Work to create a new Heritage Centre for Newham has started

Work to convert Canning Town Old Library into Newham’s new heritage centre has started, and the council is now asking the public to suggest a name for it.

Canning Town Old Library

Canning Town Library closed in 2017 when the books moved to Rathbone Market, and the building has been vacant ever since.

In 2022, the council appointed architects Haworth Tompkins, to rennovate and upgrade the building, so that it can become the area’s new heritage centre, as well as spaces to rent and work in. The building is being refurbished with money from a levelling-up bid, with the council securing £6.2m of funding in October 2021.

The building was constructed between 1892 and 4 by the Corporation of the Borough of West Ham, to designs by the Borough Engineer and Architect Lewis Angell FRIBA. Passmore Edwards opened it in 1893, presumably while the scaffolding was still up.

The library and neighbouring town hall were some of the first public buildings in the borough to be lit by electricity, which was generated by gas engines on site; these were used until 1898, when the power generating station at Abbey Mills came into operation.

Although the hall next door has had various occupants over the decades, the library remained in use until 2017.

It will reopen in autumn 2026, with a name suggested by the public. If you want to contribute your thoughts – you can do so here.

The former reference library (c) Newham Council