Queen Elizabeth II Great Court

The space you are entering was not always this grand, open hall. For nearly one hundred and fifty years, this area was filled with a dense, confusing labyrinth of multi-level concrete book stacks that housed the British Library. These structures were so cramped and packed with shelves that the entire courtyard was hidden away from public view. It was only after the library moved to its new location in nineteen ninety-seven that these partitions were demolished, finally revealing the massive interior quadrangle that the museum’s original architect had first envisioned as a garden.