Buckley Town Council Offices and Library

Cadw's description

Location

In the centre of Buckley on the north side of Mold Road near to its junction with the A549

History

Built 1901 as Buckley Urban District Town Council Offices with the town library building adjacent constructed the following year. The Library was achieved through the support of Andrew Carnegie. The two buildings were linked together in the late C20. The office building is still in use by Buckley Town Council but the library building has been converted for use as small business units.

Exterior

Purpose built council offices and library buildings in domestic style with arts & crafts influences. Two separate two storey buildings with a late C20 flat roofed link structure infilling the gap in-between. Both in local red brick with stone dressings.

Council Offices: balanced asymmetrical building with first floor brick dentil course, the façade dominated by advanced left bay with buttresses to the ground floor and pilaster with finials breaking the eaves line above. Large ‘Buckley Town Council’ painted panel with crest and the date 1901, (formerly Buckley Urban District Town Council, the ‘Urban District’ painted out following the 1974 Local Government Reorganisation). Central doorway with segmentally pedimented canopy, transom and mullion windows to the ground floor, that to the left larger, and small pane leaded window to first floor right. Hipped slate roof and 2 tall brick chimney stacks to ridge. Dentil course continues to left gable. To the rear is Town Council chamber with sweeping slate roof set lower, three tall gable-end windows and two large windows to side.

Library: to right of Council Offices, symmetrical five bay with continuous first floor brick dentil course. Advanced and gabled central entrance bay with end finials to coped gable, wide doorway to ground floor and arched first floor window both with regular wide spaced raised stone vouissors. Above the doorway is a stone balcony on stone brackets with cast iron railings, on the railings there is a painted metal panel with the inscription ‘Public Library and Swimming Pool’ and date ‘AD 1902’. The balcony supports a large clock with painted lettering ‘Buckley Silver Jubilee, 1910-1935’, (recently restored at time of inspection). Arched windows with voussoirs to the ground floor and rectangular small pane leaded windows to the first floor. Narrow arched windows with keystones to returns of entrance bay. Hipped slate roof with brick end stacks, that to the right corbelled. Stone dedication plaques set within the front wall at low level marking the support of Andrew Carnegie and Messers Griffiths of Chester.

Interior

Much contemporary detailing survives to the council offices including central entrance plan with original doors, glazed dado tiling, skirtings and other internal features. The main council chamber appears to have survived entirely intact.

Library interior not inspected.

Reason for designation

Listed as a good example of civic architecture and as a prominent council office and library displaying distinctive character relating to the industrial history of the town.