Lending Library

The Lending Library is an Edwardian Baroque building from 1907, featuring a single storey and a three-bay facade made of Ruabon brick with ashlar dressings and slate roofs. The central dome is flanked by gable-ended cross ranges, which include open pediment treatments, deep kneelers, festoons, and broad end pilaster strips. The outer bays have Venetian windows with small panes, colonettes, and aprons. The central bay is set back and includes a lower entrance with a dentil cornice parapet and an enriched oval shield displaying the lettering "Llyfrgell Rydd 1907." A cambered cornice spans the gated entrance, which features narrow small pane glazed double doors. Behind the entrance, there is a lead roof dome topped with an octagonal lantern and small pane glazing.

The cornice continues around the six-bay right side of the building. The first two bays on this side have bullseye windows with keystones that rise to the cornice. The gable end of the main range is advanced and has similar but plainer details as seen on the front, including Venetian windows. The three bays at the rear have short segmental-headed windows with aprons, and there are two similar gable ends at the rear, each with round small pane attic windows and a Venetian-derived window below.

Inside, the library features an octagonal inner porch illuminated by the dome, which has a foliage ornamented plaster border at the base and an egg and dart cornice. The right side has a segmental roof with ornamented plaster ribs, and Art Nouveau radiators are present. Copper tablets in the porch commemorate the benefactors of the library, which was largely funded by Andrew Carnegie.