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Mechanics' institute

January 13, 2023

For other uses of "school of arts", see School of Arts (disambiguation).

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 education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men in Victorian-era Britain and its colonies. They were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees. The mechanics' institutes often included libraries for the adult working class, and were said to provide them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.

The Leeds City Mechanics' Institute's building

Many of the original institutes included lending libraries, and the buildings of some continue to be used as libraries. Others have evolved into parts of universities, adult education facilities, theatres, cinemas, museums, recreational facilities, or community halls. Few are still referred to as mechanics' institutes, but some retain the name and focus as centre of intellectual and cultural advancement. A 21st-century movement, originating in Victoria, Australia, has organised a series of conferences known as Mechanics' Institutes Worldwide Conferences, at which information and ideas for the future of mechanics' institutes are discussed.

Origins and history

The foundations of the movement which created mechanics' institutes were in lectures given by George Birkbeck. His fourth annual lecture attracted a crowd of 500, and became an annual occurrence after his departure for London in 1804, leading to the eventual formation[1] on 16 October 1821[2] of the first mechanics' institute in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh School of Arts (later Heriot-Watt University[2]). Its first lecture was on chemistry, and within a month it was subscribed to by 452 men who each paid a quarterly subscription fee.[3] This new model of technical educational institution gave classes for working men, and included libraries as well as apparatus to be used for experiments and technical education.[1] Its purpose was to "address societal needs by incorporating fundamental scientific thinking and research into engineering solutions". The school revolutionised access to education in science and technology for ordinary people.

The first mechanics' institute in England was opened at Liverpool in July 1823.[4]

The second institute in Scotland was incorporated in Glasgow in November 1823, built on the foundations of a group started by Birkbeck. Under the auspices of the Andersonian University, where Birkbeck had been chair of natural philosophy from 1799 to 1904 and instituted free lectures on arts, science and technical subjects from 1800. This mechanics' class continued to meet after he moved to London in 1804, and in 1823 they decided to formalise their organisation by incorporating themselves as the Mechanics' Institute. He was appointed director of the institute, which he had originally endowed with the sum of £3700, and held the office till his death in 1841.[5]

 
Manchester Mechanics' Institute, Cooper Street, in 1825
 
Wakefield's Mechanics' Institution (1825), now a museum

The London Mechanics' Institute (later Birkbeck College) was opened in December 1823, and the mechanics' institutes in Ipswich and Manchester (later to become UMIST) in 1824.[6] By the mid-19th century, there were over 700 institutes in towns and cities across the UK and overseas, some of which became the early roots of other colleges and universities. For example, the University of Gloucestershire, which has the Cheltenham Mechanics' Institute (1834) and Gloucester Mechanics' Institute (1840) within its history timeline. It was as a result of delivering a lecture series at the Cheltenham Mechanics' Institute that the radical George Holyoake was arrested and then convicted on a charge of blasphemy.[7][8]

In Australia, the first mechanics' institute was established in Hobart in 1827, followed by the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts[9] in 1833, Newcastle School of Arts in 1835, then the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute established in 1839 (renamed the Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873). From the 1850s, mechanics' institutes quickly spread throughout Victoria wherever a hall, library or school was needed. Over 1200 mechanics' institutes were built in Victoria and just over 500 remain today, and only six still operate their lending library services.[10]

The Industrial Revolution created a new class of reader in Britain by the end of the 18th century, "mechanics", who were civil and mechanical engineers in reality. The Birmingham Brotherly Society was founded in 1796 by local mechanics to fill this need, and was the forerunner of mechanics' institutes, which grew in England to over seven hundred in number by 1850.[11][better source needed]

Small tradesmen and workers could not afford subscription libraries, so for their benefit, benevolent groups and individuals created mechanics' institutes that contained inspirational and vocational reading matter, for a small rental fee. Later popular non-fiction and fiction books were added to these collections. The first known library of this type was the Birmingham Artisans' Library, formed in 1823.

