Bowring Library

Bowring Library is a library built in 1901-1902 by Silvanus Trevail. It is constructed from snecked local stone and features richly detailed terracotta dressings, with a slate roof and moulded terracotta stacks. The building is designed in the Jacobethan style and has a double-depth plan with a stair hall located to the front right. It stands two storeys high with an attic and has a symmetrical four-window front.

The windows are ovolo-moulded transomed cross windows, with the ground-floor right window being shorter and featuring splayed architraves on the first floor. Above a string course, there are panels with relief lettering that reads "BOWRING LIBRARY," which is linked to a tall pedimented doorcase adorned with an enriched tympanum and obelisk finials on short pilasters. A commemorative panel is situated above a panelled door that has a moulded segmental-arched architrave.

The first-floor windows are framed by corbelled pilasters with small Ionic capitals, linked by string courses and topped with pinnacles featuring obelisk finials. The full gabled dormers also have obelisk finials and graduated three-light windows with glazing-bar casements. The gabled right-hand return is treated in a similar style.

Inside, the library retains all original joinery, which includes Art Nouveau brass details and a substantial inner porch. The moulded cornices enhance the interior, and the hall features a mosaic floor with an open-well stair that has turned balusters, lead treads, and ball finials on the newels. The library was a gift to the town from Sir Thomas Bowring, a notable wool trader and benefactor.