Old Library, Wrexham

The building was constructed as a library and lecture hall in 1907. It was designed by Vernon Hodge.[2][3] Over 100 architects had submitted designs for the new library.[3] The building is a Grade II listed building, and located in Wrexham city centre's Queens Square.[2][3]

The construction received funding[2] from Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie following an appeal over the lack of space for books in the town's existing library located in the Guildhall. A grant of £4,000 to build and £300 to furnish the library was provided from Carnegie for the building's construction.[3][4]

Mayoress of Wrexham, Mrs Birkett Evans laid the building's foundation stone on 1 January 1906. The building was opened on 15 February 1907 by Foster Cunliffe of Acton Hall.[3][4]

During World War II, the building housed 500 juvenile and 700 adult books from Liverpool Library following the evacuation of 9,600 children from Merseyside. The blackout during the war led to an increase in reading, with the number of library borrowers "dramatically" increasing during the war. The Food Office and an Information Bureau, were set up in part of the library during the war.[3][4]

The building was enlarged in 1951, at the cost of £6,641, modernising facilities and the addition of a "Wrexham Room" for books, illustrations, manuscripts, records of local interest, and an "Exhibition Room" to display art, craft and lectures.[4]

The building was vacated of its library function in 1973, with the library being superseded by the current library located on Llwyn Isaf, with the current library opening in 1974.[4] Since 1973, the Old Library building has been used as council offices.[2] The building is owned by Wrexham County Borough Council,[3] and as of 2023, it is used to house the council's IT department.[5]

The building is two storeys, with a graded slate roof, an ashlar lower storey and dressings, and is covered in Flemish-bond brickwork on the upper floor's exterior. The building used Cefn stone and Ruabon terracotta during its construction, while the front roof was made of Westmorland slate, and the back roof with Bangor slate. The main part of the building has a symmetrical five-window range in the baroque style. The central bay is stressed with pilasters to a segmental open pediment, with a coat of arms. The building's central entrance is recessed as a segmental archway, with heavy keystones beneath a steep pediment which is carried by heavy brackets. The porch is enclosed with iron gates. The lower storey is arched with segmentally-arched tripartite small-paned windows with keystones to continuous hood moulds.[2][3][4][9]

While used as a library, the ground floor of the building contained a Ladies Room, seating 20 readers, a reference room of a similar size, a general reading room seating 50 readers and a librarian's office. The lending library had the capacity to hold 20,000 volumes. The first floor of the building contained a large lecture hall, seating 200 people. This lecture hall later became a local museum, then a reference room, meeting room, book-club room and a book store.[4]