Some mechanics' libraries lasted only a decade or two, and many eventually became public libraries or (in the United States) were given to local public libraries after the Public Libraries Act 1850 passed. Though use of the mechanics' libraries was limited, the majority of the users were favourable towards the idea of free public libraries.[12] However, by 1900 there were over 9,000 mechanics institutes around the world.[3]

Beyond a lending library, mechanics' institutes also provided lecture courses, laboratories, and in some cases contained a museum for the members' entertainment and education. The Glasgow Institute, founded in 1823, not only had all three, it was also provided free light on two evenings a week from the local gas light company. The London Mechanics' Institute installed gas illumination by 1825, revealing the demand and need for members to use the books.[11] Some mechanics' institutes also offered a programme from the arts; Wisbech Mechanics' institute booked Mrs Butler to give readings from Shakespeare's plays and Milton's Paradise Lost to audiences of nearly a thousand.[13]

G. Jefferson explains:

The first phase, the Mechanics Institute movement, grew in an atmosphere of interest by a greater proportion of the population in scientific matters revealed in the public lectures of famous scientists such as Faraday. More precisely, as a consequence of the introduction of machinery a class workmen emerged to build, maintain and repair, the machines on which the blessing of progress depended, at a time when population shifts and the dissolving influences of industrialization in the new urban areas, where these were concentrated, destroyed the inadequate old apprentice system and threw into relief the connection between material advancement and the necessity of education to take part in its advantages.[14]

21st century revival

Across the world, there is a move to sustain and revive mechanics' institutes and related institutions as subscription libraries, sometimes incorporating or expanding their earlier functions. There have been several worldwide conferences, known as the Mechanics' Worldwide Conference, of representatives of, or people who have an interest in, mechanics' institutes.[15] As of 2021, there have been five such conferences:[16]

By country

Thousands of mechanics' institutes buildings still operate throughout the world, mostly now used as libraries, parts of universities, adult education facilities, and a few still use their original names and function as a society or other type of organisation.

Australia

 
Ballarat Mechanics' Institute building
 
American and Australian soldiers in the reading room of the Ballarat Mechanics' Institute in 1942
Main article: Mechanics' Institutes of Australia

In the Australian colonies, Mechanics' Institutes were often called Schools of Arts, and they were more likely to be run by the middle-classes. The provision of reading rooms, museums, lectures and classes were still important, but the Australian schools were also more likely to include a social programme in their calendar of events.[20]

The earliest and most prominent institute in Tasmania was Van Diemen's Land Mechanics' Institution, also known as Hobart Town Mechanics' Institute, Hobart (1827–1871), co-founded by George Augustus Robinson.[21][22]

The Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (1833), in Sydney, New South Wales, is the oldest school of arts still operating[23] and the largest institute in Australia.[24] Others in NSW include the Moruya Mechanics' Institute[25] and the Scone School of Arts.

In South Australia, the South Australian Institute (1838, then 1847–),[26] was the forerunner of the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, and the Art Gallery of South Australia.[27]

The first institute in the colony of Victoria was the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute, created in 1839. It was renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873, and continues to operate a library, theatres and shops in the original building.[15] Many mechanics' institutes, athenaeums, schools of arts and related institutions in the state of Victoria are well documented by the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria, Inc., whose members range from the well-resourced Melbourne Athenaeum to the tiny Moonambel Mechanics' Institute in Moonambel.[28] In the following decades, almost every town in Victoria had a mechanics’ institute, usually including a hall, library and reading rooms, games facilities, and both educational programs and entertainment.[29]

The first Western Australian institute was the Swan River Mechanics' Institute, established in 1851, later renamed the Perth Literary Institute.[30]

In Queensland, the Brisbane School of Arts was created in 1873, in a former servants' home. The building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992.[31]

Over time, as local and state governments started providing libraries, community centres and other types of educational facilities, mechanics' institutes became less important in communities.[29]

Canada

 
Montreal Mechanics Institute (established 1828)
 
Mechanics Institute Toronto

Atlantic provinces

Ontario

Quebec

 
Atwater Library of the Mechanics Institute of Montreal

Hong Kong

New Zealand

  • Auckland Mechanics' Institute, founded 30 September 1842, closed 1880, with transfer of all library content to Auckland City Council library.[34]
  • Port Nicholson Mechanics' Institute, Public School and Library, founded in May 1842 and renamed Wellington Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute in 1849.

