Passmore Edwards Centre

The building was proposed by John Passmore Edwards, a journalist and philanthropist. His mother, Susan Passmore, was born in Newton Abbot and lived there until the age of 10. In 1901 Passmore Edwards proposed to erect a library in the town in memory of his mother, with the condition that the Newton Abbot Urban District Council adopt the measures outlined in the Public Libraries Act 1850. The library was erected on a site at the junction of Bank Street and Market Street known as Harvey's Corner that had previously been acquired by Devon County Council to allow for improvements to the adjacent highways. The library was completed in 1904 at the cost of £2,290, Passmore Edwards' total donation…

The building is L-shaped in plan with frontages onto Bank Street on the south-west and Market Street on the south-east. The frontage is built of grey, square-dressed Devon limestone with yellow ceramic detailing. The west return wall is of Devon limestone rubble while the east return and rear walls are of cream bricks laid in English bond. The roof is slate with chimney stacks at the sides and rear. The external corner of the structure is canted to form the main entrance of one bay at the junction of the two streets. There are ten bays on the south-western elevation on Bank Street, to the left of the entrance, and five on Market Street to the right of the entrance. The building has three…