The Mechanics' Institute, located at 103
Princess Street,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England, is notable as the building in which three significant British institutions were founded: the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...
(TUC), the
Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) and the
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...
(UMIST). In the 1960s it was occupied by the Manchester College of Commerce. It has been a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
since 10 May 1972.
History
Early years
The institute, which was
one of many, was established in Manchester on 7 April 1824 at the Bridgewater Arms hotel. Its purpose was to provide facilities for working men to learn the principles of science through part-time study. The original prospectus of the institute stated
The most notable of the founders were
William Fairbairn
Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick (19 February 1789 – 18 August 1874) was a Scotland, Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder. In 1854 he succeeded George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson to become the third ...
,
John Dalton
John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...
,
Richard Roberts,
George William Wood,
George Philips,
Joseph Brotherton and
Benjamin Heywood. The last of these chaired the first meeting, became the leading patron and is often considered to be the founder. Many of these men shared similar interests, such as being
Unitarians and members of the
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, aside from a desire to improve the commercial, industrial and technological life of Manchester. In this regard, Brotherton stood out as a deviation from the norm, for example in politics and religion. Others among the founders were James Murray, Thomas Hopkins, J. C. Dyer and Phillip Novelli, all of whom were later significant figures in the
Anti-Corn Law League.
In 1825 the first building in England expressly designed for use as a mechanics' institute was erected for its use in Cooper Street, off Princess Street, in Manchester.
[Frangopulo, N. J., ed. (1962) ''Rich Inheritance''. Manchester: Education Committee; p. 85] This was demolished in the early 1970s.
Although the original purpose of the institute was maintained, it was increasingly the case that emphasis was placed also on the wider social aspects of the organisation. Heywood's initial optimism regarding the moral upliftment of a significant number of working men through technical education was tempered by the realisation that tiredness and even employment status impeded its achievement. From around 1830, the scope of education was widened to include more elementary aspects, there were proposals to set up reading groups in surrounding areas that would be supplied with books from the institute's library, and also moves to encourage involvement in sports and in general social events. Mostly led from the top, although occasionally the result of explicit demands from its membership, the changes included the creation of a room for reading newspapers, a change in the type of lectures, which became less rigidly based on scientific topics, as also did the library stock, and events such as concerts, exhibitions and excursions played a more important role. Facilities for educating women and children were also introduced but, for example, a request to begin classes in history was rejected because of fears that it would lead to debates about politics.
This institute organised the first City exhibition in 1837 and this led to a large number of similar exhibitions in English industrial towns and cities.
By the 1840s, the exhibitions included thousands of casts, busts and masks relating to the fashionable subject of
phrenology
Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...
and were attracting over 100,000 visitors. The
Manchester Phrenological Society used its facilities.
Relocation
The institute moved to the current building in 1855. The building was designed by
J. E. Gregan in an Italian
palazzo style and was Gregan's last work. It consists of three tall storeys with a basement and blind attic storey and is constructed of brick with stone dressings. "It set a standard for the scale of the commercial warehouses which were to follow, but the nobility and purity of the design sets it apart from its neighbours."
The inaugural meeting of the Trades Union Congress was held in the building, 2–6 June 1868. In 1882 it was decided to establish a technical school, the Technical School and Mechanics' Institution; it opened in September 1882.
[ This was the beginning of the institution later known as UMIST.
]
Present day
As of 1988 it is home to Mechanics Centre Ltd, a not for profit organisation, which provides various rooms for meetings, functions and conferences.
Alumni
* Mary Louisa Armitt who founded the Armitt Library[Eileen Jay, 'Armitt, Mary Louisa (1851–1911)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200]
accessed 13 Nov 2015
/ref>
* Robert Whitehead, engineer and developer of the first self-propelled torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
* Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Education, Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her care ...
, Labour Party MP and social justice campaigner.
See also
* Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester
* Listed buildings in Manchester-M1
References
Sources
* Pevsner, Nicholas; Hartwell, Clare & Hyde, Matthew, ''The Buildings of England: Lancashire — Manchester and the South East'' (2004) Yale University Press
External links
Manchester Mechanics' Institution archive
University of Manchester Library
The University of Manchester Library is the library system and information service of the University of Manchester. The main library is on the Oxford Road campus of the university, with its entrance on Burlington Street. There are also ten other ...
.
{{Authority control
Grade II* listed buildings in Manchester
Trades Union Congress
University of Manchester