Bancroft Memorial Library

A very, very
special
library
The first Hopedale library started back in 1855 and it was just a few hundred books stuck in the back of a school until Joseph Bancroft built this library in 1898 in honor of his wife Sylvia. He stated he wanted something very, very special to be constructed in her memory and he definitely got his wish.
I’ve seen a whole heap of libraries but this is one that that made my jaw drop. Just so many unusual and different things to look at, the books inside seem absolutely irrelevant.
The first thing that catches your eye is the building itself, made of pink Milford granite and fashioned after an Oxford chapel, it is indeed stunning. Strange and mysterious, it looks like it was just plunked down from somewhere else.
If you go over to the side you will notice a huge fountain. This was a gift from another local resident and was actually used as a for drinking until the board of health decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to have people drinking from the same fountain as horses, dogs and pigeons.
Once inside the library your eyes will immediately seek the ceiling. Exposed beams and intricate carvings will strain your neck and your sense of reality. How can this really be a library? The quiet and darkness just adds to the ambiance.
Plenty of cool old pictures of cool old people long gone and strange antiques are everywhere and dark and spooky corners and rooms complete the bizarre and extraordinary landscape.
The librarian was friendly and helpful but rather reserved, like she knew she worked in the coolest damn library in the whole state and there was no need to be obvious about it.
I’ve seen a lot of libraries and it takes a very special library to really impressive me but the Bancroft Library certainly did the trick. Sylvia Bancroft did indeed get something, very, very special in her memory.