Pitzhanger Manor - Ealing District Council

Ealing District Council

In 1900 the house was acquired by Ealing Urban District Council in the year before it became a Municipal Borough for a total of £40,000 pounds, a quarter of which came from the Middlesex County Council. Its new function was to serve as a Free Public Library. However, work on converting the building did not start until after the death of its last resident, Frederika Perceval in May 1901. The important part of the work was to build a ground-floor extension with a pitched slate roof, on the west of the 'Eating Room'. However, this magnificent room was all that remained of George Dance's original design. Therefore the Council had its chief surveyor Charles Jones design the extension next to the existing Breakfast Room. As Dance gave the room windows with a tall aspect, topped by semicircular bonded gauge brick arches, it made sense to remove the glazing and frames so as to open them up. This provided three large arched pedestrian openings into the newly created extension. To avoid a clash of architectural styles, Jones specified that the new extension be an almost mirror image of its neighbour, which is clearly visible through the connecting arches. With the high ceilings and matching plaster moulding and colour scheme, this helps create the illusion of one elegant, pleasantly proportioned and spacious reading area.

Finally, as access from this part of the building to the main library stock and issuing area required going up and down many steps along the passage way (which winds northward through the house), a new entrance was built out on the east-side of the breakfast room with 'Reading Room' emblazoned across its Portland stone lintel.

On the north side of the house: Jones had the servants' quarters demolished and removed some ornamental faux Roman ruins. The building to house the new lending library was constructed on the space so cleared. To complement the rest of the house it had the same arched windows. The lintel of the Portland stone surround of the portico was inscribed 'Lending Library'. It was opened to the public in April 1902.

In 1938-40 the lending library block was replaced by a new, slightly larger building.

The Library moved out in 1984 and in 1985 the restoration work began. Analysis of the structure and paint layers were used to recreate an authentic period look to the build.