THE subscription library in Tavistock has been forced to close for safety reasons, after part of the ceiling in the Grade II Listed building fell down last Friday. The private library is situated between Court Gate and Tavistock Police Station ? the building is owned by the town council, but leased by the subscription library. The library?s secretary, Graham Kirkpatrick, was in the building when the section of ceiling fell, narrowly missing him. Mr Kirkpatrick said: ?I was arranging the tea and coffee for the regular weekly members? meeting when an area of about four square feet of the ceiling above the fireplace suddenly fell down. ?Fortunately, I was at the other end of the room and all I suffered was a fog of dust.? Mr Kirkpatrick said the library would now remain closed until the trustees were ?perfectly sure? the room was safe. He said the trustees would be meeting shortly to decide the way forward, and would be taking advice from the town council and English Heritage. ?It will no doubt be a difficult situation, as the building is an ancient monument,? said Mr Kirkpatrick. Town clerk Roger Howard said although the council owned the subscription library, under the terms of the lease, the trustees would be liable to pay for repairs to the ceiling. The subscription library has occupied the small room in the Court Gate complex since 1965, paying a peppercorn rent of £5 per year to the council. The ceiling in the library is original, dating back to the 1830s. It is made of traditional lath and plaster ? the same material as the town hall ceiling, currently covered in green netting to stop bits falling on people.
