The Reading Room Husborne Crawley

The Reading Room about 1900 [X21/756/16]

The Reading Room is an attractive and distinctive building. It was built for Husborne Crawley by the Duke of Bedford in 1894. It is built in red brick with stone dressings.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Husborne Crawley, like most of the county, was assessed in 1927. The valuer visiting the Reading Room [DV1/C53/57] found that it had its own managers, though still owed by the Duke, ho charged a nominal five shillings per annum as rent.

The room stands in nearly two thirds of an acre and comprises a large hall and a separate kitchen. The valuer commented: "Very good".

The Reading Room January 2011