The Russell Institution (fuller titles: Russell Institution for the Promotion of Literary and Scientific Knowledge, and the Russell Literary and Scientific Institution) was an organisation devoted to scientific, literary and musical education, based in London. It was founded by private subscription in 1808, taking as models the Royal Institution and the

London Institution The London Institution was an educational institution founded in London in 1806 (not to be confused with the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom founded the previous year, with which it shared some founders). It ...

, both at the time popular.

History

The Institution was formed, somewhat opportunistically, to provide a revenue-paying purpose for an assembly hall which had been constructed in Coram Street, north of new housing around

Bloomsbury Square Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, London. Developed in the late 17th century, it was initially known as Southampton Square and was one of the earliest London squares. By the early 19th century, B ...

. Previous ventures at the building having failed, the proprietors "thought it expedient" to imitate the model of the Royal and London Institutions; to that end they organised a meeting of local residents, seeking 12,500

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

at 25 guineas each from 500 subscribers. The objects of the Institution were the "gradual formation of a library, consisting of the most useful works in ancient and modern literature; the establishment of a reading room provided with the best foreign and English journals, and the periodical publications, and lectures on literary and scientific subjects. The books in the library will be circulated for reading among the proprietors." The institution proper was in being by June 1808, 2,700 guineas being spent to purchase the premises and some 4,500 guineas on equipping a library and providing a stock of books. Two or three courses of scientific lectures were given per annum. In order to fund the institution's ongoing expenses and provide some guarantee of stability, subscribers paid a guinea per annum. The Institution was relatively long-lived; periodic mentions of it are found in the literature, such as a report of 1851 lectures there by

Charles Richard Weld Charles Richard Weld (1813–1869) was an English writer, known as a historian of the Royal Society. Life Born at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in August 1813, he was the son of Isaac Weld (d. 1824) of Dublin, by his second marriage of 1812, to Luc ...

; an observation in Frederick Miller's 1874 ''St Pancras – Past and Present'' noting that some of the premises had been given over to a wine merchant, but that the library continued to receive daily papers, and monthly and annual journals. The Institution survived until near the end of the century; the Post Office listed it in an 1881 directory, but it is found missing in the 1891 counterpart.

Staff

Edward Wedlake Brayley Edward Wedlake Brayley (177323 September 1854) was an English historian and topographer. Brayley collaborated with his life-long friend, John Britton, on the first 6 volumes of ''The Beauties of England and Wales''. Early life Brayley was ...

was secretary and librarian of the Institution from 1825 to 1854. Amongst those who lectured at the Russell Institute were: *

John Thomas Cooper John Thomas Cooper (1790–1854) was an English chemist notable as a lecturer, chemical supplier and chemical analyst, at a time when interest was burgeoning in chemistry as a discipline of study and application. Biography Cooper was born in Gre ...

(1790–1854), chemist *

William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English lan ...

(1778–1830), writer and painter * Joseph Kemp (1778–1824), organist and composer * George Singer (1786–1817), electrical researcher *

Henry Neele Henry Neele (29 January 1798 – 7 February 1828) was an English poet and literary scholar. He was also a practising attorney in the West End of London. Early life Neele was the son of Samuel John Neele (1758–1824), a cartographer, engraver, ...

(1798–1828), poet and literary historian

References

External links

*Brayley, Edward Wedlake,
A catalogue of the Library of the Russell Institution
', 1835, from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Russell Institution texts
from the Internet Archive {{authority control 1808 establishments in England Scientific societies based in the United Kingdom Education in London

History

Staff

See also

References

External links