Originally called the Schools of Science and Art, the original part of the building was built by
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and designed by F.W Waller.[citation needed
]
The building finally opened as a public library in 1900.[5] The library opened with Roland Austin's Gloucestershire Collection of local history which has since moved to the Gloucestershire Archives in 2005.[6]
In 1902, the Price Memorial Hall was converted to be used as part of the museum which became
In 1990 a rare piece of choral music by Sir Edward Elgar was found in a plain envelope in the library's collections, 83 years after it disappeared.[10]
Architecture
The library building is designed in the Neo-Gothic style.[9] It was inspired by the work of George Edmund Street. It consists of five bays parallel to the street with cross-gabled right angle ranges at each end. The two bays and right angle range at the north end of the building are the original part built in 1872 and southern end is the newer part built in 1900. It has two storeys and a cellar.[citation needed] There are two entrances on each of the end bays. All the bays have large ground and first floor windows apart from where the entrances are located.[citation needed] The newer southern entrance has the year 1900 engraved above it, and the southern range has the words "public library" engraved between the ground and first floor windows. Inside the main reading room is braced out to support a glazed atrium roof.[2]
The adjoining Price Memorial Hall is built in the renaissance style.[8]
Collection
As well as a book collection, the library includes a dedicated Music and Performing Arts collection which has a large collection of
^"Archives under one roof". Worcestershire, West Midlands, Herefordshire, and Shorpshire Counties Publications. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
