Clapham Library on Clapham High Street: hours, history and access

Clapham Library is at 91 Clapham High Street, SW4 7DB, inside the Mary Seacole Centre. On Wednesday it should be open 10am to 8pm. Walk in through the automatic doors, on the right after the main Mary Seacole Centre entrance.

When to go

Opening hours listed on Lambeth’s hire page:

• Monday: 1pm to 8pm
• Tuesday: 10am to 6pm
• Wednesday: 10am to 8pm
• Thursday: 10am to 8pm
• Friday: 10am to 6pm
• Saturday: 9am to 5pm
• Sunday: 1pm to 5pm

Bank holidays and the Christmas period can change things, so check the Lambeth Libraries page before a special trip. You can also call on 020 7926 0717 or email ClaphamLibrary@lambeth.gov.uk.

What is inside

It is one of Lambeth’s ten libraries, and Lambeth describes it as its first self-service library. You can borrow books, DVDs and language courses, use the computers and get free Wi-Fi. There are also meeting rooms.

The centrepiece is a performance space in the middle of the building, with a spiral walkway overlooking it. It holds up to 200 people, or 120 seated. Meeting Room 1 has a smart TV and takes 25 people at tables or 30 theatre-style. Rooms can be hired through Lambeth’s hire site, and the whole library can be hired outside opening hours.

For parents, a Tuesday rhyme and story time session from 10am to 11am is listed on Happity. It is run by Hartbeeps and has to be booked in advance, with no drop-ins. Check the listing for the price.

Getting there

The entrance is level, and the library is in a pedestrian area with no car park of its own. There is on-street Blue Badge parking. The nearest Underground station is Clapham Common, and a bus stop is within 150m. Clapham High Street is the nearest National Rail station, but Accessable says it has no step-free access. The nearest step-free station is Clapham Junction.

The building

The library opened in 2012 as part of a development by Cathedral Group and United House, with Lambeth Council as partner. Studio Egret West was the architect. It stands on the site of a former office block, Mary Seacole House, and occupies the lower floors of a 12-storey building with flats above. Dezeen says it looks like a row of books, and puts its capacity at more than 20,000 books. Studio Egret West gave the cost as £6.5m and the size as 19,000 sq ft.

The old library on the Common

Before 2012, the library was at 1 Clapham Common North Side. That building opened on 31 October 1889. Borough Photos records the architect as E. B. I’Anson, the style as Neo-Flemish, and the cost as £3,865 to build plus £1,000 to furnish. It names Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury) as the opener. London Remembers credits the idea to Rev. George Forrester, Henry Bulcraig and William A. Guesdon.

The old building is now the Omnibus Theatre. The Clapham Society put up a green plaque there on 31 October 2014, unveiled by Geraldine James. A Roman altar stone found in Clapham in the early 1900s sits by the old entrance. If you fancy a walk after your visit, the old library is worth seeing from the outside, on the Common’s north side.

Is it free?

Nothing we have found shows an admission charge. Joining and borrowing rules are best checked with the library directly.