United Kingdom

(alphabetical order by town or city)

United States

Timeline

Existing names and uses

In addition, each state and territory in the US has at least one land grant university that includes a college of agriculture and a college of engineering, as provided for by the Morrill Land-Grant Acts to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts as well as classical studies.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Smith, Mark K. (1997). . The encyclopaedia of informal education. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Mechanics Institute Worldwide 2021". Heriot-Watt University. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b "[Home page]". Mechanics Institutes. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  4. ^ Speeches of Henry, Lord Brougham Vol. II, 1841, Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia
  5. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Birkbeck, George" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  6. ^ Kidd, Alan J. (1993). Manchester (Town and city histories). Manchester: Ryburn. pp. 57–8. ISBN 1-85331-016-6.
  7. ^ Politics in Mechanics' Institutes 1820–1850, Turner, C M, Thesis (PhD), 1980 (thesis). Turner, C. M., Leicester University. January 1980. hdl:2381/35680.
  8. ^ "Notes of Mr Hunt reporter August 15 1842, The Trial of George Jacob. Holyoake on an Indictment for blasphemy". British Library main catalogues. British Library.
  9. ^ "SMSA (Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts)". SMSA.
  10. ^ Lowden, Bronwyn (2010). Mechanics' Institutes, Schools of Arts, Athenaeums, etc.: An Australian Checklist – 3rd Edition. Donvale, Australia: Lowden Publishing Co. pp. 64–111. ISBN 978-1-920753-16-0.
  11. ^ a b Kilgour, Frederick, The Evolution of the Book. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 99.
  12. ^ Harris, Michael. History of Libraries in the Western World. 4th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 153.
  13. ^ "Wisbech". Cambridge Independent Press. 16 December 1854. p. 8.
  14. ^ Jefferson, G.. Libraries and Society. Cambridge & London, Great Britain: James Clark & CO. LTD., 1969, p. 21.
  15. ^ a b "History of Mechanics' Institutes". Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Mechanics' Worldwide". Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  17. ^ Mechanics' Worldwide (2004) Buildings, Books and Beyond: Mechanics' Worldwide Conference 2009 – Proceedings of the first International Conference convened by the Prahran Mechanics' Institute. Prahran, Victoria, Australia: Prahran Mechanics' Institute. ISBN 0-9756000-1-X
  18. ^ Mechanics' Worldwide 2009. (2009) Self Help: Mechanics' Worldwide Conference 2009 – Proceedings of the second International Conference convened by the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. Donvale, Victoria, Australia: Lowden Publishing Co. ISBN 978-1-920753-18-4
  19. ^ "Reinvention: Thriving in the 21st Century -". www.milibrary.org. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Old Town Hall (entry 600566)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 31 December 2021.   Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
  21. ^ "Catalogue of the library of the Van Diemen's Land Mechanics' Institution". 1843 – via Open Access Repository, University of Tasmania.
  22. ^ "Hobart Town Mechanics Institute (1827-1871) - Corporate entry". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  23. ^ "About". Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA). 25 November 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  24. ^ Wotherspoon, Garry (2008). "Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Mechanics Institute". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning and Environment. H00485. Retrieved 18 May 2018.   Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  26. ^ "South Australian Institute". Trove. South Australian Advertiser. 27 October 1863. p. 4. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  27. ^ (PDF). South Australian Museum. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Victorian Members". Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  29. ^ a b "What is a Mechanics' Institute?". Prahran Mechanics Institute. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  30. ^ "The Perth Literary Institute". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 13 January 1951. p. 22. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  31. ^ "Brisbane School of Arts (entry 600072)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  32. ^ "Brockville Public Library". ancestry.com.
  33. ^ "Our History". Guelph Public Library. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  34. ^ (PDF). LIANZA – Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa. 8 September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  35. ^ "Brechin Mechanics Institute". Brechin Mechanics Institute. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  36. ^ Faulkner, T. (1845). History and Antiquities of Brentford, Ealing, & Chiswick.
  37. ^ Ronalds, B.F. (2018). "The Montgomrey Family of Brentford: Timber Merchants and Benefactors". London's Industrial Archaeology. 16: 57–69.
  38. ^ Lloyd, Chris (10 March 2014). "HISTORY: School for rude mechanicals". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  39. ^ . Archived from the original on 25 April 2013.
  40. ^ "Ipswich Institute – Reading Room & Library".
  41. ^ Mechanics, Marsden. "Home". Marsden Mechanics.
  42. ^ "The Nottingham Mechanics Institute History". Nottingham Mechanics Institute. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  43. ^ A Course of Three Lectures on the Formation of a Spitalfields Mechanics' Institution. 1825.
  44. ^ . Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  45. ^ "Miscellaneous institutions". British History Online. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  46. ^ "Mechanics' Institute". mdgorman.com.
  47. ^ "Virginia Mechanics Institute Building – VCU Maps". vcu.edu.
  48. ^ "Richmond Technical Center". richmond.k12.va.us.
  49. ^ . rit.edu. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013.

