Totley Library, Abbeydale Road South

The original Totley Library was not, sadly, in Totley. Being on Abbeydale Road South near the bottom of Bushey Wood Road, it was firmly placed within Dore Parish. However there was an earlier library started up in an old outbuilding off Hillfoot Road by a well- respected man called A.J.Foulstone. It is said that in a reading room there he collected some 1000 books and had bound copies of all the Punch Magazines. 

Prior to 1935 when Sheffield took Dore and Totley, Derbyshire County Council provided local library services in both village schools which were staffed by volunteers. Bill Wood writing to me a few years ago remembered that the books were kept in wooden transit boxes and all the librarian had to do was to place the boxes on the woodwork benches in the wooden schoolroom where the older pupils were housed. He thought that the library was opened one evening each week. In 1937 paid staff were employed but two years later All Saints School had run out of space and the building shown here was offered by the Sheffield City Electrical Department. On the 16th December 1939 the 'Totley' Branch Library was opened in the former office and showroom attached to the Electricity sub-station at a rent of £15 per annum. `Little Library' as it was nicknamed had a quarter of the space taken up by the counter and a tiny staff room cum office taking up a further quarter.

Margaret Coldwell, who worked there for a number of years, described the scene. "The counter just inside the doorway was so high that staff couldn't reach out to discharge and stamp books so that a duck board was made for us to stand on but it was shorter than the counter. So you fell off the end if you didn't watch your step. Clearly the library was soon running out of space as the local population increased. The cleaner, Miss Taylor of Summer Lane in Totley remarked that “there were no carpets in those days: I had to get down on my hands and knees.” In spite of the difficulties it was known for its cheerful and friendly atmosphere. Little Totley became the only 'full time' library in the whole of this side of Sheffield (excluding Ecclesall). In 1971 a site was found adjacent to the prefabricated houses known as prefabs, on Baslow Road and purchased for £6500. The facility was opened by the City Librarian John Bebbington on 26th February 1974. The old premises later became a hairdressers. 

The stonework on the building shown was by local and respected Horatio Taylor (1873 to 1934). His son was known as `Raitch' or' Raysher' although his used name was Frank Taylor. Horatio, coming out of retirement, and his team were also responsible for much of the carving at All Saints Church, Totley, in 1923/4. He lived in the early 1900s with his brother Favell at Gilleyfield Farm, Dore, close by the church where he carved numerous gravestones. Sadly he developed the 'stoneworker's disease'. Thanks to Margaret Coldwell, Pauline Rosser and Danny Reynolds for information. 

Brian Edwards

December 2013