History of Cobbett Road Library
by Sandra Naish and others
Situation and First Name
Cobbett Road Library is situated on the corner of Cobbett Road, Bitterne Park, at its busy junction with Bitterne Road. The building has not always been so called: in fact, it has only been known as Cobbett Road Library since 1989 when Eastern Library, (opened 1963 and nearer to Bitterne’s shopping centre) took over use of this name. The official title of Cobbett Road Library reflects its situation perfectly, and perhaps the only naming alternative might have been Bitterne Park Library, although today most people do only associate Bitterne Park with the Triangle area. Cobbett Road, according to Kelly's 1966 Directory, runs “From 165 Bitterne Road to Cobden Avenue.” !
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The Library was opened on Tuesday 16 May 1939, by the Mayor, Councillor A H Powdrill. This was a significant civic event, with the Order of Proceedings setting out a timetable from 2:45pm to 5pm. At that time, the City's "Public Libraries Committee" consisted of twelve Councillors and six non-Councillors, plus the Town Clerk, Chief Librarian and Borough Engineer. You can see all this information, and more, in a pdf copy of the booklet produced to commemorate the opening.
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The Dot Winteridge statue
Outside the red-brick-built library is a bronze statue of a lady dressed in trousers reaching up to take a book. That bronze lady, erected against the library wall in October 1991, is modelled on Dorothy Winteridge, who had used the library continually since its opening. Dot still uses the library today and continues to be one of its fervent supporters
On Thursday June 12, 2014, BBC Radio Solent's Katie Martin afternoon show revisited the South Today report on the statue, and added interviews with Dot and Doreen LeHuquet. You can listen to the five minute clip on the Radio Solent Website. There are photos and other material on Radio Solent's Facebook page.
The statue was created by Kevin Atherton. Like the book in Dot's hands, it is titled Art Within Reach.
Sadly, Dot Winteridge died in early May 2018.
On Thursday June 12, 2014, BBC Radio Solent's Katie Martin afternoon show revisited the South Today report on the statue, and added interviews with Dot and Doreen LeHuquet. You can listen to the five minute clip on the Radio Solent Website. There are photos and other material on Radio Solent's Facebook page.
The statue was created by Kevin Atherton. Like the book in Dot's hands, it is titled Art Within Reach.
Sadly, Dot Winteridge died in early May 2018.
Bitterne's First Library: History of Surrounding Area
Cobbett Road was named in 1883 after William Cobbett (1762-1835) who lived at Botley and is author of The Rural Rides, but is better known for his championship of the common man. Bitterne's first library was built at Cobbett Road in 1939 solely because of extensive residential development carried out in the area, once part of the adjacent Bitterne Park and Chessel Estates.
Bitterne Park dates back to 1882 when the National Liberal Land Company purchased a little over 317 acres extending roughly from Bitterne Railway Station to Woodmill and lying west of Midanbury Lane. The company built Cobden Bridge for access (opened in June 1883) and estate roads were laid out with freehold residential plots in the Bitterne Park Estate sold by auction over the next twenty years.
The Chessel estate has its origins in the 18th century. A wealthy gentleman magistrate, David Lance had made his money in the service of the East India Company. He had also traded in partnership with William Fitzhugh, son of Valentine Fitzhugh of Bitterne Manor House. Early in 1789, David returned from China and settled in Southampton where he bought a substantial property in the town. David Lance had Chessel House purpose-built as his country home in 1797. His presence in the area is commemorated in Little Lances Hill and Lance's Hill, that being part of the new approach road laid out by the Northam Bridge Company (in which he had an interest) when the new toll bridge was built in 1799.
Chessel House is probably best celebrated for its visits from Hampshire author Jane Austen when she lived in Castle Square, Southampton from 1807 until 1809. Jane wrote in her letters that the Lances “live in a handsome style and are rich” but, despite the Austen family's comparative poverty, the Austens and Lances became friends, and she visited Chessel House to socialise with them. Jane's verdict on Chessel House is documented when she wrote, “it is a handsome building, stands high and in a very beautiful situation.” The house, like Jane, came to a sad end. The Lances kept Chessel House until 1820 but, having been sold on to Lord Ashtown, it was sold again in 1842 to the Richardson family. After William Henry Richardson’s death in 1906, the house stood empty and alone for four years. In 1910 the Chessel Estate was sold for housing development and thus roads for the ‘Southampton Garden Suburb’ were laid out pre-World War One, with full development following in the interwar years. Chessel House was used as a place where some house plots were auctioned off, but it was eventually demolished in the early 1920s.
With this mass of suburban houses built on both sides of Bitterne Road, came a mass of people. On 16th May 1939, containing approximately nine thousand books, Bitterne Library was opened to the public. it soon became Southampton’s busiest branch library.