Further reading

  • Kelly, Thomas (November 1952). "The Origin of Mechanics' Institutes". British Journal of Educational Studies. Society for Educational Studies. 1 (1): 17–27. doi:10.2307/3119430. JSTOR 3119430.
  • Russell Rex C. (1994) Living and Learning in Lindsey, Lincolnshire: 1830-1890 - AHistory of Adult Education in North Lincolnshire. The University of Hull 1994. ISBN 0859580245.

January 13, 2023
mechanics, institute, other, uses, school, arts, school, arts, disambiguation, also, known, mechanics, institutions, sometimes, simply, known, institutes, also, called, schools, arts, especially, australian, colonies, were, educational, establishments, origina. For other uses of school of arts see School of Arts disambiguation 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 education particularly in technical subjects to working men in Victorian era Britain and its colonies They were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees The mechanics institutes often included libraries for the adult working class and were said to provide them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs The Leeds City Mechanics Institute s building Many of the original institutes included lending libraries and the buildings of some continue to be used as libraries Others have evolved into parts of universities adult education facilities theatres cinemas museums recreational facilities or community halls Few are still referred to as mechanics institutes but some retain the name and focus as centre of intellectual and cultural advancement A 21st century movement originating in Victoria Australia has organised a series of conferences known as Mechanics Institutes Worldwide Conferences at which information and ideas for the future of mechanics institutes are discussed Contents 1 Origins and history 2 21st century revival 3 By country 3 1 Australia 3 2 Canada 3 2 1 Atlantic provinces 3 2 2 Ontario 3 2 3 Quebec 3 3 Hong Kong 3 4 New Zealand 3 5 United Kingdom 3 6 United States 3 6 1 Timeline 3 6 2 Existing names and uses 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingOrigins and history EditThe foundations of the movement which created mechanics institutes were in lectures given by George Birkbeck His fourth annual lecture attracted a crowd of 500 and became an annual occurrence after his departure for London in 1804 leading to the eventual formation 1 on 16 October 1821 2 of the first mechanics institute in Edinburgh the Edinburgh School of Arts later Heriot Watt University 2 Its first lecture was on chemistry and within a month it was subscribed to by 452 men who each paid a quarterly subscription fee 3 This new model of technical educational institution gave classes for working men and included libraries as well as apparatus to be used for experiments and technical education 1 Its purpose was to address societal needs by incorporating fundamental scientific thinking and research into engineering solutions The school revolutionised access to education in science and technology for ordinary people The first mechanics institute in England was opened at Liverpool in July 1823 4 The second institute in Scotland was incorporated in Glasgow in November 1823 built on the foundations of a group started by Birkbeck Under the auspices of the Andersonian University where Birkbeck had been chair of natural philosophy from 1799 to 1904 and instituted free lectures on arts science and technical subjects from 1800 This mechanics class continued to meet after he moved to London in 1804 and in 1823 they decided to formalise their organisation by incorporating themselves as the Mechanics Institute He was appointed director of the institute which he had originally endowed with the sum of 3700 and held the office till his death in 1841 5 Manchester Mechanics Institute Cooper Street in 1825 Wakefield s Mechanics Institution 1825 now a museum The London Mechanics Institute later Birkbeck College was opened in December 1823 and the mechanics institutes in Ipswich and Manchester later to become UMIST in 1824 6 By the mid 19th century there were over 700 institutes in towns and cities across the UK and overseas some of which became the early roots of other colleges and universities For example the University of Gloucestershire which has the Cheltenham Mechanics Institute 1834 and Gloucester Mechanics Institute 1840 within its history timeline It was as a result of delivering a lecture series at the Cheltenham Mechanics Institute that the radical George Holyoake was arrested and then convicted on a charge of blasphemy 7 8 In Australia the first mechanics institute was established in Hobart in 1827 followed by the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts 9 in 1833 Newcastle School of Arts in 1835 then the