bromley house library
founded 1816
Membership allows the member and their school-aged children full use of the library services and facilities. These include use of several reading rooms, membership of special interest groups and a members’ coffee room where self-serve hot drinks are available for a small charge.
Members can also bring in occasional guests to show them the library.
Annual Membership Subscription as at December 2024 £144 Individual/£192 Joint.
Half-price subscriptions available for 18-25 year olds, anyone in receipt of means-tested benefits and people who live over 50 miles away.
Background
Nottingham Subscription Library was founded in 1816 and moved in 1820 to its present home, Bromley House Library. It became a registered charity in the 1990s.
Collection
The Library’s book collection has a good selection of materials of interest to local historians, many topographical works, some unique items such as a 4-volume Victorian herbarium, and a wide selection of 19th and early 20th century novels. It owns and/or houses collections from, amongst others, James Ward, Philip James Bailey, Alan Sillitoe and the British Sundial Society. It is currently developing its operational archive, which includes minute books, legal documents, loan records, correspondence and more, with a view to sharing more widely. Of the total 55,000 books, the vast majority are on open shelves and available for members to borrow.
Around a thousand new books including all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, are accessioned annually and members’ requests are considered. Daily newspapers and a large selection of journals and periodicals are available; these are not retained but members can make annual sealed bids for their purchase.
Building
1752 town house listed grade II* and containing many interesting period features: walled garden to the rear. It is a dark red brick building built in 1752 as a 'town house' for George Smith, grandson of the founder of Smiths Bank, the oldest known provincial bank in the country. The building has been designated Grade II* listed status and contains many interesting period features and some fine paintings. The main part of the library is housed in a series of reading rooms with plaster ceilings, cornices and overmantels. A particularly fine spiral staircase and gallery is a feature of the largest room, and a Meridian Line-one of only four in the UK-was added in the nineteenth century. At the rear of the library premises is a walled garden which members can use. In common with the rest of Bromley House, it is often referred to as “a haven” in the city centre. Bromley House Library was the home of the first photographic studio in Nottingham. This operated on the top floor from 1841 to 1955. At one time it had a circular skylight of blue tinted glass and was the venue for many of Nottingham’s top 19th century families to have their likenesses made.
Please note that the Library occupies the first to third floors of a listed building and access is only by stairs.
Contact information
Bromley House, Angel Row, Nottingham NG1 6HL
tel: 01159 473 134
enquiries@bromleyhouse.org
Open weekdays 09:30 – 17:00 except Wednesdays when we open until 19:00. Saturdays 09:30 – 16:00.
Closed on statutory holidays, Easter Saturday and occasional bank holiday Tuesdays, please check website for details.
Website
www.bromleyhouse.org
Status
Registered charity no. 1074752
Social Media
Bromley House Library | Nottingham | Facebook
Bromley House Library (@bromleyhouselib) • Instagram photos and videos