Engine of Literature
Wrexham Public Library 1878-1906
Peiriant Llenyddiaeth
Llyfrgell Gyhoeddus Wrecsam 1878-1906
"Wrexham is not a place of literature in the proper sense of the term; the tastes,
refinement and elegance of literary life being very little known, but this is
attributable to the circumstances that our population generally is not of that class to
whom these blessings are attainable. Wrexham is a population of shopkeepers,
tradespeople, grocers, drapers, millers and miners."
Wrexham Registrar, 1849
The first Public Library Act was passed in 1850. It permitted town councils to
levy a rate not exceeding ½ d in the pound for library purposes. None of the
levy, however, was to be used for the purchase of books!
Wrexham Borough Council adopted the Act in March 1878. A Library
Committee was formed, and the first free library and reading room were
opened on 10 December 1879 in the Upper Assembly Rooms of the old Town
Hall. The first Librarian, Richard Gough, was appointed in November the
same year.
The supply of books was dependent on private subscriptions in cash and
kind, on grants of the dividend of £25 a year from the Working Men's Hall
Trust Fund, and £10 from the Lady Cunliffe Memorial Fund.
In 1894 the library had 4,140 books but by 1900, this had increased to 19,011
and the space available in the Guildhall had become inadequate to meet the
needs of the town's population of 14,000. An appeal to the Scottish-American
philanthropist Andrew Carnegie resulted in a grant of £4,000 to build and
£300 to furnish a new library.
The location for the new library was contentious but after some debate, the
Ysbyty site was selected.
Every person above the age of 14 years was able to use the Library as
"A means of recreation and healthy entertainment which would prove a sufficient
counter attraction to the evil and sensual habits of the people they found existing
around them; and ... affording a means of continuous education and would assist in
perpetuating the knowledge which many of their younger friends especially had not
had the privilege of acquiring at school."
Wrexham Advertiser 13 December 1879
The Library was transferred to the Guildhall on Chester Street in 1884.
Lending and reference departments were established in 1889 due to a gift of
£390 from the surplus fund of the National Eisteddfod held at Wrexham in
1883. (The Library received a further gift of £250 when the National
Eisteddfod visited Wrexham in 1912).
Old Town Hall
Hen Neuadd y Dref
"Wrexham is not a place of literature in the proper sense of the term; the tastes, refinement and
elegance of literary life being very little known, but this is attributable to the circumstances that
our population generally is not of that class to whom these blessings are attainable. Wrexham is a
population of shopkeepers, tradespeople, grocers, drapers, millers and miners."
Cofrestrydd Wrecsam, 1849
Pasiwyd y Ddeddf Llyfrgelloedd Cyhoeddus gyntaf ym 1850. Roedd yn caniatáu i gynghorau
tref godi treth o ddim mwy na ½ d ym mhob punt at ddibenion llyfrgelloedd. Fodd bynnag, nid
oedd y dreth honno yn cael ei defnyddio i brynu llyfrau!
Mabwysiadodd Cyngor Bwrdeistref Wrecsam y ddeddf ym mis Mawrth 1878. Cafodd Pwyllgor
y Llyfrgell ei ffurfio ac agorwyd y llyfrgell rydd a'r ystafell ddarllen gyntaf yn Ystafelloedd
Ymgynnull Uchaf hen Neuadd y Dref ar 10 Rhagfyr 1879. Penodwyd y llyfrgellydd cyntaf,
Richard Gough, ym mis Tachwedd y flwyddyn honno.
Roedd pawb dros 14 oed yn cael defnyddio'r llyfrgell fel:
"A means of recreation and healthy entertainment which would prove a sufficient counter attraction to
the evil and sensual habits of the people they found existing around them; and ... affording a means of
continuous education and would assist in perpetuating the knowledge which many of their younger
friends especially had not had the privilege of acquiring at school."
Wrexham Advertiser 13 Rhagfyr 1879
Symudodd y llyfrgell i Neuadd y Dref ar Stryt Caer ym 1884. Sefydlwyd adrannau benthyca a
chyfeirio ym 1889 diolch i rodd o £390 o'r arian a oedd dros ben o gronfa'r Eisteddfod
Genedlaethol yn Wrecsam ym 1883. (Cafodd y llyfrgell rodd bellach o £250 pan ddaeth yr
Eisteddfod Genedlaethol i Wrecsam ym 1912).
Roedd y cyflenwad o lyfrau'n dibynnu ar danysgrifiadau preifat ar ffurf arian a nwyddau, ar
grantiau o'r fuddran o £25 y flwyddyn gan Ymddiriedolaeth Neuadd y Gweithwyr a £10 o
Gronfa Goffa'r Foneddiges Cunliffe.