Bitterne Park dates back to 1882 when the National Liberal Land Company purchased a little over 317 acres extending roughly from Bitterne Railway Station to Woodmill and lying west of Midanbury Lane. The company built Cobden Bridge for access (opened in June 1883) and estate roads were laid out with freehold residential plots in the Bitterne Park Estate sold by auction over the next twenty years.
The Chessel estate has its origins in the 18th century. A wealthy gentleman magistrate, David Lance had made his money in the service of the East India Company. He had also traded in partnership with William Fitzhugh, son of Valentine Fitzhugh of Bitterne Manor House. Early in 1789, David returned from China and settled in Southampton where he bought a substantial property in the town. David Lance had Chessel House purpose-built as his country home in 1797. His presence in the area is commemorated in Little Lances Hill and Lance's Hill, that being part of the new approach road laid out by the Northam Bridge Company (in which he had an interest) when the new toll bridge was built in 1799.
Chessel House is probably best celebrated for its visits from Hampshire author Jane Austen when she lived in Castle Square, Southampton from 1807 until 1809. Jane wrote in her letters that the Lances “live in a handsome style and are rich” but, despite the Austen family's comparative poverty, the Austens and Lances became friends, and she visited Chessel House to socialise with them. Jane's verdict on Chessel House is documented when she wrote, “it is a handsome building, stands high and in a very beautiful situation.” The house, like Jane, came to a sad end. The Lances kept Chessel House until 1820 but, having been sold on to Lord Ashtown, it was sold again in 1842 to the Richardson family. After William Henry Richardson’s death in 1906, the house stood empty and alone for four years. In 1910 the Chessel Estate was sold for housing development and thus roads for the ‘Southampton Garden Suburb’ were laid out pre-World War One, with full development following in the interwar years. Chessel House was used as a place where some house plots were auctioned off, but it was eventually demolished in the early 1920s.
With this mass of suburban houses built on both sides of Bitterne Road, came a mass of people. On 16th May 1939, containing approximately nine thousand books, Bitterne Library was opened to the public. it soon became Southampton’s busiest branch library.
Description of the Building
Left and right of the front entrance doors are sturdy, brick flowerbeds. A single-storey building with a flat roof, Bitterne Library had a splendid art deco interior complete with wood panelling, which is still in evidence today. One or two windows are round, porthole-shape in style, and this was echoed in reports of the time, which said it perhaps had the air of a transatlantic liner of the period. Three rooms lead off the main entrance and reception area inside, with the adult lending library to the right. On the left is situated the children's library and what is now termed the community room, although this was in use initially as a reading room. The reading room is flooded with natural daylight courtesy of its glass roof, and it is this very room that the Bitterne Park community has taken to its heart for multiple use, there being virtually nothing else available in the area to match it. A thriving Art Group loves to paint and be creative in it; a toddler’s group delights to play in it; several separate groups of people meet within its walls; educational talks are given there; children’s home-education is decided there; exhibitions, beading and exercise classes are held. It also becomes a councillor’s surgery, and occasionally a place where library books surplus to requirements are sold. It is also in use as a reading room, its original purpose, where reading groups mull over the latest crime books together. The Friends of Cobbett Road Library meet there monthly.
Early 2007 - Southampton Council Suggest Closure!
Despite its history and usage, Southampton City Council, forever looking to reduce outgoings, thought that Cobbett Road Library was surplus to requirements. The land, once a place where tennis courts stood, had been donated originally to the people of Southampton by the Rev. F. C. and Miss G. Vaughan-Jenkins. Southampton City Council therefore owned the freehold making the premises comparatively easy for them to sell. Budget reduction plans were hatched behind closed doors, but finally, they made public the plans to close it by 31st March 2007 and protesters launched an immediate campaign.
Library users of all ages had no wish to be forced up the hill to Bitterne, an extremely arduous walk away, when they had their own much-loved and extremely well used library. They wrote to tell the Leader of the City Council and the Libraries Manager their views! Local residents became so incensed that many contacted John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, who rallied to their cause and backed protests against closure. Mr Denham urged the Council on the eve of setting the Council Budget on February 14th, not to go ahead with their proposal for library closure. He emailed the LibDem Cabinet Member for Leisure, seeking assurance that any changes to the libraries budget would not result in the closure of Cobbett Road. John Denham said, “I first heard about the closure plans just over a week ago and was shocked and disappointed that the demolition of this important local facility was being considered.”
His website in due course was to report that “the Liberal Democrat controlled City Council has withdrawn its plans to close Cobbett Road Library.” He wrote, “I am delighted that the Council has seen sense. This library is well used... not just for borrowing books, but also for community activities such as a parent-toddler group and an art class. It is part of the community. Many of its users are elderly and would not have found it easy to travel to other libraries in the City. If it had been closed, it would never have been replaced.”
