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The Public Free Library, Stoke -On -Trent

30th October 2015

The Public Free Library in Stoke-on-Trent has a handsome tiled mural celebrating the work of William Shakespeare.

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The Library was designed by Charles Lynam in the Arts and Crafts style.

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Charles Lynam was a well-regarded Staffordshire architect who you may have heard of due to his work on All Saints’ Church, Madeley.

The building has been built from locally produced materials including blue and red bricks,terracotta and tiles.

Mr Colin Campbell, MP donated the site, the public free library cost £2,850 to build.

The foundation stone was laid by Lord Wrottesley,Lord Lieutenant of the County on the 10th of December 1877.

The formal opening of the building was on the 7th of November 1878 by Mr Colin Minton Campbell but it was not until the 20th of December that books were issued

I found a very interesting article on the Public Free Library at http://www.thepotteries.org/tour/089.htm

After researching this blog I found out about The Madeley parish church (which has Norman origins) was rebuilt in 1872 using Lynam’s design.I shall go visit as the church has three specially commissioned pre-Raphaelite windows: one by Edward Burne Jones, one by William Morris and a third by Ford Maddox Brown.

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Get ready for flower arranging class with us 🌷 Our beautiful Willow Bough William Morris pvc apron is perfect to protect your outfit from splashes when cooking, crafting or cutting your stems! 🌿🫶🏻
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We couldn’t resist another pic of our bonfire night set up! 🫶🏻 our PVC fabric is such a popular option for the table as it’s wipe clean, so any spills can just be quickly fixed 🫧 We wouldn’t reccomend lighting sparklers in the house or over your tablecloth though! 🙃
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🎆 Take 15% off our whole website for 48 hours only using code: BONFIRE at checkout 🔥 (we’ve also launched gift sets including half metre gift sets for the quilters and crafters in your life, you get a half metre free when you purchase the set and they come gift wrapped… this is is soft launching Christmas Incase everyone says we’re too early.. but also our Christmas trees are already up so we’re ready to talk about it when you are? Let us know?) 🎄
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Had to video us cutting beautiful William Morris Willow Bough today, this heavyweight fabric is off to be made into curtains, it’ll look so stunning! 🫶🏻 If you’d like a free sample just let us know ☺️
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Just waiting for the trick or treaters 🎃 
On the table; our William Morris Daisy napkin and placemats 🫶🏻
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Proving there’s nothing Bertie won’t do for a biscuit, he’s ready for a Halloween party 🎃 As a treat for all our Instagram friends, take 15% off our entire website until Halloween with code: AUTUMN 🍂
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Spend a Friday evening with us settling down for a little cheese board✨ Our Mallow William Morris design is always so stunning 🥰 
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We could never admit to how long it took us to fold our Compton napkin into a pumpkin 😮‍💨🎃
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A pvc tablecloth is fantastic as it simply wipes clean which often makes it our top pick for meal times, they come in many Morris designs and are sold by the half metre to fit every table, it won’t fray so doesn’t need a hem 👻 keep watching to see who our tea guest was 😉
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This is such an easy napkin fold and so effective too! 🫶🏻 We love Willow Bough blue and green layered together ✨
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Floral fabric stack 🫶🏻 Did you know all our William Morris fabrics are sold by the half metre? So for projects big and small, we’ve got you covered 🪡 Message us for free samples if you see a design you like 🥰
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featuring our William Morris Compton design 🍂
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