The Carnegie Library scheme lead to libraries being built around the world, which included 600 in the UK, of which the Carnegie Building on New Road was one.
It was built in 1904, with the
foundation stone being laid by the Earl of Kerry in the July of 1904. This fascinating building was first listed as Grade II on 8 July 1976.
The building served as a
library from 1905 until 2001 when the library service moved into the new
building in the town centre. During the second World War, however, the library was used as a Food Office and for the issue and stamping of Ration Books[1]. Since 2004 the building has served as
Calne's Heritage Centre.
Carnegie Mews, which is built next to the old Carnegie Library, was built on what was previously the over-powering Harris Bacon factory. This development, which included Bank Row, was completed in 1995 and opened by Michard Needham, MP on 27 October 1995.
Both Carnegie Mews and Bank Row, were built by ARC properties, designed by Aaron Evans Associates, with funding from the Housing Corporation by a partnership between the District Council, the Knightsbridge Housing Association and Cowlin Developments. The final development consists of 22 houses, 6 flats and
3 shop units designed as terraces
Carnegie Road is part of the Porte Marsh industrial estate developed in the late 1980s as a response to the loss of the Harris company and now provides a great deal of diverse employment opportunies for the town.
To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Andrew Carnegie. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie [Accessed 18 Mar. 2019].
Calne Heritage Centre
[1] Boddington, S., 1993. A Source of Price: A Brief History of Calne Library. 1st ed. Wiltshire: Wiltshire County Council Library & Museum Service.
