Barry Council Office and Library

Barry Council Office and Library is a local government building and public library located in King's Square, Barry, Wales.HistoryThe original building housed the town hall and Carnegie library . The architects were C.E. Hutchinson and E. Harding Payne of London, who won an architectural competition to design the building, in 1903. A further expansion to the rear of the new building was planned, but never executed.The first lending library in Barry was opened in 1890, at 144 Holton Road. It later moved to a three-storey house on the Square, with the ground floor used as a reading room, the lending library on the second floor and caretaker's rooms on the top floor. In 1903 the Council applied to the Andrew Carnegie Trust for a grant to enable a public library to be built. A grant of £8,000 was awarded, and the library was opened by the Earl of Plymouth on 1 March 1906.21st centuryThe library was moved to the Leisure Centre in 2001, to allow the refurbishment of the Town Hall and Library buildings. In 2003 the building was restored and a new wing was provided for the library. The new library was opened on 4 January 2007. This was the first new county library to be opened in Wales for 10 years.The redevelopment of the former town hall building cost £371,000, £124,000 more than had been set aside, the increased cost sparked an inquiry in February 2008.