Sidmouth Library to mark 200 years of libraries in town

THERE have been libraries in Sidmouth for 200 years and staff at the town library will mark the anniversary with cream teas and birthday cake.

THERE have been libraries in Sidmouth for 200 years and staff at the town library will mark the anniversary with cream teas and birthday cake.

Librarian in charge, Gill Spence, has invited those involved with the library to the celebrations on Friday, June 19, between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, including former librarians Joy Chadder and Carol Ackroyd.

"We will be putting on a display and having a literary competition and I would like to invite members of the public to dress in styles from the past 200 years," said Gill, who said staff would be dressing up.

"We want lots of people to flood in for a nice cream tea and look at our display, and Dr Bob Symes - curator of Sidmouth Museum - is putting together a guided walk around places where libraries existed."

Gill added: "We are very lucky to have a long history of libraries in Sidmouth. People value the library."

Sidmouth Library was built in 1970 and celebrates its 40th anniversary next year.

* John Wallis's Marine Library opened to the public on June 20, 1809, in a two-storey Georgian brick building fronting the Esplanade in Prospect Place. See next week's Nostalgia for more on the history of Sidmouth's libraries.