‘Moving Central Library would be an act of violence’

Every great city should have a great library and Bristol is no exception.

Bristol Central Library is a Grade I listed purpose-built masterpiece, considered the finest achievement of its architect Charles Holden.

Built in 1906, it is a stunning blend of design and functionality, particularly the neo-classical vaulted space on its first floor which lets in natural light from above. This is not any old building.

And yet Bristol City Council is suggesting that Central Library could move to another location as part of sweeping cuts.

Rather than ride out a recession predicted to last two years, the council is prepared to take this historic library away from current and future generations of Bristolians for ever. It would be this council’s greatest ever act of civic vandalism.

Had the council not had a bout of collective amnesia, this proposal would never have seen the light of day.

There are three good reasons for this. First, the council does not have moral ownership of the library. Second, the council’s own guidance rules out a move. And third, the people of Bristol have already voiced a resounding ‘no’.

Civic overreach

The genesis of Bristol Central Library is unusual. Vincent Stuckey Lean, a wealthy Bristolian and literary scholar, left £50,000 in his will for the development of libraries in Bristol, including “the formation and sustenance of a General Reference Library… for public use”.

His bequest was made to “the Mayor, Aldermen and citizens of the City of Bristol”. And so, morally speaking, the rightful owners of the library are therefore its citizens. Our present council is merely its custodian.

Central Library was “bequeathed to the city of Bristol” – photo: Martin Booth

Lord Winterstoke opened the library more than 100 years ago. Recorded in the Western Daily Press, he made a speech in which he noted that “many gifts of great value had been made to the community, but he did not think anything could compare with the advantage that would accrue in the future to Bristol by the gift of that magnificent library by Mr Vincent Stuckey Lean”.

Lord Winterstoke was prescient; in spite of two world wars and times of great hardship, many millions of citizens and visitors have always been able to benefit from “that magnificent library”.

There have already been rumours that the council could offer the building to Cathedral Primary or secondary school. The response from the school must be a resounding no.

If it comes to it, who within the school is going to rise up against this injustice – which pupils, parents, teachers or governors?

“This House believes that a school complicit in annexing a city’s finest public institution for private use has lost its moral compass and sets an appalling example to its pupils. Discuss.”

Breach of guidance

In the Central Library’s reference section is a document the Council would probably prefer you didn’t see.

Published in 2013, it is entitled ‘Bristol Central Library: statement of significance for Bristol City Council’ and is “an aide memoire for those making decisions about the future of the building to ensure that the importance of the place is understood in terms of its future conservation management”.

The report points out that “libraries are places that are greater than the sum of their books”.

Following recognized guidelines, it assesses the library’s significance in terms of four types of value:

• Evidential (the material survival of the building)
• Historical (aspects that are not immediately obvious from its current presentation)
• Aesthetic (the design quality and beauty of the place)
• and, crucially, Communal (the building’s community value)

These four values are intertwined, an example being the choice of expensive, quality building materials which “marks it as a building to last and confers on it a heightened cultural value to future generations”.

Dozens of aspects of the library are classed as Highly Significant: of undisputed national and possibly international importance.

This also includes the library’s communal value: “It is important in the consideration of the significance of Bristol’s Central Library that it is a Public Library. It is first and foremost a spatial experience, and one designed for the ‘common man’ to use”.

The report’s executive summary concludes: “Future proposals for the library must preserve its communal and aesthetic significance. This report demonstrates that there is little opportunity for a change in use without fundamentally diminishing the evidential and historic values of the place and great care should be exercised in future deliberations.”

In other words, the building must always remain a public one, and changing the use of the building would immediately put at risk its evidential and historic values. It cannot be done.

Designed by Charles Holden, Bristol Central Library opened in 1906 – photo: Martin Booth

Taking the public for fools

Two major public consultations on Bristol’s libraries have been held in recent years: one in 2014/15 under the previous mayor and one in 2017 under the current mayor.

When the 2017 consultation proposed the only way forward was to slash the number of libraries from 27 to ten, there was widespread public outrage. Exhaustive and exhausting campaigns were launched with thousands of people signing petitions, resulting in a screeching u-turn from the council in 2018 which ‘saved’ the libraries.

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Read more: All of Bristol’s libraries saved

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As far as the public is concerned, the libraries question was therefore settled four years ago. Indeed, in 2020 the council published its own ‘Library Strategy 2020-2024’ which makes no mention of relocating the Central Library or of any of the other threatened closures which have surfaced again this month.

The strategy is based on data from the 2017 consultation, as well as two other consultations from 2019. According to the strategy’s executive summary, deputy mayor Asher Craig had “heard and seen the passion of communities that want to keep their local library, and this strategy reflects the approach we plan to take over the next four years”.

And yet, alas, here we are again, with 2024 still two years away and the same Council determined to disfigure the library service. The proposed move of the Central Library was front page news this month, reflecting how important an issue this is to Bristolians.

And yet the opportunity for citizens to respond to the threat is buried almost 10,000 words into the council’s budget consultation document (yes, I’ve counted the words). You can respond to the consultation here before midnight on December 23 2022, and thank goodness you can skip questions you don’t wish to answer.

As one prescient voice in 2018 put it: “Why must Bristol’s Libraries constantly be marched up the hill of closure threats only to be marched down again?”

The council does not need to consult any more on the future of libraries: it already has the data, and citizens of Bristol have opted for the status quo.

One of Banksy’s lesser-known surviving pieces in Bristol is painted on the ground floor of Central Library – photo: Martin Booth

Supporting wellbeing: something we can all agree on

One of the four pillars of the council’s ‘Library Strategy 2020-2024’ is that Bristol libraries must “support and enable wellbeing”.

One aspect that local authorities routinely ignore, though, is the strong link between heritage sites and wellbeing. Evidence shows that benefits include increased confidence, social connectivity, life satisfaction, sense of belonging, pride of place, ownership and collective empowerment.

Research from the University of London has even found that contact with a heritage site promoted a sense of citizenship among isolated and disadvantaged groups.

Bristol Central Library has been voted Bristol’s best 20th century building and is arguably the city’s most important public heritage site. To cross its threshold is to become part of the collective experience of millions of Bristolians, past and present. The building holds deep meaning for people in what are currently extremely challenging times.

Charles Holden’s masterpiece is a sacred secular space that belongs to us and our collective identity as citizens.

This is why removing the library it was designed to contain would be both ludicrous and a devastating blow for all Bristolians.

Henry George is an author and University of Bristol graduate

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• Central Library could move as part of council cuts
• Newspapers to no longer be provided in Bristol libraries
• Books come to life at Bristol Central Library

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