Stirchley Library in Pictures

October 22, 2025
Exterior view of Stirchley Branch Library. Photographed by Lewis Lloyd in 1913. Held by Birmingham Archive.

Opened in 1905, Stirchley Library is one of Birmingham’s ten Carnegie libraries, built with funding from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to bring books and learning into local communities. Designed by architect John P. Osborne, the library is a fine example of Edwardian civic architecture, with its red brick, stone dressings, and distinctive gabled frontage.

Inside, the library once featured a traditional entrance desk where librarians presided, while light filtered through skylights and tall windows to illuminate the reading rooms. Over time, spaces have been adapted – but the …

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Bournville Market (Stirchley Flora-entis)

October 14, 2025

Have you ever noticed this cheerful chappie when walking down Bournville Lane from Bournville Station towards Stirchley Library?

Or his sleepier companion – dreaming beneath a flourish of scrolling leaves, and echoing the green men that gaze from church nooks and crannies across Britain and Europe?

During Heritage Week (12-21 September), local artist Jen Dixon led a walk exploring Stirchley’s architectual flora – those stone flowers and leafy faces hidden in plain sight. It was an excercise in looking up, and noticing the overlooked details we miss in daily life.

The two faces appear on one of several surviving, intricately …

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Stirchley Library Archive

October 1, 2025

Stirchley Library has a small archive of phorographs and other documents relating to both the library and wider Stirchley and its history.

We are slowly, with the help of out volunteers, adding these to the website. Below is the list of photographs in “Box 2”.

Photographs in Box 2. View all images of the photographs in box 2 here.

Series Ref.Item Ref.Date/date estimateDescriptionNotes written on document
1031967Black and white photograph of the River Rea.R. Rea near Wychall Reservoir
1051967Black and white photograph of the River Rea.R.
…

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Photographs of the River Rea

Box 2-Series1/03. The rear of the image says “R. Rea near Wychall Reservoir” 1967.

These photographs are included in a small archive of photographs and other documents held at Stirchley Library. The see the list of these photographs, click here.

These photographs are “Series 1” contained in “Box 2”, and depict the River Rea along its route. They are taken at several points along the river, but each one is taken further downstream from the last.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Box-2-Series-1-No-05-1024x767.jpg
Box 2-Series1/05. The rear of the image reads “R. Rea alongside Wychall Reservoir” 1967.
Box 2-Series1/10. The rear of the image reads “Old
…

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Carnegie Libraries Exhibition for Birmingham Heritage Week

As part of Birmingham Heritage Week 2025, Stirchley Library hosted a special exhibition celebrating the city’s Carnegie libraries.

The display explored the history, architecture, and community role of Birmingham’s Carnegie buildings, which were funded in the early 20th century by Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Through research, photographs, and interpretation boards, visitors could learn about the enduring features of these much-loved libraries – from their light-filled reading rooms and junior sections to their distinctive architectural details.

Highlights included the story of Northfield Library, rebuilt after an arson attack in 1914, and boards focusing on how design choices – skylights, windows, …

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