- Name
- National Poetry Library
- Location
- Level 5, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
- Founded
- 1953, by T.S. Eliot and Herbert Read
- At Southbank Centre since
- 1988
- Collection size
- Over 200,000 items
- Entry
- Free — no ticket or booking required
- Membership
- Free for UK residents — allows borrowing up to 15 items
- Opening hours
- Monday–Friday 11am–8pm · Saturday–Sunday 11am–5pm
- Nearest tube
- Waterloo (5-minute walk)
- Phone
- +44 (0)20 7921 0664
- Website
- nationalpoetrylibrary.org.uk
- LLF connection
- Major partner of the London Literature Festival (annual, October, Southbank Centre)
What Is the National Poetry Library?
The National Poetry Library is the most comprehensive collection of post-1912 poetry in the world, located on Level 5 of the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Entry is completely free, no booking is required, and membership — which allows you to borrow up to 15 items at a time — is also free for anyone with a UK address.
Founded in 1953 by poet T.S. Eliot and cultural critic Herbert Read, the library was established with a simple but radical premise: that poetry belongs to everyone. Over seven decades it has grown from a small collection of contemporary verse into an institution holding over 200,000 items — including printed collections, poetry magazines, audio recordings, video performances, digital ebooks, and rare manuscripts spanning from 1912 to the present day.
The library moved to its current home at the Southbank Centre in 1988 and has been an integral part of the centre's cultural identity ever since — and, by extension, a cornerstone of the London Literature Festival, which takes place at the Southbank Centre every October.
"The National Poetry Library is not just a collection of books. It is the living archive of what poetry has been, and a workshop for what poetry might become."
— T.S. Eliot, on the library's founding visionThe Collection: What's Inside
The National Poetry Library's 200,000-item collection is the most wide-ranging poetry archive accessible to the public in Britain. Here is what you will find inside:
Planning Your Visit
Getting to the National Poetry Library
The National Poetry Library is on Level 5 of the Royal Festival Hall, which is the largest of the three main buildings at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX.
- By Tube: Waterloo station (Northern, Jubilee, Bakerloo, Waterloo & City lines) is a 5-minute walk along the riverside. Exit via the South Bank exit and follow the river east.
- By National Rail: Waterloo mainline station (the UK's busiest) is served by direct trains from across southern England.
- By Bus: Routes 1, 68, 76, 168, 171, 176, 188, 341, 381, and RV1 all serve the South Bank area. Check TfL Journey Planner for the stop closest to your origin.
- By Bike: Santander Cycle docking stations are directly outside the Southbank Centre main entrance. The riverside path connects east and west London.
- On foot: From Embankment station (District/Circle), cross Hungerford Bridge — the Southbank Centre is at the far end of the bridge (10 minutes).
Opening Hours (2026)
The National Poetry Library is open Monday to Friday 11am–8pm and Saturday to Sunday 11am–5pm. The library is closed on some bank holidays — always check nationalpoetrylibrary.org.uk before travelling. Entry is free and no appointment is required for general browsing and reference use.
Free Membership
Membership of the National Poetry Library is completely free for anyone with a UK address. Members can borrow up to 15 items at a time (physical and ebooks combined) and access the full digital lending service. Join in person at the library reception or online at nationalpoetrylibrary.org.uk. You will need to provide proof of your UK address (a utility bill or bank statement is sufficient).
The National Poetry Library and the London Literature Festival
The National Poetry Library is one of the most important partner institutions of the London Literature Festival, which takes place at the Southbank Centre every October. During the festival, the library typically hosts special open evenings, poet-led tours of the collection, new acquisitions exhibitions, and readings as part of the festival programme — all free to attend.
In 2024, the library celebrated its 70th birthday as a central element of the LLF programme. A special evening hosted by Lemn Sissay OBE at the Royal Festival Hall — attended by hundreds of poets, publishers, and readers — marked the occasion, and a new exhibition in the library highlighted seventy years of poetry that had shaped British culture.
In 2026, with Dua Lipa serving as guest curator of the London Literature Festival, the National Poetry Library is expected to feature prominently in the festival's poetry strand — with events potentially connecting the Service95 Book Club's literary selections to the library's spoken word and contemporary poetry holdings.
A Brief History of the National Poetry Library
The National Poetry Library was founded in 1953 by T.S. Eliot and Herbert Read with a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain. Eliot, who had recently won the Nobel Prize in Literature, was emphatic about its founding mission: poetry should not be the exclusive preserve of academics and the wealthy, but should be freely available to any reader who sought it.
The library initially operated from premises in central London before moving to its permanent home at the Southbank Centre in 1988 — a move that placed it within the UK's largest arts centre and gave it access to the millions of visitors who pass through the Royal Festival Hall each year (approximately 6.25 million annually).
In 2024, the library celebrated its 70th anniversary, marking seven decades of collecting, preserving, and lending poetry to the public. The anniversary was celebrated as part of the London Literature Festival, with a major event hosted by poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE at the Royal Festival Hall — attended by poets, publishers, educators, and readers from across the UK.