading and writing, creating a regular opportunity for non-members to access the Library.

2019

The first London Library Emerging Writers Programme opens for applications. An annual cohort of up to 40 unpublished writers are awarded a year’s membership and a programme of support.

2020

The Library provides extends its free postal loan service during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns sending 26,000 books to members in the UK and beyond, providing them with a vital lifeline to continue their writing and research.

2021

The Library celebrates its 180th anniversary with an online literary festival. Speakers include Salman Rushdie, Sarah Waters and Sir Tom Stoppard.

2022

Helena Bonham Carter becomes the Library’s first female president of The London Library.

2026

The New Room opens - a new, permanent dedicated space for programming at The London Library. The Archive & Research Room is also created, providing a space for study of the Library's safe and archival materials for the first time.