Melbourne Mechanics Institute established in 1839 renamed the Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873 From the 1850s mechanics institutes quickly spread throughout Victoria wherever a hall library or school was needed Over 1200 mechanics institutes were built in Victoria and just over 500 remain today and only six still operate their lending library services 10 The Industrial Revolution created a new class of reader in Britain by the end of the 18th century mechanics who were civil and mechanical engineers in reality The Birmingham Brotherly Society was founded in 1796 by local mechanics to fill this need and was the forerunner of mechanics institutes which grew in England to over seven hundred in number by 1850 11 better source needed Small tradesmen and workers could not afford subscription libraries so for their benefit benevolent groups and individuals created mechanics institutes that contained inspirational and vocational reading matter for a small rental fee Later popular non fiction and fiction books were added to these collections The first known library of this type was the Birmingham Artisans Library formed in 1823 Some mechanics libraries lasted only a decade or two and many eventually became public libraries or in the United States were given to local public libraries after the Public Libraries Act 1850 passed Though use of the mechanics libraries was limited the majority of the users were favourable towards the idea of free public libraries 12 However by 1900 there were over 9 000 mechanics institutes around the world 3 Beyond a lending library mechanics institutes also provided lecture courses laboratories and in some cases contained a museum for the members entertainment and education The Glasgow Institute founded in 1823 not only had all three it was also provided free light on two evenings a week from the local gas light company The London Mechanics Institute installed gas illumination by 1825 revealing the demand and need for members to use the books 11 Some mechanics institutes also offered a programme from the arts Wisbech Mechanics institute booked Mrs Butler to give readings from Shakespeare s plays and Milton s Paradise Lost to audiences of nearly a thousand 13 G Jefferson explains The first phase the Mechanics Institute movement grew in an atmosphere of interest by a greater proportion of the population in scientific matters revealed in the public lectures of famous scientists such as Faraday More precisely as a consequence of the introduction of machinery a class workmen emerged to build maintain and repair the machines on which the blessing of progress depended at a time when population shifts and the dissolving influences of industrialization in the new urban areas where these were concentrated destroyed the inadequate old apprentice system and threw into relief the connection between material advancement and the necessity of education to take part in its advantages 14 21st century revival EditAcross the world there is a move to sustain and revive mechanics institutes and related institutions as subscription libraries sometimes incorporating or expanding their earlier functions There have been several worldwide conferences known as the Mechanics Worldwide Conference of representatives of or people who have an interest in mechanics institutes 15 As of 2021 there have been five such conferences 16 2004 Buildings Books and Beyond Mechanics Worldwide at Swinburne University Prahran Victoria and the Prahran Mechanics Institute Australia 17 2009 Self Help Mechanics Worldwide at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Bath Somerset England 18 2012 Buildings Books and Blackboards Intersecting Narratives Mechanics Worldwide RMIT University Melbourne Australia a combined conference of the Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society ANZHES under the auspices of MIV and incorporating the 10th Library history forum citation needed 2016 Reinvention Thriving in the 21st Century Mechanics Worldwide Mechanics Institute San Francisco California U S 19 2021 Mechanics Institutes Past Present and Future Mechanics Institutes Worldwide at Heriot Watt University Edinburgh Scotland and online due to the COVID 19 pandemic By country EditThousands of mechanics institutes buildings still operate throughout the world mostly now used as libraries parts of universities adult education facilities and a few still use their original names and function as a society or other type of organisation Australia Edit Ballarat Mechanics Institute building American and Australian soldiers in the reading room of the Ballarat Mechanics Institute in 1942Main article Mechanics Institutes of Australia In the Australian colonies Mechanics Institutes were often called Schools of Arts and