" wrote:
On Jul 7, 2:31?am, "Basil Jet"
wrote:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&...3,-0.206852&sp...

This building has a tiny octagonal ground floor with no external access.
There is an external staircase and ramp up to the large octagonal first
floor which cantilevers out on all eight sides. The second floor is the same
size as the basement. A wire fence prevents anyone from walking under the
main floor, but the space inside the fence is unused, and the fence does not
support the weight of the first floor. Can anyone imagine why a library
might be cantilevered like this?

I can only assume it was built that way so that it had level access
from North End Road, which is where the main entrance is, which level
is higher than the rear of the premises. I'd never seen it from the
rear until your helpful Google picture link!


There was a trend for building "on stilts" in the late 1950s, 1960s and
early 1970s, which seems to be when this library may have been built.

Before or after that period, an enclosed cellar would have been more
likely to be provided.