Heycock Wing Renovation

A new space for the Whipple

By the early 2000s the Library had outgrown its accommodation behind the Museum, and space for readers to work in was limited and cramped.

The neighbouring Heycock Lecture Theatre, dating from the late nineteenth century and previously part of the Department of Materials Science, was no longer in use, and the Department of HPS successfully bid for the space and raised the funds to convert it into library reading room. The project was overseen by the then Whipple Librarian, Dr Tim Eggington, and the new Whipple Library opened for the new academic year in October 2008.

The gallery of images above traces the refurbishment from a traditional lecture theatre with wooden benches to the attractive space it is today, arranged over four mezzanine levels, and linked to the Old Library by a distinctive glass bridge.

The Old Library constitutes half of the former working library space, and contains the bound journal collection and a proportion of our monographs. The other half of the former library space was converted into gallery space for the Museum, hosting school and other visits, and containing a number the Whipple's famous openable drawer cabinets.