Historic Victorian building in Hipperholme up for auction with £120,000 guide price

Hipperholme Library, which dates from 1899, is to be put up for auction this month. The two-storey building will appear in auction house Pugh’s online property auction on 19 July and has been given a guide price of £120,000.

The library was originally designed as offices for Hipperholme Urban District Council by local architect Frederick Joseph Walsh. Walsh, a local man, whose work includes the old vicarage at Lightcliffe, George Street and Craig Royston on Bramley Lane was paid £10 and offered 5% commission.

The building included a council chamber, a committee room, a range of smaller rooms and a surveyor’s house.

The council’s last meeting was held on 24 March 1937 and it was then incorporated into the enlarged Borough of Brighouse. Much of the building became Hipperholme Library which opened in 1938.

The building contains many of its original features including ornate stonework, stained glass windows, tiling and woodwork.

Paul Thompson, managing director at auctioneer Pugh, said: “The former library building is a substantial and attractive property in Hipperholme, which is conveniently located between Halifax and Brighouse. It has excellent links to both Leeds and Bradford, being just four miles from the M62.

“The property is a great investment opportunity and there are all kinds of new uses that it could be put to in the hands of an imaginative developer and subject to the necessary planning consents.”

Bidding on the former library, and the other lots in Pugh’s online property auction, opens on 19 July and closes the following day. To view the full catalogue, go to www.pugh-auctions.com.