Shrewsbury Town Public Library is housed in a historically important building situated on Castle Hill near Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle is situated directly above Shrewsbury railway station....

. The building was the site of Shrewsbury School

Shrewsbury School

Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...

 until 1882. It opened as the Library in 1983 following restoration work.

Above the main entrance are two statues bearing the inscriptions "Philomathes" and "Polumathes". These portray the virtues "Lover of learning" and "Much learning" to convey the lesson that it is good to gain knowledge through a love of learning.

History of the building

The original school building was founded by King Edward VI

Edward VI of England

Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

in 1552. This is a timber-frame building, now at the rear of the present building. Additional stone buildings were added from 1594 to 1630.

Restoration work

The building required restoration work which was mainly done in the early 1980s. The projected cost was over £3million, one of the most expensive such works ever undertaken by the County Council. The library opened in 1983. The work included sand-blasting the main stonework, which looks more modern than 1630 as a result. Work was also done on the original timber-framed building, including repairs to the roof gables. Carvings were done by a local craftsman in the original Tudor style. These include a self-portrait at the apex of the north-facing gable.

The library in the 21st century

The present day library (January 2009) is a light, airy and welcoming building. The architectural features may be clearly seen in all parts of the building. For example, the computer suite is housed in the ground floor of the timber-framed building. The large classrooms at the top of the building house a music library and a general library. The music library retains the original window cills and wall panels with the names of former pupils. The general library displays 46 coats of arms of families who contributed towards the costs of the stone buildings.