they were more likely to be run by the middle classes The provision of reading rooms museums lectures and classes were still important but the Australian schools were also more likely to include a social programme in their calendar of events 20 The earliest and most prominent institute in Tasmania was Van Diemen s Land Mechanics Institution also known as Hobart Town Mechanics Institute Hobart 1827 1871 co founded by George Augustus Robinson 21 22 The Sydney Mechanics School of Arts 1833 in Sydney New South Wales is the oldest school of arts still operating 23 and the largest institute in Australia 24 Others in NSW include the Moruya Mechanics Institute 25 and the Scone School of Arts In South Australia the South Australian Institute 1838 then 1847 26 was the forerunner of the State Library of South Australia the South Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of South Australia 27 The first institute in the colony of Victoria was the Melbourne Mechanics Institute created in 1839 It was renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873 and continues to operate a library theatres and shops in the original building 15 Many mechanics institutes athenaeums schools of arts and related institutions in the state of Victoria are well documented by the Mechanics Institutes of Victoria Inc whose members range from the well resourced Melbourne Athenaeum to the tiny Moonambel Mechanics Institute in Moonambel 28 In the following decades almost every town in Victoria had a mechanics institute usually including a hall library and reading rooms games facilities and both educational programs and entertainment 29 The first Western Australian institute was the Swan River Mechanics Institute established in 1851 later renamed the Perth Literary Institute 30 In Queensland the Brisbane School of Arts was created in 1873 in a former servants home The building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992 31 Over time as local and state governments started providing libraries community centres and other types of educational facilities mechanics institutes became less important in communities 29 Canada Edit Bytown Mechanics Institute Montreal Mechanics Institute established 1828 Mechanics Institute Toronto Atlantic provinces Edit Halifax Mechanics Institute St John Mechanics InstituteOntario Edit Barrie Mechanics Institute Brockville Mechanics Institute now Brockville Public Library 32 Bytown Mechanics Institute later Mechanics Institute and Athenaeum of Ottawa now Ottawa Public Library Elmsley Library Association and Mechanics Institute Elora Mechanics Institute Farmers Mechanics Institute of Streetsville Guelph Farmers and Mechanics Institute now Guelph Public Library 33 Hamilton and Gore Mechanics Institute Kingston Mechanics Institute London Mechanics Institute Mechanics Institute Coldstream Mechanics Institute Orillia Mechanics Institute of Goderich Mechanics Institute of Point Edward Midland Railroad Mechanics Institute Napanee Mechanics Institute Newmarket Farmers Mechanics Institute Owen Sound Mechanics Institute Peterborough Mechanics Institute St Catharines Mechanics Institute Library Toronto Mechanics Institute Woodstock Mechanics InstituteQuebec Edit Atwater Library of the Mechanics Institute of Montreal Montreal Mechanics Institute Atwater Library of the Mechanics Institute of Montreal Montreal Children s Library Atwater Branch Quebec Mechanics InstituteHong Kong Edit Government trade schoolNew Zealand Edit Auckland Mechanics Institute founded 30 September 1842 closed 1880 with transfer of all library content to Auckland City Council library 34 Port Nicholson Mechanics Institute Public School and Library founded in May 1842 and renamed Wellington Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute in 1849 United Kingdom Edit alphabetical order by town or city Aberdeen Mechanics Institute Market Street Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson now a hotel Alford Institute Founded 1854 Boston Founded in 1849 became the Boston Atheneum in 1855 Bradford Mechanics Institute Library Yorkshire Brechin Mechanics Institute Angus 35 Brentford Mechanics Institution Middlesex Founded in 1835 and closed around 1890 36 37 Burnley Mechanics Burnley Lancashire Darlington Mechanics Institute built in 1854 as of 2014 a nightclub and bar 38 School of Arts of Edinburgh renamed to Heriot Watt University in 1966 Epworth Mechanics Institute North Lincs UK 39 Mechanics Institutes Eyam Eyam Derbyshire Gainsborough Room in Gainsborough Old Hall Grimsby Lincolnshire Founded in 1835 new building in Victoria Street in 1856 Ipswich Institute Suffolk 40 Horncastle Lincolnshire Leeds Mechanics Institute West Yorkshire designed by Cuthbert Brodrick now Leeds City Museum Lincoln Mechanics Institute Founded 