The Old Library

Malmesbury is situated on the edge of the Cotswolds and is almost entirely built of local stone. This makes the Old Library on High St stand out as something completely incongruous. The brick facade with terracotta decoration is dated 1901. It seems very strange to introduce such alien materials on the High Street of such a picturesque town. I do,however, much prefer it to the corporate awfulness of the W H Smith frontage.