Friday, November 14 2025 marks the start of a new chapter for Yr Hen Lyfrgell/The Old Library building, located in the Heart of Wrexham.
Originally paid for by the Scottish American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on a plot of land provided by Wrexham Council, the library was first opened at a cost of £4,300 on Friday 15, 1907 by then Wrexham Mayoress Mrs Edward Hughes and Sir Foster H.E. Cunliffe.
The 1907 opening involved a speech by Sir Cunliffe who mentioned amongst other things that Homer’s Odyssey was a great adventure read for boys, and that Wrexham was proudly a bilingual town and that English should not be seen as an alien language! The opening ceremony also involved using an inscribed gold key to open the library gates.
Many things have changed in Wrexham since the building was originally opened, but in keeping with the first opening, following a speech from Wrexham Mayor Cllr Tina Mannering, the building was again officially opened by opening the gates. Although this time the inscribed gold key was replaced with a plain metal key, and with advances in technology the gates now actually open with a key fob!
Yr Hen Lyfrgell / The Old Library
Grant funding from the Welsh Government Transforming Towns Fund and Shared Prosperity Fund has allowed Wrexham Council to transform this historic building and underused asset into what will become a thriving creative hub that benefits the city, whilst ensuring it contributes towards the delivery of the city and the region’s strategic vision & objectives.
WCBC’s vision is to create a flexible, energy-efficient, creative hub that mixes culture, technology and sustainability led by purpose driven organisations, entrepreneurs and businesses from the creative industry sector.
The first tenant has already signed up, with lots of other interested parties at various stages of the tenancy bidding process.
Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government Jayne Bryant said: “I was delighted to visit the site in August and was extremely impressed with not only the standard of the workmanship, but with the overall ambitions for this Grade II listed building to become a hub for the creative industries throughout the region.
“This project is an excellent example of how Wrexham city centre is benefitting from more than £13 million in Transforming Towns funding, breathing new life into our historic buildings whilst supporting economic growth and cultural development in the community.”
Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham Council said: “Our ambition for this newly refurbished Grade II listed building is for it to becomes a focal point and hub for the creative industries both locally and further afield. “The refurbishment of this prominent city centre building is as a reminder of our past, whilst also serving our ambitions to attract high quality and creative businesses to Wrexham. “The interest shown in the building is proof that there is already a thriving creative industries community locally that we are looking to support and grow.”
Cllr Nigel Williams, Lead Member for Economy and Regeneration at Wrexham Council said: “Over the past few years we have successfully secured external funding in order to improve the look and functionality of our developing city centre. “The grant funding from Transforming Towns Fund and Shared Prosperity Fund has allowed us to transform this historic building and underused asset into what will become a thriving Creative Hub that benefits the city, whilst ensuring it contributes towards the delivery of the city and the region’s strategic vision & objectives.
