Malvern Library

Malvern Library

This building is constructed of red brick laid in English bond with colour-matched mortar and sandstone dressings, beneath a plain tile roof.

The building has an E-shaped plan, with three gabled ranges projecting eastward from a spinal range at the west. It is one and two storeys in height and takes advantage of a sloping site to reveal a basement floor on the eastern side.

The western entrance front is symmetrical, dominated by a central pavilion of two storeys flanked by single-storied wings. The central three bays are richly decorated with stone dressings including Ionic pilasters on plinths. The ground floor contains an arcade which was formerly open but now has modern glazing. Each arch features a triple keystone, and above the central arch is a cartouche displaying a coat of arms with deeply-cut swags of flowers. The first floor has sash windows with lugged stone surrounds and stone aprons. Above the pilasters are sections of frieze, and at the top of the wall is a deep cornice which rises in an arch above the central bay, enclosing an oval window with swags of carved flowers at either side. A pyramidal roof crowns the central pavilion, with chimney stacks decorated with banded sandstone and moulded caps. At either side are wings of five bays with banded wall decoration and sash windows grouped in pairs, each with a central mullion. Flat-headed dormers to the roof each contain three casement lights.

The south flank features a projecting bay at the left with stone panels to each corner and cartouches to the upper wall. A central doorway with panelled door and canopied hood gives access, above which is a Diocletian window set in the gable. To the right are five bays with paired sash windows matching those on the west front. Recessed and joined to the original building at the right is an addition of 2005, marked by a metal clad juncture between old and new, thereafter constructed of red brick with soldier coursed window heads and a simple cavetto moulding in stone at the top of the wall. The north flank is essentially similar, except that it lacks a doorway at its gabled western end, having instead small windows to the upper wall. The east front, dating from 2005, features a segmental bow of glass to its centre with brick walling at either side.

Internally, the former open arcade at ground floor level on the west side was enclosed with glass doors in 2005. Its rear wall has a central doorway with a stone surround inscribed with the word 'LIBRARY' in relief at the top of the frame. At either side are oval windows with stone surrounds. The right-hand flank wall has a similar doorway inscribed 'HALL'. A corridor leading to the library has a barrel vault with moulded plaster ribs. The library space divides into three main areas: a central space where the issue desk was originally positioned, with reading rooms on either side. The central area has a glazed skylight taking the form of a lantern of three bays with a pitched glazed roof, featuring arched braces supported on brackets and free-standing miniature columns, with plaster wreaths to the panels. The ceiling is supported by square pillars with matching pilaster responds to the wall. The lateral reading rooms, accessed through arcades, both have segmental barrel vaults with central glazed panels. Against the side walls in both rooms stand free-standing Ionic columns with distinct entasis and swags suspended from the capitals. A reading room to the north of the entrance contains fitted cupboards and a fireplace with wooden surround and green tiles. The staircase to the first floor has a metal balustrade and mahogany handrail which is ramped with a wreathed curtail. Cast iron fire surrounds are present to the first floor rooms, now converted to offices, and a wooden surround with marble slips appears in a room which may have been the librarian's office or committee room. The assembly hall has a square alcove at its northern end, possibly for a stage, with arched braces to the roof. Its northern flank wall has been opened to connect with the library through a series of arches and now serves as a children's library. The original rear wall of the central space has been removed to connect with the 2005 addition, which contains an imperial staircase placed in the segmental bow connecting to the basement floor, fitted with computer desks and a cafe.