1 Monk Street, Monmouth was built as a Working Men's Free Institute. It is a

Grade II Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and located next to

Monmouth Baptist Church Monmouth Baptist Church is located in Monk Street, Monmouth, south east Wales. The church building was opened in 1907, although the Baptist congregation had been formed in 1818. The church became a Grade II listed building on 27 October 1998. H ...

. The architect was Benjamin Lawrence of NewportJohn Newman, ''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', Penguin Books, 2000, , p.399 who later designed the church next door. The institute's staircase was made by Macfarlane,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Wrought Ironwork was by Cormell Cheltenham and the carvings were by J Willis. The building opened in 1868. A smoking room and lecture room were added in 1897.

Keith Kissack Keith Edward Kissack MBE (18 November 1913 – 31 March 2010) was a British schoolteacher and historian. He is notable for his many publications on the history of Monmouth and Monmouthshire. Life Kissack was born in Clun, Shropshire, to Rev. ...

, ''Monmouth and its Buildings'', Logaston Press, 2003, , page 146

History

Mrs. Matilda Jones (died 1874) of Ancre Hill financed the Institutes construction. It opened its doors on 15 October 1868 following a procession to Ancre Hill, then the home of Matilda Jones, of working men headed by a Military band and accompanied by the friendly Societies with their banners. The purpose of the construction was to provide a library and reading lessons for the working class. The books were transferred from St Johns Street where Matilda Jones had been offering a private room for reading. The building included a Reading room, library, gallery, committee room and lecture hall.

, ''Victorian Monmouth'', The Monmouth Historical and Educational trust, , page 4,55,124,129,132 A song was composed for the workmen to sing during its construction: ''O may our institute succeed,'' ''And prove to men a boon indeed.'' ''May many hearts receive the seed'' ''Of saving the truth.'' Another song which was sung at each general meeting was: ''Hurrah for the men who work'' According to

some of the lectures may have been hard going with a programme of 1892/3 a selection being ''Hommer, Drink Work & Wages, Queens English, The Family Circle, The Solar System, French Salons, Fossils, Egypt, The War of The Roses, Cathedrals In Britain'' Most of the lectures lasted about two hours and were followed by the chairman's remarks and thanks. Many of the lectures made use of Magic Lanterns for their opening. In 1881 a meeting of teachers in the Institute elected to set up a Branch of the National Union of Elementary Teachers because they were unhappy being excluded from decision making in the schools. In 1885 the

Church of England Temperance Society The temperance movement in the United Kingdom was a social movement that campaigned against the recreational use and sale of alcohol, and promoted total abstinence (teetotalism). In the 19th century, high levels of alcohol consumption and drunke ...

had offices in the building. Its members used the building when distributing petitions in favor of Sunday Closing and that flower shows were an antidote to alcohol. In 1890 the winter was particularly harsh with 56 consecutive days of frost. This led to the setting up of a Soup Kitchen in the Institute. In 1907 a series of ''Saturday Pop Concerts'' was held in the institute performed by the local regimental band. The building has been Grade II Listed since 8 October 2005. The more recent uses for the premises have been an Art shop, Gallery and Framing Company.

Notes

{{Buildings in Monmouth History of Monmouthshire Buildings and structures in Monmouth, Wales Grade II listed buildings in Monmouthshire