The foundation stone for Keighley’s new free public library on North Street was laid on 9th August 1902 “in a workmanlike manner” (according to the press) by mill owner Sir Swire Smith. It was Smith’s friendship with American industrialist Andrew Carnegie that had secured funds for the new premises to be built. Carnegie was unable to attend the ceremony but the American flag was flown in his honour.
The event was deliberately scheduled to coincide with the town’s celebrations of the coronation of King Edward VII, hence the large crowds.
The Library took two years to build and opened in 1904. It cost twice as much to build as Carnegie was originally planning on. 10,000 books were donated from across the road at the Mechanics Institute. It included a newspaper reading room upstairs (now the Local Studies Library) that seated 150. Within one year it had 3,000 borrowers including 10 policemen, 2 window cleaners and 520 “married women, spinsters and juveniles”.
The stone can be seen today to the right of the library’s entrance. Main photograph taken by Keighley photographer Alex Jennings and published in Ian Dewhirst’s book ‘More Old Keighley in Photographs’ (Hendon Publishing, 1973). Photograph of foundation stone taken by Tim Neal in 2019. Postcard from the History Society’s archive on Flickr.
