Barry Council Office and Library

Barry Council Office and Library (Welsh: Swyddfa a Llyfrgell y Cyngor Barri) is a local government building and public library located in King Square, Barry, Wales. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Barry Council Office and Library
Barry Town Hall with Library to the right
LocationBarry
Coordinates51.4067°N 3.2666°W / 51.4067; -3.2666
Built1908
ArchitectCharles E. Hutchinson and E. Harding Payne
Architectural style(s)Edwardian Baroque style
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated21 August 1979
Reference no.13404
Shown in Vale of Glamorgan

History

The first lending library in Barry was opened in 1890, at 144 Holton Road.[2] It later moved to a three-storey house on the Square, with the ground floor used as a reading room, the lending library on the second floor and caretaker's rooms on the top floor.[2] In 1903 the Council applied to the Andrew Carnegie Trust for a grant for a purpose-built public library to be established; in response the trust awarded a grant of £8,000.[2] Following a design competition, Charles E. Hutchinson and E. Harding Payne of London, were selected to design the building in the Edwardian Baroque style.[1] After the first stage of construction, the library was opened by the Earl of Plymouth on 1 March 1906 and, following a second stage of construction, the town hall opened in 1908.[2] A further expansion to the rear of the new building was planned, but never executed.[3]

The town hall was originally the meeting place of Barry Urban District Council and, from 1939, of Barry Municipal Borough Council; it ceased to be the local seat of government after Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council was formed in 1974.[4]

After the library moved to temporary facilities at the Leisure Centre in 2001, a major refurbishment of the whole complex was carried out.[2] The work, which included a new wing for the library, was completed in time for an official opening on 4 January 2007.[5] The refurbishment of the complex had cost £371,000, some £124,000 more than had been budgeted, leading to requests for an inquiry in February 2008.[6]

gollark: It's probably possible with some convoluted fiddling around, but also probably hard.
gollark: Anything involving decimals is far too complex for me to do in my head.
gollark: `units` is *far* superior for most unit conversion tasks.
gollark: Guess you'll have to guess.
gollark: Hmm, apparently `units` can't do degC→degF conversion, sad.

References
  1. Cadw. "Barry Council Office and Library (13404)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. "Barry Town Hall & Library". Tom Clemett's History of Barry. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008.
  3. "From the archives: Barry's town hall remains unfinished". Barry and District News. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. Stewart Williams (Ed.), The Cardiff Book: Volume I., Stewart Williams Publishers (1973), p. 8. ISBN 0-900807-05-9.
  5. "New Library in Barry". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  6. Peter Collins (15 February 2008). "Inquiry into cost of new Barry library". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
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