Pillgwenlly Library is a former library in Pillgwenlly, Newport, Wales. Built in 1889, it was designed by a local architect, Alfred Swash. The library was closed in the 21st century. It is notable for the inscription on the building's tympanum (pediment) which reads, "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER". The phrase, originally attributed to Francis Bacon, inspired the opening line of the song A Design for Life by the Manic Street Preachers.
The Pillgwenlly Library was one of a number of projects established by the town's council to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, held in 1887. An architectural competition attracted seven entries and a Mr Alfred Swash was declared the winner.[1] Swash, a local architect,[2] had trained with the firm of Habershon and Fawckner before establishing his own practice at Midland Bank Chambers in Newport.[a][3] The site for the library was donated by Lord Tredegar, the major local landowner,[1] and the construction cost was £1,200.[4] The building is frequently misidentified as a Carnegie library[5] but funds did not come from the Carnegie Foundation.[6]
The library was of three storeys with a basement and the construction material was red brick with Bath stonedressings. Its frontage on Temple Street was 34 feet in length. The building incorporated a reading room, a room for the playing of chess, and an office and accommodation for the permanent caretaker.[4] The building's tympanum (pediment) carries an inscription, "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER".[b][8] The library closed in the early 21st century.[9]
The library's inscription inspired Nicky Wire, lyricist for the Manic Street Preachers, to write their 1996 single, A Design for Life. The track's opening line is "Libraries gave us power".[10] The band members grew up in Blackwood, a town in the South Wales Valleys to the north of Newport, and Wire's wife was employed at Pillgwenlly Library.[11] In 2009 the Preachers were invited to unveil a plaque at the opening of the new central library in Cardiff; the plaque carries the lyric "Libraries gave us power".[12]
Notes
↑ Alfred Swash (1860-1939) was born in Neath, practised for most of his professional life in Newport, latterly in partnership with his son, Frank, and retired to Llandrindod Wells.[3]
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