Lincoln Mechanics' Institute
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The Lincoln Mechanics' Institute or Lincoln and Lincolnshire Mechanics' Institute was founded in
Lincoln, England Lincoln () is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district, district in Lincolnshire, England, of which it is the county town. In the 2021 Census, the city's district had a population of 103,813. The 2021 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, u ...
in 1833. It was one of the many
Mechanics' institutes Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...
which sprang up in the early 19th century and was the first Mechanics' Institute to be founded in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
. The Institutes provided education for the working man through lending libraries, lecture theatres, class rooms and laboratories and often included courses and technical materials, and wider opportunities for learning and betterment. By the 1850s there were around 1,200 institutes in Great Britain, though some were known by different names, including Literary and Scientific Institutes, Reading Rooms, Useful Knowledge Societies, Athenaeums and Lyceums. However, after the creation of public libraries following the
Public Libraries Act 1850 The Public Libraries Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 65), sometimes called the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1850, was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament which first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries. The act wa ...
and the establishment of secondary and technical schools, Mechanics' Institutes either closed or changed into other institutions. Today only one Mechanics’ Institute remains in Lincolnshire, at Epworth. The Lincoln Mechanics’ Institute was housed in the
undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...
of the Lincoln Greyfriars. At the time of its creation in 1833 it was merged with the Lincoln Literary Society. The undercroft contained schoolrooms, a library and a museum. The undercroft was leased to the Institute by the City Council and in 1862 the city council required the undercroft for the expansion of the
Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
. The institute was then moved to larger premises in the City Assembly Rooms above the Buttermarket, adjacent to the St Peter at Arches Church. In 1892 the City Council decided to use these premises for a City Library and in 1896 the Mechanics' Institute was dissolved. At that time there were 600 members of the institute.'' Lincolnshire Chronicle'', Friday 3 March 1893, p6. The Lincoln Mechanics’ Institute was closely connected with several prominent men:
George Boole George Boole ( ; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in Ireland. H ...
, mathematician and creator of
Boolean Any kind of logic, function, expression, or theory based on the work of George Boole is considered Boolean. Related to this, "Boolean" may refer to: * Boolean data type, a form of data with only two possible values (usually "true" and "false" ...
algebra; the Earl of Yarbourough; Charles Seely, the Liberal politician and industrialist;
Edward Parker Charlesworth Edward Parker Charlesworth (1783–1853) was an English physician, known as an innovator in psychiatric treatment. Life He was son of John Charlesworth, rector of Ossington, Nottinghamshire, and was brother of John Charlesworth, the father of ...
, known as an innovator in psychiatric treatment; and Thomas Cooper, the Chartist leader.


Creation of the Lincoln Mechanics' Institute.