1833 in the undercroft of the Greyfriars Liverpool Mechanics School of Arts founded 1825 renamed Liverpool Mechanics Institution in 1832 which later became the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys and from 1996 the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts London Mechanics Institute which eventually became Birkbeck University of London Louth Founded 1835 Moved to Mansion House 1853 Lurgan County Armagh 69 Market Street Lutterworth Leicestershire Manchester forerunner of University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology which merged with Victoria University of Manchester to form the University of Manchester Market Rasen Lincolnshire Founded in 1836 in Queen Street Marsden Mechanics Institute Marsden West Yorkshire HD7 6BW 41 now a rental hall and public library University of South Wales Newport converted to private apartments Nottingham Mechanics Institute 42 Otley Mechanics Institute West Yorkshire Royston Hertfordshire built 1855 later became the town hall and picture palace Spitalfields Mechanics Institution founded in early 1825 by Thomas Gibson father of Thomas Field Gibson 43 Stamford Lincolnshire Stamford Institution Founded 1842 Swindon Mechanics Institute Wiltshire Wolverhampton Queen Street c1835 44 Wisbech Working Men s Club amp Institute Wisbech Isle of Ely 45 United States Edit Timeline Edit 1792 The Mechanic Library Society of New Haven Connecticut was founded It was chartered the following year and was eventually superseded in New Haven by The Young Men s Institute Library 1795 The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association of Boston Massachusetts was formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence 1820 General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York established Renamed and became the Mechanics Institute in 1858 1821 The English High School was established in Boston MA as the first public high school with leadership from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association 1824 The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts opened in Philadelphia 1826 The Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts opened in Baltimore 1827 Boston established a mechanics institute 1828 In Cincinnati the Ohio Mechanics Institute OMI was founded on 20 November to facilitate the diffusion of useful knowledge to ingenious artisans and mechanics Richmond Virginia Mechanics institute was located at 9th and Bank Streets 46 Marshall Street properties are now part of Virginia Commonwealth University 47 and Richmond Public Schools 48 Rochester New York 1885 mechanics institute merged with the Rochester Athenium in 1891 to become the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute Renamed to Rochester Institute of Technology RIT in 1944 49 Existing names and uses Edit General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York Mechanics Institute San Francisco California Mechanics Hall Worcester Maine Charitable Mechanic Association New Haven Young Men s Institute The Working Men s Institute New Harmony Indiana In addition each state and territory in the US has at least one land grant university that includes a college of agriculture and a college of engineering as provided for by the Morrill Land Grant Acts to teach agriculture military tactics and the mechanic arts as well as classical studies See also EditAthenaeum Cultural institutions in Australia Society for the Diffusion of Useful KnowledgeReferences Edit a b Smith Mark K 1997 George Birkbeck and the London Mechanics Institute The encyclopaedia of informal education Archived from the original on 17 August 2010 a b Mechanics Institute Worldwide 2021 Heriot Watt University 5 November 2021 Retrieved 31 December 2021 a b Home page Mechanics Institutes 25 May 2021 Retrieved 31 December 2021 Speeches of Henry Lord Brougham Vol II 1841 Lea and Blanchard Philadelphia Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Birkbeck George Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 3 11th ed Cambridge University Press Kidd Alan J 1993 Manchester Town and city histories Manchester Ryburn pp 57 8 ISBN 1 85331 016 6 Politics in Mechanics Institutes 1820 1850 Turner C M Thesis PhD 1980 thesis Turner C M Leicester University January 1980 hdl 2381 35680 Notes of Mr Hunt reporter August 15 1842 The Trial of George Jacob Holyoake on an Indictment for blasphemy British Library main catalogues British Library SMSA Sydney Mechanics School of Arts SMSA Lowden Bronwyn 2010 Mechanics Institutes Schools of Arts Athenaeums etc An Australian Checklist 3rd Edition Donvale Australia Lowden Publishing Co pp 64 111 ISBN 978 1 920753 16 0 a b Kilgour Frederick The Evolution of the Book New York Oxford Oxford University Press 1998 p 99 Harris