Do you have a story to share about Newbury’s Old Library?
Do you have a story to share about Newbury’s Old Library?
The Corn Exchange are redeveloping the Old Library in Cheap Street to become a new arts hub.
As they work towards transforming the building into a permanent home for their creative participation and wellbeing work, they want to uncover and share people's stories about this much-loved local building - perhaps this is somewhere you took your children or were inspired to become a writer?
The Corn Exchange is asking members of the public for memories and photographs of the Old Library and are particularly interested in the period before 2000 when it was the town library. They are asking people to send them in to development@cornexchangenew.co.uk
Opened in 1906 as a free Carnegie library, the Old Library was built to provide education and improvement opportunities to all local people, freely accessible to the general public without restriction. Built with money donated by Scottish American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie it is one of 660 such libraries which were built in the UK between 1883 and 1929.
As Newbury Free Library it was part of the social fabric of Newbury for nearly 100 years - in continuous use as a public library until July 2000, it re-opened soon afterwards as a Prezzo restaurant which closed in 2018. In January 2023 planning permission was received to redevelop the building to become a permanent home for the Corn Exchange’s creative wellbeing work, which focuses on improving access to high quality cultural and creative experiences, particularly to improve mental health and to support our older communities and young people.
The Corn Exchange (Newbury) Trust, which comprises of the Corn Exchange, 101 Outdoor Arts and the Learning Centre, and which also manages The Base Greenham, have launched a campaign to raise £2.6m to reopen the Old Library in early 2025.
£1m has been funded by Greenham Trust, for the acquisition of the building, repairs, and conservation, with support also provided by Backstage Trust, Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and Syder Foundation.
For an exclusive look inside the Old Library visit newburytoday.co.uk/lifestyle/sneak-peek-inside-the-old-library-as-fundraising-begins-for-9355706/
And Al Murray gives his support to Old Library fundraising newburytoday.co.uk/lifestyle/pub-landlord-al-murray-to-host-old-library-fundraiser-at-t-9357771/
Visit www.cornexchangenew.com/oldlibrary to find out more about the Old Library campaign and to donate.