Ym 1894, roedd gan y llyfrgell 4,140 o lyfrau ond erbyn 1900, roedd y nifer hon wedi cynyddu
i 19,011 ac nid oedd y lle a oedd ar gael yn Neuadd y Dref yn ddigon i fodloni anghenion
poblogaeth y dref, sef 14,000. Arweiniodd apêl i'r dyngarwr Albanaidd-Americanaidd, Andrew
Carnegie, at grant o £4,000 i adeiladu llyfrgell newydd a £300 i brynu dodrefn.
Roedd lleoliad y llyfrgell newydd yn fater cynhennus, ond ar ôl peth
trafodaeth, dewiswyd safle'r Ysbyty.
Rules of the Reading Room (1879)
Rheolau'r Ystafell Ddarllen (1879)
Engine of Literature
Wrexham Public Library 1907-1973
Peiriant Llenyddiaeth
Llyfrgell Gyhoeddus Wrecsam 1907-1973
The Mayoress, Mrs Birkett Evans, laid the foundation stone on 1 January
1906 and Sir Foster Cunliffe of Acton Hall opened the new Library in Queens
Square on 15 February 1907.
More than 100 architects submitted plans for the design of the new library: the
successful architect was Vernon Hodge of Teddington (London). The building
was constructed of Cefn stone and Ruabon terracotta facing brick. The front
roof was covered with Westmoreland slate and the back with Bangor slates.
On the ground floor was a Ladies Room to seat about 20 readers, a reference
room of the same size, a general reading room to seat about 50, and a
librarian's office. The lending library was capable of holding about 20,000
volumes. On the first floor was a large lecture hall, with seating for 200
- which later became a
local museum, and then a
reference library room
- a meeting room, a
book-club room and a
book store.
As the local population
increased to 30,000, the
first qualified Librarian,
Miss Myfanwy Davies,
was appointed and the
Library extended in 1933.
Old Library
Yr Hen Llyfrgell
A further major extension - at a cost of £6,641 - was undertaken in 1951 to:
"Make possible a notable advance in the services which the library can
render to the community and may lead to its being openly recognised as a
centre of information, education, recreation and culture throughout the area.
A community such as Wrexham needs a wide range of reading matter and
the interests of the general reader should not be sacrificed to the demands of
the specialist. The contents of the library shelves must be regarded as a
balanced book stock striving to meet equitably the needs of all grades."
Wrexham Library Annual Report, 1949−50
In addition to providing modern facilities throughout, the enlarged library
contained the 'Wrexham Room' - for books, illustrations, manuscripts and
records of local interest - and an 'Exhibition Room' for the display of art and
craft, and lectures.
The Library moved to Llwyn Isaf in 1973, and the current Library and Arts
Centre building was opened on 24 January 1974.
World War II had a major
impact on the Library. In
Gosododd y Faeres, Mrs Birkett Evans, y garreg sylfaen ar 1 Ionawr 1906 ac
agorodd Syr Foster Cunliffe o Blas Acton y llyfrgell newydd ar Sgwâr y
Frenhines ar 15 Chwefror 1907.
Cyflwynodd dros 100 o benseiri gynlluniau ar gyfer y llyfrgell newydd: y
pensaer llwyddiannus oedd Vernon Hodge o Teddington (Llundain).
Adeiladwyd yr adeilad o garreg Cefn a brics teracota o Riwabon. Cafodd y
to blaen ei orchuddio â llechi Westmoreland a'r to cefn â llechi o Fangor.
Ar y llawr gwaelod roedd Ystafell i Ferched a oedd â seddi i ryw 20 o
ddarllenwyr, ystafell gyfeirio o'r un maint, ystafell ddarllen gyffredinol i ryw 50
o bobl a swyddfa'r llyfrgellydd. Roedd y llyfrgell fenthyg yn gallu dal rhyw
20,000 o gyfrolau. Ar y llawr cyntaf roedd neuadd ddarlithio fawr gyda seddi
i 200 o bobl - a ddaeth yn amgueddfa'n ddiweddarach ac yna'n llyfrgell
gyfeirio - ystafell gyfarfod, ystafell i
glwb llyfrbryfed a stôr llyfrau.
Wrth i'r boblogaeth leol dyfu i
30,000, penodwyd y llyfrgellydd
cymwysedig cyntaf, Miss Myfanwy
Davies ac ymestynnwyd y llyfrgell
ym 1933.
