In 1856 the Vestry Council of St Margaret and St John in Westminster provided premises for a public library as described in the 1855 Public Libraries Act, thus beating other London parishes by 30 years.
From the : "The old Westminster Literary, Scientific, and Mechanics Institution, occupying a site now covered by Church House in Great Smith Street, became the first Westminster public library and the first in London as a whole." At its source the image is captioned "The first public library in London, at Great Smith Street (1857)".
The library function of this building was replaced in 1893 by the red brick "Old Westminster Library" on the opposite side of the street and that must be when (c.1894) the building pictured here was demolished, since Church House was, partially, built in 1891 - 1902.
has a post explaining how public libraries came about.
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