Defending the Family Silver — Our Beloved Library

Jo’s interview captures the enduring importance of the Canning Town Old Library to both her and the wider community. A lifelong resident of Canning Town, Jo has witnessed decades of change in the area. We met at the new library in Canning Town, on 24th October 2025, for the interview, before Jo’s weekly Knit and Natter group.

Jo’s love of Canning Town Old Library goes back to childhood visits with her sisters in the 1950s, where she borrowed books by Enid Blyton and Malcolm Saville, and found an escape in reading. Jo recalls the warmth and friendliness of the library, and the bustling market, local shops and community spaces which once defined the area. As an adult, Jo joined other library activities like Knit and Natter and the Rathbone Writers. Winning Newham’s City of Stories competition with her piece “The Death of Old Raffy” was a source of great pride to her.

Jo played a vital role in saving the Canning Town Old Library from redevelopment into a Nando’s restaurant (campaigning is in her genes – her great aunt was the Mayor of Poplar, from 1945-46). Jo’s letters to local papers helped the campaign gather momentum, and her powerful speech at a planning meeting helped sway the decision to secure the building’s future for the community. Jo’s story reflects her passion and determination for defending local heritage and protecting community spaces for the benefit of local people, in the face of gentrification.

Appendices

Jo shared the following items with me during her interview: the programme for the celebration evening of Canning Town Old Library before it closed; newspaper clippings about the fight to stop the old library from becoming a Nando’s; a copy of her speech at the Nando’s planning permission meeting; and an article about winning City of Stories.