What Mr Denham neglected to say was that CRL was also host to numerous schoolchildren. Hope Lodge and Beechwood School both bring groups down to visit. Other schools literally on the doorstep are Bitterne Manor and Bitterne Park Junior Schools, Bitterne Park Comprehensive, Charlton and St Mary's College, and many pupils of these are to be seen in the library after school hours. Children’s workshops and holiday activities are regularly held.
Library users of all ages had no wish to be forced up the hill to Bitterne, an extremely arduous walk away, when they had their own much-loved and extremely well used library. They wrote to tell the Leader of the City Council and the Libraries Manager their views! Local residents became so incensed that many contacted John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, who rallied to their cause and backed protests against closure. Mr Denham urged the Council on the eve of setting the Council Budget on February 14th, not to go ahead with their proposal for library closure. He emailed the LibDem Cabinet Member for Leisure, seeking assurance that any changes to the libraries budget would not result in the closure of Cobbett Road. John Denham said, “I first heard about the closure plans just over a week ago and was shocked and disappointed that the demolition of this important local facility was being considered.”
His website in due course was to report that “the Liberal Democrat controlled City Council has withdrawn its plans to close Cobbett Road Library.” He wrote, “I am delighted that the Council has seen sense. This library is well used... not just for borrowing books, but also for community activities such as a parent-toddler group and an art class. It is part of the community. Many of its users are elderly and would not have found it easy to travel to other libraries in the City. If it had been closed, it would never have been replaced.”
What Mr Denham neglected to say was that CRL was also host to numerous schoolchildren. Hope Lodge and Beechwood School both bring groups down to visit. Other schools literally on the doorstep are Bitterne Manor and Bitterne Park Junior Schools, Bitterne Park Comprehensive, Charlton and St Mary's College, and many pupils of these are to be seen in the library after school hours. Children’s workshops and holiday activities are regularly held.
Formation of The ‘Friends of Cobbett Road Library’
Friends of Cobbett Road Library (FCRL) is an informal group of people of all ages who meet at monthly intervals in the library. FCRL initially came into being to protect a greatly valued community asset and members set about publicising their cause in the local newspaper, putting posters in their windows, and engaging the help of local celebrities like Chris Packham, who used the library himself as a schoolboy, author Philip Pullman, and TV satirist John Bird.
Petitions had to be organised and presented again when, despite our first success, the Conservative Council attempted a new reduction in library hours by one third, prior to their 20 February 2008 budget meeting. With the library open for only four days weekly, users thought this option ridiculous. Frequent meetings were held in the consultation period, at which key politicians gave their views, including the suggested use of volunteer labour to allow extra hours at the library. Our campaign was mentioned in the Independent, Times and Daily Mail among leading, national, daily newspapers. The Conservatives finally announced to our great delight in January 2008 that Cobbett Road Library opening hours would remain unchanged in their budget proposals. Hours remained intact also when the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties regained power temporarily until the May 2008 local elections, backing us in the “National Year of Reading 2008.”
FCRL had been in discussion with library management staff on issues arising around the refurbishment and re-furnishing of the Community Room planned for 2008. After a long period of neglect and uncertainty caused by closure threats, the room had its floor restored, walls painted, windows repaired and wood panelling returned to good condition. The room was opened up so that the whole length could again be used, ready for the 70th anniversary of this splendid building’s opening.
Petitions had to be organised and presented again when, despite our first success, the Conservative Council attempted a new reduction in library hours by one third, prior to their 20 February 2008 budget meeting. With the library open for only four days weekly, users thought this option ridiculous. Frequent meetings were held in the consultation period, at which key politicians gave their views, including the suggested use of volunteer labour to allow extra hours at the library. Our campaign was mentioned in the Independent, Times and Daily Mail among leading, national, daily newspapers. The Conservatives finally announced to our great delight in January 2008 that Cobbett Road Library opening hours would remain unchanged in their budget proposals. Hours remained intact also when the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties regained power temporarily until the May 2008 local elections, backing us in the “National Year of Reading 2008.”
FCRL had been in discussion with library management staff on issues arising around the refurbishment and re-furnishing of the Community Room planned for 2008. After a long period of neglect and uncertainty caused by closure threats, the room had its floor restored, walls painted, windows repaired and wood panelling returned to good condition. The room was opened up so that the whole length could again be used, ready for the 70th anniversary of this splendid building’s opening.
Sources
- Stories of Southampton Streets by A.G. K. Leonard. (Published 1984 Paul Cave)
- The Book of Bitterne by Bitterne Local History Society. (Published 2007 Halsgrove)
- John Denham's official website.
- Daily Echo newspaper reports.
- The Book of Bitterne by Bitterne Local History Society. (Published 2007 Halsgrove)
- John Denham's official website.
- Daily Echo newspaper reports.
See "Campaigning 2011 to 2016" to read about later Council plans, our responses and the outcomes.
