Leonard Library (1929): gargoyle

Fully financed by Col. And Mrs. Leonard, the handsome library was erected on space made available by drastically reducing the length of Sheraton Hall so that the library could be a placed alongside Tower Road. Of light gray stone, elaborately and skillfully adorned with intricately fashioned gargoyles and carvings, and with a high pitched slate roof, it immediately added to the appearance of both College and university. The interior was designed to look like the great hall of a medieval castle. Oak book shelves lined the walls of the upper level, with oak tables and chairs arrayed in two rows for knowledge seeking students to mine the library’s scholarly treasures. The first adequate facility of this kind the College had enjoyed since the Blake Library in Wycliffe’s first building, it would serve Wycliffe for almost the rest of the century. As well as the aesthetic appearance, the Leonard Library was also functional. Easy access was provided through two doors that let into Sheraton Hall, so that users need only walk that hall to enter or leave the library. On the ground level a stack room for storing and cataloguing books was provided.