Children brought in handmade ‘thank you’ cards after finding out that the library would be closing

A Cambridgeshire library that opened more than 100 years ago has closed due to fire risk concerns. The library in Waterbeach closed on Saturday, February 21.

Waterbeach Library had been lending books since 1922, but failed a fire inspection three years ago. Mike Richmond, chair of the volunteers who run the facility, said the group had been hoping to get a replacement building on the same site but “time ran out to do that”.

The group is now looking at other temporary locations. The library is run by a team of volunteers, who have been lobbying local authorities for funding for a replacement building for the past three years.

In September 2025, they presented a petition signed by hundreds of local residents asking Waterbeach Parish Council to support the service continuing. Waterbeach Parish Council has been contacted for more information.

The library has more than 14,000 books per year borrowed by more than 1,300 members. Locals who used the library have shared their sadness about the closure.

One person wrote on a Facebook post that the news was ‘very sad’, highlighting that it is “such a loss to the village”. Another said: “I had so many happy times in the library, I am sorry you are closing. Thank you for everything.”

Mike, chair of Waterbeach Library Volunteers, said that he feels “general sadness and disappointment” about the closure of the “very popular” library. “Lots of children would be coming in around the end of school,” he added. Mike continued: “We have had handmade thank you cards from some of the children who come in, which is really sweet of them.”