London and Environs: From Slums to Villadom

Chartists were responsible for a handful of early voluntary libraries in the metropolis, but more influential benefactors were behind much larger free community libraries, such as in Notting Hill, Marylebone, Paddington, St. Pancras, Bethnal Green, Stepney, Southwark, Lambeth, Hampstead, and elsewhere. But there also existed more focussed libraries such as Toynbee Hall and the Russian Free Library, both serving particular communities.