HERBERT Corner was a genuine bookworm. The North-East pensioner's passion for books knew no bounds.

Most days be could be found in the reference section of Darlington's Crown Street Library quietly studying a weighty text book.

The library, which opened in 1885, became something of a home-from-home for Mr Corner until he died a few years ago.

He had spent so many happy hours there that when his wife, Edith, wrote her will, she decided he would best be remembered with a donation to the Crown Street building.

The couple are thought to have had no relatives, for the Crown Street library became the major beneficiary of her will when she died last year.

Officials were delighted to receive a cheque for £100,000, ten times the £10,000 it cost to build and stock the library 116 years ago.

A smaller bequest went to Edinburgh Library, and legacies also went to friends.

A condition of the bequest is that it is spent on books covering music and the arts, and Darlington Borough Council's head of libraries Peter White has already bought two collections of reference books, worth £3,000 a set, as a starting point.

The 29-volume Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and the 34-part Groves Dictionary of Art and Artists are the first in a massive influx of books to grace the shelves of not only the Crown Street Library, but Cockerton's branch and the town's mobile service.

Each book will have a plate fitted, saying: "Book purchased from the Corner Bequest."

Mr White said: "We don't know a great deal about the Corners.

"Mr Corner used to be a regular library user many years ago and some of the older staff can remember him as being a very pleasant gentleman who used to come in and use our art and music section.

"His late wife has obviously wanted to put something back into the library to acknowledge the use and pleasure he got from us."

It is believed he died around 20 years ago. It is not known if his wife, of Willow Road, Darlington, used the library or not.

Councillor Eleanor Lister, the council's cabinet member for education, said: "This is a lovely gesture which demonstrates the value the couple placed upon the library, as well as helping to strengthen the role of the library as a useful educational resource today."

The Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Dot Long, also cabinet member for leisure services, said: "This very generous donation shows how important this public service is to people, and demonstrates how much pleasure people get from using the library."

Lady Lymington, daughter of Edward Pease, opened the Crown Street library with her father's £10,000 gift to the town.

By special request of the then mayor, shops and businesses closed at noon so townspeople could watch the procession, headed by police, volunteers and the fire brigade, as it left the town hall to reach Crown Street via Northgate.

When it opened, the library had 10,500 books. Today, that number has reached nearly 250,000, and it is estimated that more than 40m books have been lent since that day in 1885