The Public Library

The Public Library is an Italian palazzo style building dating from the mid-19th century, constructed of squared brown rubble stone with extensive Bath stone dressings and slate hipped roofs behind balustraded parapets. The building exhibits ashlar plinths, a moulded band, rusticated angle quoins, a heavy modillion cornice, and a parapet with balustrading over the window bays. The original three-window front facing Church Street features upper floor windows in heavy ashlar frames down to the moulded band. These windows are sash windows with marginal bars. The architraves have apron panels, outer frames with large console brackets supporting segmental pediments, except for the central window which is a triple window with a pediment over the centre one, with flat cornices extending to either side. The ground floor windows are longer, similar sashes, but set in plain ashlar surrounds extending down to the plinth. The centre of the Church Street façade was altered in 1926 to include a triple window arrangement with a door flanked by sashes, all set within Portland stone surrounds. The double doors have an overlight. Historic photographs indicate that before 1926, a Roman Doric portico stood on the ground floor. The east and west ends of the building feature first floor triple windows that match the design on the main front. The ground floors on these ends each have three closely spaced, but not linked, windows.

A 1864 addition, a memorial to R J Nevill, includes a one-bay campanile tower and a three-bay range to the south. The tower projects slightly and incorporates rusticated quoins, a plinth, band, and cornice matching the flanking ranges. It features double doors with an overlight set within an ashlar Tuscan porch with attached columns and entablature, beneath a balustraded sill of an upper, segmental pedimented window, similar to that on the Church Street front. The top of the tower has a large cornice under a shallow pyramid roof with a finial. A frieze of square slate panels is set in an ashlar band below this cornice. Belvedere windows are positioned on each side, featuring triangular pediments on consoles, architraves, and balustraded sills over a moulded band. The lower section of the tower includes doors to the roof and a front ashlar armorial panel displaying the Nevill arms. The three-window range to the south is built in a matching architectural style, with plain detailing below and more elaborate features including console brackets to flat cornices above. South east angle quoins are present.

Internal alterations were performed in 1926, including the installation of new stairs to the rear of the entrance hall. There is a large reading room on the first floor facing the Church Street front, and another on the first floor facing Vaughaná Street, to the left of the tower. Both reading rooms feature coved ceilings and large skylights dating from circa 1926.