Nearly 4 weeks after the Committee meeting, the County Council have still not announced who the preferred bidder is. But thanks to “My University - A history of Mill Road Branch Library” (privately published in 1997) by the late Dr Henry Tribe, we can tell you that 

1) the County Council were trying to close the Mill Road Library ever since they took ownership of it:

2) the County neglected the building throughout their ownership (and were fully aware of its condition nearly 30 years ago); and

3) the local community’s voice has been loud and strong for the Mill Road Library for nearly 50 years, since its transfer from the City Council to the County Council in 1974 (local government reorganisation following the Local Government Act 1972). . Our petition (now 2454 signatures) is the latest in a series since the County took over the Library in 1974: 1977, 2000 against closure; 1989, 1000 against closure; 1995, 3000 against closure; and after the Library closed in 1996, 1600 for reinstatement.  

This information is summarised by John Preston from “My University” by the late Dr Henry Tribe (1997)/ He took the title from  “The judgement of Mill Road Library by Fred Unwin, local author of 20 books of stories set in old Cambridge”.

The late Dr Henry Tribe (1927-2022) was Assistant Director of Soil Microbiology at the Cambridge University School of Agriculture until it was shut down in 1989. He lived on Gilbert Road, and photographed the Library in August 1995. When he heard that it was under serious threat of closure, he became associated with the Friends of Mill Road Library.  He was so appalled when it closed that he wrote and self-published his book for the Library’s Centenary year. He “found that the Listed Building provided by our forefathers on land dedicated ‘for ever’ which the County Council had inherited in 1974 had been steadily neglected”. He hoped his book “will strengthen the resolve of all citizens of Cambridge to insist that Mill Road Library be reinstated and the grand building be prepared for its second century of service”. 

The book covers the Library’s “Prehistory, 1850-97” and “The Flourishing Library, 1897-1974”, but primarily the long saga from 1974 of neglect, attempted closure, and public opposition, reflected in a series of petitions (the current petition is the latest of many), the formation of the Friends of Mill Road Library, and the Great Pageant they organised for the Library’s Centenary year in 1996.   

Prehistory

The ”Prehistory” section details the acquisition of the site: “in 1889 the Board of Guardians of the Poor of the Cambridge Union were moved…to offer a site on which a building would be erected….  On 22 April 1891, a piece of land was sold by the Board of Guardians to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Cambridge on which to build the library.  The piece of land was exactly the size on which the library was to be built, and a second piece of land between it and Mill Road was provided for access by the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses and their Assigns “at all times with or without horses and carriages”. The agreement was to hold all the premises unto and to the use of the said Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses their Successors and assigns for ever.”  Some signatories to the current (2024) petition note that some at least of the funding for the building came from public subscription, but this is not mentioned in the book. 

The Library from 1974 – closure threats, petitions and Pageant

Soon after the Library was transferred to the County Council in 1974, its opening hours were reduced. By 1977 the Library was under threat, and the County’s Leisure and Amenities Group recommended closure. The County Librarian said that £15,000 repairs were needed, and the County didn’t have the money.   But on 6th Sept 1977 a 2000-signature petition backed by the Mayor was handed in. On 1 November the County’s Policy and Resources Committee rejected the closure proposals.  From 1978-80 the Library was reconfigured to also include an office for the City Council and a community room. 

Further rumours of closure led the City Council to pass a resolution of “deep concern” in 1989, and a 1000-signature petition helped persuade the County to keep the Library open. But in 1991 the opening hours were again reduced, from 30.5 to 19. In 1995 more closure proposals prompted a 3000-signature petition signed by 22 Councillors, and 275 Library users packed a public meeting in St Barnabas Church. The Friends of Mill Road Library challenged the County Council’s case for closure, and got coverage on TV and the press including The Times and Private Eye. On 9 December 1995 they organised a “Centenary Pageant”, with “Queen Victoria” re-enacting the opening of the Library, and a vote of thanks by Cambridge’s MP Anne Campbell (in reality the Library had been opened by the Mayor, with the then MP present).  But 2 months later the County Council decided to close the Library. Its door was finally shut on 30 March.   

After the closure

The County Council (Labour) then offered the former Library to the City Council (also Labour) at a peppercorn rent for up to 7 years. Recognising the value of the building, its state of repair, planning restrictions on its use, and its value to the community if brought back into community use, its freehold would be transferred at a peppercorn consideration.  But the City’s Labour Leader Cllr Southernwood rejected the offer “The important thing is to secure the building’s future as a community asset. The building’s future is not going to be secure give the circumstances of the county council or the city council.”

The County then invited offers from 3rd parties to be submitted by 31 October 1996.  A fact sheet “Mill Road Library Building: information for voluntary groups” was prepared in August 1996, which outlined the condition of the building. The state of neglect was clear: the lantern under the cupola “does not appear to have been painted for many years and shows signs of wet-rot attack”. The need for re-roofing at a budgeted cost of £25,000 had been identified. ..All the stone window mullions, transoms and cills have been eroded and delaminated; their restoration could be extremely costly; the timber sub-frames are in poor condition and urgent redecoration is required”. The fact sheet outlined possible sources of grant aid.

In May 1996 the Friends prepared a further petition, for reinstatement of library services within the Library building. The Friends’ view was the County had failed to maintain both the Library service and the Library building entrusted to it in 1974.  By December this had 1600 signatures.  But the building was taken over by Wintercomfort as a night shelter. The Friends investigated a Judicial Review of the closure, but were unable to raise the funds needed.    

The Conservatives, who had voted against closure of the Library, regained control of the County Council, but took the view (5 August letter from Cllr Jill Tuck of Wisbech, new Chair of the Education, Libraries and Heritage Committee) that “it would be neither practical nor economical to re-open the Library”. She said “The process has begun to find alternative community uses for the building. Several groups and organisations have submitted proposals and these are being considered with a view t make sure the building continues to be a valuable asset to the community” 

By July 1997, when Henry Tribe was writing his book, the 13 Voluntary Bodies trying for the Library building had been whittled down to three: Cambridge Drama Centre, Cambridge Arts Centre and the Indian Cultural Association. “The Drama and Arts centres are submitting a joint application, with plans for a mezzanine floor. This will of course need external funding, and thus a long period of time for applications."