The lead in establishing the Mechanics' Institute was taken by the Lincoln Literary Society and supported by the Earl of Yarborough and his son Charles Anderson-Pelham M.P., a reforming Whig politician keen on the idea that ''That the establishment of Mechanics' Institutions has been productive of much good, by extending useful information, and by ameliorating and improving the character of the working classes.'' It was proposed that the Lincoln Literary Society would merge with the newly created Mechanics' Institute and pass over to Mechanics' Institute its funds (about £50). If the merger was successful, the Earl would give a further £100. The Mayor of Lincoln agreed to call a meeting ''pursuant to the Requisition of 8 Aldermen and 176 Inhabitants of the City” on Thursday 7th October 1833 at the Guildhall. The proposal was that a “Mechanics' Institution be established in the City of Lincoln, having branches in the County, with accommodation for Lectures, Philosophical Apparatus, Library, and Museum, as the funds may admit''. The chair at the meeting was taken by the Earl of Yarborough, who was keen to an establish a network of Mechanics Institutes in Lincolnshire. Initially it was called the ''Lincoln and Lincolnshire Mechanics Institute''. A list of objectives for the institute was outlined and approved. Fund raising was started with the Earl of Yarbourgh contributing £50. As the Undercroft of Greyfriars had been vacated by the Spinning School in 1831, the City offered this for the accommodation of the institute. Larger gatherings could be held in the Upper School Room, when not in use by the
Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
. Considerable alterations to the ground floor were to take place to provide three teaching areas, a library with a museum area and the curator quarters. Sir Edward Ffrench Bromhead became the first president of the institute and the curator was John Boole, the father of
George Boole George Boole ( ; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in Ireland. H ...
. The alterations must have proceeded quickly as by Tuesday 23 April 1834 the Institute held its first lecture by Dr
Dionysius Lardner Dionysius Lardner FRS FRSE (3 April 179329 April 1859) was an Irish scientific writer who popularised science and technology, and edited the 133-volume '' Cabinet Cyclopædia''. Early life in Dublin He was born in Dublin on 3 April 1793 th ...
, FRS who demonstrated two working models of steam engines. Lardner, a leading figure in adult education, was an Irish scientific writer who popularised science and technology, and edited the 133-volume ''
Cabinet Cyclopaedia Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
''. The choice of a lecture on steam engines may have been of some significance, as Lincoln became a leading centre for the manufacture of steam engines in the 1840s and 1850s. On the following Friday a Grand Ball was held in City Assembly Rooms on the High Street to raise money for the Mechanics' Institute and attended by the Earl of Yarborough, local MPs and leading citizens of Lincoln ''and the dancing was kept up with great spirit until a late hour in the morning''. The ball became an annual fundraising event for the Mechanics' Institute.


Later history at the Greyfriars

The 1830s was the great age of political reform and this is reflected in many statements made in connection with the Mechanics' Institute. Politics and peligion were to be avoided and there were disputes over views expressed in the Journals which were subscribed to for the institute's Library. The Earl of Yarborough and Sir Edward ffrench Bromhead were disparaging about "Trade Unions" believing that by educating the apprentices and workers, they would command a fair wage for their work. There was a range of political views held by the committee and the subscribing members of the institute."Hill" (1974) pages 147-9, discusses the politics of the members of the Mechanics' Institute in some detail In 1845 the Rector of
South Hykeham South Hykeham is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 835. It is situated approximately south-west of Lincoln, and on the A1434 road. S ...
writes to the '' Lincolnshire Chronicle'' that the Lincoln Mechanics' Institute is ''degenerating into Radical club-house, and that free-trade and revolutionary doctrines are promulgated in defiance of the wholesome rule forbidding the introduction of politics and controversial divinity.'' The Rector's accusation stemmed from the purchase of a copy of ''Wise Saws and Modern Instances'' by Thomas Cooper, a former committee member of the institute, who had now become a leading Chartist. He had written the book while imprisoned in Stafford gaol. The book itself is an innocuous description mainly about life in Lincoln and the Lincolnshire countryside, but it is condemned by the Rector because it has been written by a "Chartist". He goes on to condemn the Institute because the Earl of Yarbough is a Whig/Radical, George Boole "not Conservative", Mr Keyworth ''ultra-radical'' and the elected officers of the institute led him to conclude ''that intelligence and respectability are properties exclusively in the possession of anti-Conservatives.'' Sir Francis Hill points out that the
ultra-Tory The Ultra-Tories were an Anglican faction of British and Irish politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to Catholic emancipation. The faction was, in the twenty-first century, called the " extreme right-wing" of British and Irish polit ...
Lincoln MP Charles Waldo Sibthorp and the cathedral and local clergy were conspicuous by not supporting the Mechanics' Institute. With the 1846 opening of a
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
rail route from
Lincoln St. Marks railway station Lincoln St. Marks was a railway station on the Nottingham to Lincoln Line that served Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. History St. Mark's railway station, the first in Lincoln, was opened by the Midland Railway in 1846. It was originally a te ...
to
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
and
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
, the Mechanics' Institute appears to have started organising rail excursions and the following appeared in the ''Lincolnshire Chronicle'', ''The Lincoln mechanics' institute have in contemplation to arrange for an excursion train to Derby, on the re-opening of the Derby Arboretum, thus affording the members of the institution, and the citizens generally, the opportunity of visiting Nottingham and Derby for a trifling cost.'' (This was five years after
Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was the founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was born into a poor family in Derbyshire and left school at the age of ten to start work as a gardener's boy. He served an appren ...
had run his first rail excursion from Leicester to Loughborough). Also in 1846 the Mechanics' Institute, reflecting the growth of engineering in Lincoln, announced that they were appointing a ''teacher of mechanical and geometrical drawing, with view of affording to artizans and apprentices the means of making themselves acquainted with the use of a pencil their respective occupations''.