Cafodd yr Ail Ryfel Byd effaith fawr
ar y llyfrgell. Ym 1939, derbyniodd
Wrecsam 9,600 o blant o Lannau
Merswy; o ganlyniad, cafodd y
llyfrgell 500 o lyfrau i blant a 700 o
lyfrau i oedolion gan Lyfrgell
Lerpwl. Arweiniodd y blacowt at
gynnydd yn nifer y bobl a oedd yn
darllen a chynyddodd benthycwyr y
llyfrgell yn sylweddol. Cymerwyd
rhan o'r llyfrgell drosodd gan y
Swyddfa Fwyd a Chanolfan
Wybodaeth.
Extract from Wrexham Public Library Catalogue, 1908
Dyfyniad o Gatalog Llyfrgell Gyhoeddus Wrecsam, 1908
1939, Wrexham received 9,600 children who were evacuated from
Merseyside: as a consequence, the Library received 500 juvenile and 700
adult books from Liverpool Library. The Blackout also led to an increase in
reading and the number of library borrowers increased dramatically. Part of
the Library was taken over by the Food Office and an Information Bureau.
Adeiladwyd estyniad mawr arall
am £6,641 ym 1951 i:
"Gwneud cynnydd nodedig i'r
gwasanaethau y gall y llyfrgell eu
cynnig i'r gymuned ac a allai
arwain ati'n cael ei chydnabod fel
canolfan wybodaeth, addysg,
hamdden a diwylliant ledled
yr ardal. Mae angen ystod eang
o ddeunyddiau darllen ar
gymuned fel Wrecsam ac ni
ddylid aberthu diddordebau'r
darllenwyr cyffredin i ofynion
arbenigwyr. Rhaid i gynnwys
silffoedd y llyfrgell gael ei
ystyried yn stoc gytbwys sy'n
ymdrechu i fodloni anghenion
pawb yn deg."
Adroddiad Blynyddol Llyfrgell
Wrecsam, 1949−50
Yn
ogystal
â
darparu
cyfleusterau cyfoes, roedd y
llyfrgell estynedig yn cynnwys
'Ystafell Wrecsam' - ar gyfer
llyfrau, lluniau, llawysgrifau a
Advert for Junior Post, 1938
chofnodion o ddiddordeb lleol Hysbyseb ar gyfer Swydd Is, 1938
ac 'Ystafell Arddangos' i
arddangos celf a chrefft a chynnal darlithoedd.
Symudodd y llyfrgell i Lwyn Isaf ym 1973 ac agorwyd adeilad presennol y
Llyfrgell a'r Ganolfan Gelf ar 24 Ionawr 1974.
Andrew Carnegie
Captain of Industry 1835-1919
Andrew Carnegie
Capten Diwydiant 1835-1919
Wrexham Library was built and furnished in 1907 with a grant of £4,300 from
Andrew Carnegie.
second-richest person in the world, behind only John D. Rockefeller of
Standard Oil.
Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Fife, on 25 November 1835.
Although poor - his father was a handloom weaver and his mother, the
daughter of a tanner and shoemaker - Carnegie received an education and
developed a passion for reading at an early age. Key influences in his life
were Colonel James Anderson, who opened his personal library of 400
volumes to working boys each Saturday night (Carnegie was a regular
borrower), and the radical views of his relatives, who were active supporters
of the political and social reforms of the period.
In 1901, Carnegie's steel enterprises were bought out by the United States
Steel Corporation, which had been specially formed by the banker John
Pierpont Morgan, for that purpose. Carnegie's personal share from the sale
was $225.6million.
Prompted by the economic depression of 1848 Carnegie's family emigrated
to America, where Andrew began work in a local cotton factory but continued
his education by attending night school. In 1851, Carnegie became a
telegraph messenger boy in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph
Company, at a weekly wage of $2.50.
In his article 'The Gospel of Wealth', published in 1889, Carnegie wrote that
a "man who dies rich dies disgraced" and on his retirement, he used his vast
fortune to set up a trust fund "for the improvement of mankind". In particular,
he provided funding for the building of 3,000 public libraries - on the basis
that he would build and equip, and the local authority would provide the site
and maintenance. By the time he died in 1919, Carnegie had given away
$350million and a further $125million was gifted to the Carnegie Corporation
to carry on his good works.
From 1853 Carnegie was employed as a secretary / telegraph operator in the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He rose rapidly in the company and began
to invest in the railroads and related industries. His rapidly growing fortune
was boosted by the Civil War: in 1861 he was appointed as Superintendent
of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the
East; and Pittsburgh became a centre of industry for the war, providing iron
products and munitions carried by the railroads.
By shrewd investment in oil, iron and steel, Carnegie's empire continued
to grow. He made regular visits to Britain, where he observed the rapid
developments in the iron industry and was especially impressed by Henry
Bessemer's new Converter. In 1870 he erected his first blast furnace and by
the late 1880's Carnegie Steel was the largest manufacturer of pig iron, steel
rails, and coke in the world, with a daily capacity to produce 2,000 tons of pig
metal. By 1889, the U.S. output of steel exceeded that of the U.K., much of it
owned by Andrew Carnegie. At the height of his career, Carnegie was the
Cafodd Llyfrgell Wrecsam ei hadeiladu a'i dodrefnu ym 1907 gyda grant o
£4,300 gan Andrew Carnegie.
