Help name the new Heritage Centre in Canning Town

Newham Council has reached an important milestone in its project to transform Canning Town Old Library into a heritage centre that celebrates Newham’s history and stories.

Renovation work has now begun on the Grade II listed building, which has been closed since 2017, when library services relocated to the nearby Rathbone Market. The project will see this much loved, listed Victorian library transformed into a new centre celebrating Newham’s history and stories. It is set to reopen in 2026 and will house thousands of objects from Newham’s archive and collections, exhibition space, a classroom, and a digital suite.

Led by award-winning architects Haworth Tompkins, the completed heritage centre will feature a display space, a reading room, archive storage facilities, a media suite, and a learning space for all – bringing this much-loved Victorian building back into community use.

Support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will also enable a dynamic programme of activities, including volunteering opportunities, creative projects for young people, educational programmes, and new cultural partnerships with creative organisations across the borough. This investment will provide greater access to Newham’s archives and museum collection, with important cataloguing and conservation work planned over the next year.

The project is being supported by The Royal Docks Team alongside cultural and community partners including V&A East, UCL East, local schools, and a range of community organisations, all of whom will collaborate with Newham to curate events, workshops, and projects to shape the centre’s future.

Help choose a name for the new centre

The Heritage Centre is set to open next year, and there will be many ways for people living, working, and studying in Newham to get involved, including helping to choose a name for the centre. Newham Council is currently inviting suggestions for the name, which will be shortlisted, with a final name chosen next year.

Submit your name suggestions here.

Stay up to date with the project’s progress on Instagram or by subscribing to the Heritage Centre’s newsletter here.