At the Buttermarket and dissolution of the Mechanics’ Institute

The Mechanics' Institute continued in the Greyfriars until 1863, when it was given larger premises in the City Assembly Rooms on the High Street, along with the Library and Museum. In 1892 the City gave notice to the Mechanics' Institute as it wished to use part of the Assembly rooms as the City Public Library which moved to Free School Lane in 1906. The Mechanics' Institute was finally dissolved in 1899, the desks passed to the
Lincoln Grammar School Lincoln Grammar School or Lincoln Free School was formed as the result of the amalgamation of the Lincoln City Free School and the Lincoln Chapter Grammar School. The amalgamation occurred in January 1584, but the two schools may have been effe ...
and the Library was sold. The remains of the Mechanics' Museum returned to the Greyfriars with the formation of the City and County Museum.


Notable members of the Mechanics' Institute


George Boole (1815-1864)

George Boole George Boole ( ; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in Ireland. H ...
must be considered the most important person associated with the Lincoln Mechanics' Institute. In 1854 he published
The Laws of Thought ''An Investigation of the Laws of Thought: on Which are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities'' by George Boole, published in 1854, is the second of Boole's two monographs on algebraic logic. Boole was a professor of mathe ...
which provided the basis for
Boolean Algebra In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variable (mathematics), variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denot ...
and the framework for modern
Information Technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
. Boole was born and lived in nearby Silver street. He did not attend the grammar school but Bainbridge's commercial academy in St Michael's Lane before training as a teacher. His father was the first Curator of the Mechanics’ Institute. George Boole gave many lectures and was an "instructor" for mathematics. While George Boole was largely self taught, he was also encouraged and lent books by Sir
Edward Bromhead Sir Edward Thomas ffrench Bromhead, 2nd Baronet FRS FRSE (26 March 1789 – 14 March 1855) was a British landowner and mathematician, best remembered as patron of the mathematician and physicist George Green and mentor of George Boole. Life Bor ...
, chairman of the Mechanics' Institute and a notable mathematician. At the time he was recognised by the institute as youthful prodigy. In April 1835 when the Mechanics' Institute was presented a bust of Sir
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
by the Earl of Yarborough he gave a lecture to the Mechanics' Institute on Newton and ''The hope expressed by the excellent President Sir Edw. Ffrench Bromhead, at the close of the lecture, said that Mr. G. Boole would go on in the course he had commenced, and one day be an honor to Lincoln, was we believe echoed by every breast We trust that many youths present would also feel the spring of laudable ambition touched within them, while listening to honourable testimonies and encomiums thus given to genius and industry. The noble Patron (Earl of Yarborough) also gave a handsome testimony to the powers of the youthful lecturer.'' At the age of 19, in 1834, Boole set up his own school in Free School Lane, close to the Greyfriars and in 1838 he moved to Waddington where he took over Hall's Academy before opening his own ‘Boarding School for Young Gentlemen’ in 1840, at Pottergate, Lincoln. Boole became a prominent local figure in Lincoln, an admirer of John Kaye, the bishop. He took part in the local campaign for early closing and reduction of shop workers hours in Lincoln and also the establishment of the Penitent Females Home. In 1847, with the Rev Edward Larken and others, he set up a
building society A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization, which offers banking institution, banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage loan, mortgage lending. They exist in the Unit ...
in Lincoln. He associated with the Chartist, Thomas Cooper who was married to his cousin Susannah Chaloner. Boole could read French, German and Italian, and, aged 16, read Lacroix's ''Calcul Différentiel'', a book given to him by Rev. George Stevens Dickson, rector of St Swithin's church. In 1838, Boole worked in Waddington on his first paper for publication, ''On Certain Theorems in the Calculus of Variations'', prompted by his reading of
Lagrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaCharles Seely (1803-1887)

