Built in 1885 and originally known as the Edward Pease Free Library after its main sponsor, it was designed by architect G.G. Hoskins who designed other notable buildings in Darlington, most notably the Kings Head Hotel on Northgate. The Building is in Hoskins' recognisable style, which is a flamboyant neo-classical with many original twists, all assembled in a mixture of red brick, terracotta and red sandstone with a steeply pitched slated roof surmounted by an elaborate cupola. The library was extended in 1933 in a way which is almost seamless. The building was carefully restored and refurbished and reopened to the public in 2023.
Thanks to a recommendation by one of our group members, we were delighted to be one of the first groups to be given a tour of the newly re-opened Library and were guided in two groups by two of the librarians who gave us a tour of the ground floor where the full splendour of the restoration is evident in the entrances, the lending library, the Hive activity hub, a local studies room, the children’s library, meeting rooms and an art gallery. Colours have been carefully selected using recovered paint samples where possible, but in other cases specially chosen to complement the building's interior . A further source of fascination was a tour through the basement, a warren of rooms containing archives, bound copies of newspapers, and shelves and drawers of maps, drawings, photographs and rare books. Our librarian hosts gave us the warmest welcome and not only proved to be extremely informative but had prepared displays of material relevant to our interests.