Michael History of Libraries in the Western World 4th ed Metuchen N J Scarecrow Press 1995 p 153 Wisbech Cambridge Independent Press 16 December 1854 p 8 Jefferson G Libraries and Society Cambridge amp London Great Britain James Clark amp CO LTD 1969 p 21 a b History of Mechanics Institutes Mechanics Institutes of Victoria Inc Retrieved 1 January 2022 Mechanics Worldwide Mechanics Institutes of Victoria Inc 15 October 2021 Retrieved 1 January 2022 Mechanics Worldwide 2004 Buildings Books and Beyond Mechanics Worldwide Conference 2009 Proceedings of the first International Conference convened by the Prahran Mechanics Institute Prahran Victoria Australia Prahran Mechanics Institute ISBN 0 9756000 1 X Mechanics Worldwide 2009 2009 Self Help Mechanics Worldwide Conference 2009 Proceedings of the second International Conference convened by the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Donvale Victoria Australia Lowden Publishing Co ISBN 978 1 920753 18 4 Reinvention Thriving in the 21st Century www milibrary org Retrieved 11 April 2018 Old Town Hall entry 600566 Queensland Heritage Register Queensland Heritage Council Retrieved 31 December 2021 Text may have been copied from this source which is available under a Attribution 4 0 International CC BY 4 0 licence Catalogue of the library of the Van Diemen s Land Mechanics Institution 1843 via Open Access Repository University of Tasmania Hobart Town Mechanics Institute 1827 1871 Corporate entry Encyclopedia of Australian Science 12 December 2017 Retrieved 1 January 2022 About Sydney Mechanics School of Arts SMSA 25 November 2020 Retrieved 1 January 2022 Wotherspoon Garry 2008 Sydney Mechanics School of Arts The Dictionary of Sydney Retrieved 31 December 2021 Mechanics Institute New South Wales State Heritage Register Department of Planning and Environment H00485 Retrieved 18 May 2018 Text is licensed by State of New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment under CC BY 4 0 licence South Australian Institute Trove South Australian Advertiser 27 October 1863 p 4 Retrieved 18 May 2019 A Brief History of the South Australian Museum PDF South Australian Museum 2004 Archived from the original PDF on 1 April 2019 Retrieved 18 May 2019 Victorian Members Mechanics Institutes of Victoria Inc Retrieved 1 January 2022 a b What is a Mechanics Institute Prahran Mechanics Institute 8 November 2012 Retrieved 2 January 2022 The Perth Literary Institute The West Australian Perth National Library of Australia 13 January 1951 p 22 Retrieved 28 October 2011 Brisbane School of Arts entry 600072 Queensland Heritage Register Queensland Heritage Council Retrieved 1 August 2014 Brockville Public Library ancestry com Our History Guelph Public Library Archived from the original on 16 December 2012 Retrieved 15 October 2012 LIANZA Conference PDF LIANZA Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa 8 September 2004 Archived from the original PDF on 4 February 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2019 Brechin Mechanics Institute Brechin Mechanics Institute Retrieved 9 June 2021 Faulkner T 1845 History and Antiquities of Brentford Ealing amp Chiswick Ronalds B F 2018 The Montgomrey Family of Brentford Timber Merchants and Benefactors London s Industrial Archaeology 16 57 69 Lloyd Chris 10 March 2014 HISTORY School for rude mechanicals The Northern Echo Retrieved 11 May 2014 Epworth Mechanics Institute Archived from the original on 25 April 2013 Ipswich Institute Reading Room amp Library Mechanics Marsden Home Marsden Mechanics The Nottingham Mechanics Institute History Nottingham Mechanics Institute Retrieved 1 November 2021 A Course of Three Lectures on the Formation of a Spitalfields Mechanics Institution 1825 Victorian Wolverhampton a town though its buildings Wolverhampton History amp Heritage Website Archived from the original on 1 June 2013 Retrieved 15 October 2012 Miscellaneous institutions British History Online Retrieved 24 September 2021 Mechanics Institute mdgorman com Virginia Mechanics Institute Building VCU Maps vcu edu Richmond Technical Center richmond k12 va us A01 0 History Accreditation and Legacy University Policies RIT rit edu Archived from the original on 22 June 2013 Further reading EditKelly Thomas November 1952 The Origin of Mechanics Institutes British Journal of Educational Studies Society for Educational Studies 1 1 17 27 doi 10 2307 3119430 JSTOR 3119430 Russell Rex C 1994 Living and Learning in Lindsey Lincolnshire 1830 1890 AHistory of Adult Education in North Lincolnshire The University of Hull 1994 ISBN 0859580245 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mechanics 27 institute amp oldid 1113586254, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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