Ganed Andrew Carnegie yn Dunfermline, Fife ar 25 Tachwedd 1835. Er ei fod
yn dlawd - roedd ei dad yn wehydd gwydd llaw a'i fam yn ferch i farcer a
chrydd - cafodd Carnegie ei addysgu a datblygodd awch am ddarllen yn ifanc
iawn. Y prif ddylanwadau yn ei fywyd oedd y Cyrnol James Anderson, a
oedd yn agor ei lyfrgell bersonol o 400 o gyfrolau i fechgyn gweithiol bob
nos Sadwrn (roedd Carnegie yn fenthyciwr rheolaidd) a barn radicalaidd ei
berthnasau, a oedd yn frwd o blaid diwygiadau gwleidyddol a chymdeithasol
y cyfnod.
Yn dilyn y dirwasgiad economaidd ym 1848, ymfudodd teulu Carnegie i
America, lle dechreuodd Andrew weithio mewn ffatri cotwm leol ond
parhaodd â'i addysg trwy fynd i ysgol nos. Ym 1851, daeth Carnegie yn
negesydd telegraffau yn swyddfa Cwmni Telegraffau Ohio yn Pittsburgh yn
ennill $2.50 yr wythnos.
Ym 1853, aeth Carnegie i weithio fel ysgrifennydd / gweithredwr telegraffau i
Gwmni Rheilffordd Pennsylvania. Symudodd i fyny drwy'r cwmni'n sydyn a
dechreuodd fuddsoddi yn y rheilffyrdd a diwydiannau cysylltiedig. Cafodd ei
ffortiwn, a oedd yn tyfu'n sydyn, ei hybu gan y Rhyfel Cartref. Ym 1861
cafodd ei benodi fel Uwch-arolygydd y Rheilffyrdd Milwrol a llinellau telegraff
y Llywodraeth Gyfun yn y dwyrain; a daeth Pittsburgh yn ganolfan ddiwydiant
ar gyfer y rhyfel, gan ddarparu nwyddau haearn ac arfau rhyfel a oedd yn cael
eu cludo ar y rheilffyrdd.
Trwy fuddsoddi'n gall mewn olew, haearn a dur, parhaodd ymerodraeth
Carnegie i dyfu. Roedd yn ymweld â Phrydain yn rheolaidd, lle welodd y datblygiadau cyflym yn y diwydiant haearn a gwnaeth trawsnewidydd newydd
Henry Bessemer argraff arbennig arno. Ym 1870, cododd ei ffwrnais chwyth
gyntaf ac erbyn diwedd y 1880au, Dur Carnegie oedd y gwneuthurwr haearn
crai, rheiliau dur a golosg mwyaf yn y byd, gyda'r gallu i gynhyrchu 2,000 o
dunnelli o haearn crai bob dydd. Erbyn 1889, roedd allbwn dur U.D.A. yn
uwch na'r DU, ac roedd y mwyafrif yn perthyn i Andrew Carnegie. Ar anterth
Andrew Carnegie
ei yrfa, Carnegie oedd yr unigolyn cyfoethocaf ond un yn y byd, y tu ôl i John
D Rockefeller a oedd yn berchen ar Standard Oil.
Ym 1901, prynwyd mentrau dur Carnegie gan Gwmni Dur yr Unol Daleithiau,
a ffurfiwyd yn arbennig gan y bancwr, John Pierpont Morgan, at y diben
hwnnw. Cafodd Carnegie gyfran bersonol o $225.6 miliwn am werthu'r
cwmni.
Yn ei erthygl 'The Gospel of Wealth' a gyhoeddwyd ym 1889, ysgrifennodd
Carnegie fod "dyn sy'n marw'n gyfoethog yn marw mewn gwarth" ac ar ôl
ymddeol, defnyddiodd ei ffortiwn helaeth i greu cronfa ymddiriedolaeth "i
wella dynolryw". Yn arbennig, darparodd gyllid i adeiladu 3,000 o lyfrgelloedd
cyhoeddus - ar y sail y byddai ef yn eu hadeiladu a'u cyfarparu ac y byddai'r
awdurdodau lleol yn darparu'r safle a'r gwaith cynnal a chadw. Erbyn iddo
farw ym 1919, roedd Carnegie wedi rhoi $350 miliwn a rhoddwyd $125
miliwn arall i Gorfforaeth Carnegie i barhau â'i waith da.