A member of the Committee of the Mechanics’ Institute from 1834 until it moved to the Buttermarket in 1862, Seely was an industrialist and Liberal politician, who served as an MP for Lincoln from 1847 to 1848 and again from 1861 to 1885. He was born in Lincoln and became one of the wealthiest industrialists of the Victorian era. He was a miller who built a large mill on the Brayford. He purchased coal-mines in Derbyshire and eventually purchased extensive estates in the Isle of Wight.


Thomas Michael Keyworth (1800-1858)

Described as an "Ultra-Radical", Keyworth was a Lincoln wine merchant, who was the business partner of Charles Seely from 1835 onwards and involved in the opening of Lincoln's first steam mill in 1836. He was a partner in Clayton & Shuttleworth’s engineering company and played a prominent part in Lincoln politics. He was Chairman of the Lincoln Corn and Market Hall Company until his death in 1858.


Thomas Cooper (1805–1892)

A poet and leading Chartist, married to Susannah Chaloner, a cousin of George Boole, Thomas Cooper joined the Lincoln Mechanics' Institute in 1834 and shortly afterwards was on the Committee of the Institute. He probably continued on the Committee until he left Lincoln in 1838. His prison rhyme the "Purgatory of Suicides" (1845) runs to 944 stanzas. He is commemorated in Lincoln by the Thomas Cooper Memorial Chapel in the High Street.


Edward Parker Charlesworth (1783–1853)

Chairman of the Mechanics' Institute for nearly twenty years,
Edward Parker Charlesworth Edward Parker Charlesworth (1783–1853) was an English physician, known as an innovator in psychiatric treatment. Life He was son of John Charlesworth, rector of Ossington, Nottinghamshire, and was brother of John Charlesworth, the father of ...
was a surgeon at Lincoln Hospital and a visiting physician at Lincoln Asylum for the Insane (The Lawn). Charlesworth won national recognition for his removal of restraint procedures for mentally ill patients and worked closely with Richard Gardiner Hill (Physician to the Lincoln Dispensary) who gave a public lecture outlining the new methods of treatment to the Mechanics' Institute in 1838.


References


Bibliography

* Acton M and Roberts S. (2019), ''Charles Seely of Lincoln. Liberalism and Making Money in Victorian England'' Kindle Publishing. * Lesley Clarke ''George Boole and the Lincoln Mechanics’ Institute'', "George Boole’s Lincoln, 1815-49", Ed . Andrew Walker for the Survey of Lincoln, 2019. * English Heritage (2017) ''Mechanics’ Institutes: Introductions to Heritage Assets'', December 2017. * Russell Rex C. (1994) ''Living and Learning in Lindsey, Lincolnshire: 1830-1890 - A History of Adult Education in North Lincolnshire''. The University of Hull. * Walker A. ed. (2019) ''George Boole’s Lincoln, 1815-49'', Survey of Lincoln. * Walker M (2018)''The Development of the Mechanics’ Institute Movement in Britain and Beyond:Supporting further education for the adult working classes''. Routledge, {{ISBN, 9781138489578


External links

*There are numerous reports on the Lincoln Mechanics’ Institute and its lectures and classes in the ''
Stamford Mercury The ''Stamford Mercury'' (also the ''Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury'', the ''Rutland and Stamford Mercury'', and the ''Rutland Mercury'') based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, claims to be "Britain's oldest cont ...
'' and ''Lincolnshire Chronicle'', which can be accessed through British Newspaper Archives. History of Lincolnshire Organizations established in 1834