Cosin'S Library (University Library)

Cosin's Library, also known as the University Library, is a library built between 1667 and 1668 by John Longstaffe for Bishop Cosin, who intended it for public use. The building is constructed from coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings and features roofs made of sandstone flags. It has two storeys and one wide bay. The central door is framed by three over three elliptical-headed panels within a stone architrave, topped by an open and broken segmental scrolled pediment that displays a coat of arms. Above the door, there is a three-light stone mullioned-and-transomed window with segmental-headed lights. The eaves string and high parapet, which was altered in the 19th century from battlements to conceal a heightened roof pitch, feature roll-moulded coping. To the right, there is a two-storey canted porch added in the mid-19th century, which has a door in an elliptical-headed surround and three elliptical-headed windows above.

Inside, the internal porch has a rear screen panelled in the same style as the door. There is an inserted gallery supported by octagonal wooden columns, along with a spiral staircase made of wood and iron. The bookcases are adorned with dentilled cornices above a frieze painted with portraits of philosophers and other notable figures, alternating with narrow bays now filled with shelves that feature swag decoration in segmental pediments on the cornices. The scrolled pediment over the internal porch includes swag and a coat of arms. Additionally, there is a stone chimney piece in Tudor style from 1845, commemorating Bishop Thorpe, and a small room added at the rear in 1670 by Longstaffe. The building is also designated as a scheduled ancient monument.