In the small village of Coulter, South Lanarkshire, sits a Category B-listed library building with an attached caretaker’s house. The building was originally funded through local philanthropy and was built in 1888 to house the book collection of Coulter Public Library, which was instituted in 1838. It is described in the Pevsner Guide for Lanarkshire as ‘a rare example of rural library provision’.
Since 1982, the building has been in the ownership of Coulter Public Library Trust; until the pandemic, it was in regular use for small events and meetings, after-school clubs, and private work and study. It is currently vacant and in poor condition.
Image: The reading room inside Coulter Public Library. Credit - Coulter Public Library Trust.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is excited to announce that it has awarded a Project Viability Grant to Coulter Public Library Trust to help bring this rare rural library back to life and return it to its original use. This was one of 11 awards made in the latest grants meeting, where projects across Scotland, England, and Wales were awarded funding totalling £142,378.
Specific plans for this project include reopening the building as a library and meeting room, providing a permanent exhibition on the village’s history, and refurbishing the former caretaker’s house to create affordable housing. The project will also showcase the appropriate retrofit of a historic building through the installation of improved insulation, a sustainable heating system, mechanical heat recovery, and high-performance glazing. The grounds will be developed as a community garden and orchard, improving local biodiversity.
This Historic Environment Scotland-supported AHF grant will contribute towards design team fees, helping to carry out condition and measured surveys and to establish outline designs and costings for the project. It will also fund legal costs and business planning.
