The Mechanics’ Institute

The institute began in the same way as the earlier libraries, on a small scale, in the front rooms of a house in King Street, in about 1827. The privately owned house was rented for this purpose and stocked with numerous books, both entertaining and educational, which were lent out, in exchange for a quarterly fee. It was hoped that it would be a way of educating young people, who could acquire a wide range of knowledge that would assist them in their working and private lives.
Many of the people involved in the setting-up of the library had previously been associated with the setting-up of the earlier library in King Street and later Queen Street. In 1835, the management committee decided that a larger building was essential in order to expand the service and to provide a facility for factory workers who could go there in the evening to improve their education.

A provisional committee was formed to solicit donations to enable the managing committee to purchase shares in a new building.

The committee consisted of two bankers, Alexander Hordern, and Richard Fryer; along with Joseph Pearson, a brass founder; Joseph Walker, a nail manufacturer; William Walker, a merchant; William Shoolbred, a tinplate maker and japanner; E. H. Coleman, a surgeon; Benjamin Walton, a tinplate maker and japanner; and two church ministers, Rev. Stephenson Hunter and Rev. John Roaf, who was appointed secretary.

They were to receive the names of people who were willing to become shareholders in the scheme and to make arrangements for the erection of the new building. Many prominent citizens joined the scheme, which raised £1,082.


The Rev. John Roaf.
On the 13th April, 1835, a piece of land measuring 325 square yards, on the south side of Queen Street, not far from the subscription library, was purchased from Mr. T. H. Ward for £220. Several prominent people agreed to act as trustees on behalf of the shareholders. They were:
Randle Walker, builder; Henry Walker, hop merchant; William Walford, architect; Robert Shoolbred, tailor; Edward H. Coleman, surgeon; T. S. Simkiss, surgeon; William Walker, factor; Matthew Ward; Thomas Banks, druggist; George Edwardes, surgeon; Isaac Fellows, schoolmaster; William Tottey; and John Banks Nicklin, ironmonger.

At the first meeting of the shareholders and donors on the 4th May, 1835, the plans prepared by the architect William Walford were approved along with contracts for the building work which would cost £910.18s. The new building was completed by the beginning of 1836 and included a library room, a reading room, a lecture room and a dwelling house for the librarian and caretaker, who would have an annual salary of £10 and live rent free.

The librarian was Mr. Foster. The founders decided that the rooms were to be let to the subscribers for an annual rent of £30 and a series of lectures was arranged for the winter months. Many new books were purchased for the library, which initially was well used and the lectures were well attended.

Sadly the number of users began to fall, many letting their membership subscription go into arrears after about twelve months. The news and reading rooms that had been well used by many local shopkeepers and their assistants were soon less frequented. The institute was soon in debt and many of the old patrons and supporters moved away. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that by 1845 the establishment had more or less closed, with only Mr. Foster remaining as caretaker, looking after the premises.

The building was only used occasionally when the large upper room was hired for concerts and entertainment or popular lectures. But they were few and far between.


Rebirth

In the latter part of 1846, a number of young men, mainly clerks and shop assistants discussed the matter of the closure of the institute and felt that something had to be done to resolve the situation. A meeting was held in the Star and Garter Hotel on the 22nd January, 1847 to discuss the matter. At the meeting it was resolved to form a society for the diffusion of useful knowledge amongst its members, by the delivery of lectures, public discussions and the circulation of books.

They decided that the failure of the institute was due to a lack of sympathy on the part of the working classes, mainly because the lectures had been too scientific and at too high a level. The lectures had failed to provide the practical knowledge and useful information that people wanted. After negotiations, the managing committee of the Mechanics’ Institute expressed their willingness to cooperate and put the institute into some form of practical shape. A provisional committee was formed for the purpose, consisting of the following members:
Thomas Adams, W. S. Darkin, Samuel Dickinson, Robert Hitchcox, Samuel S. Mander, John Markham, J. Miller, Mr. Oliver, George Robertson, W. Trevor, George Young.

They decided to canvass the town for donations and subscriptions for the purpose of taking over the books and property of the institute, re-establishing it and remodelling it on a broader basis. They also decided that the membership fee should be ten shillings per year, or two shillings and six pence per quarter and that the name should be changed to the Wolverhampton Athenaeum and Mechanics’ Library. The trustees of the institute agreed to the proposals and a new tenancy agreement and an enlarged set of rules were drawn-up. There were to be courses of lectures on useful and interesting subjects, with no mention of controversial matters such as religion or politics.

The committee arranged a meeting around the end of February 1847 in the large lecture room, to deliver their report. It was stated that about 100 people had paid their first quarter’s subscription as members, but the old institute still owed a lot of money. They then appointed the new management committee. The members were as follows:

President – Mr. E. H. Coleman; Vice-President – Mr. Henry Crane. Committee members:
Edward Banks, W. S. Darkin, W. Parke, Thomas Wilkinson Shaw, Robert Shoolbred and Bernard Walker. Hon. Members: Thomas Adams, Aaron Atherton, Samuel Dickinson, Alfred Hinde, Robert Hitchcox, John Jones, George Lancaster, Samuel S. Mander, John Markham, E. Morris, J. Peace, W. Trevor, Kempson walker and George Young. The Secretary was Mr. John Tyrer and the auditors were Mr. E. D. Shaw and Mr. James Simkiss.

It was agreed that a subscriber should be allowed to bring a friend to the lectures and that the reading rooms were to be opened daily (except Sundays) from 10 am to 10 pm and the library from 8 am to 10 pm.

The building soon re-opened and Mr. Foster continued in his role as librarian and caretaker. He worked extremely hard for his salary, cleaning the building, lighting the fires when necessary, providing coal at his own expense, bringing the newspapers from the nearest railway station (then at Heath Town) and placing them on the tables to be read, keeping the accounts, delivering notices to members, collecting unpaid subscriptions and books that had not been returned, putting details of lectures on the notice boards and inspecting members’ cards before admitting them to the lecture room. Unsurprisingly he asked for an increase in salary, which was denied. The committee did agree to relieve him of the burden of buying coal, but that was all.
A series of lectures was arranged, but many were still at too high a level.

They included talks on ‘The Genius and Perseverance of Great Men in Overcoming Difficulties’, ‘The Habits and Habitations of the Midland Manufacturing Districts’ and ‘Animal Mechanics’.

It was found that the rooms on the ground floor were too small and so the committee arranged for the trustees to become tenants of the whole building at an annual rent of £80. To offset this, the lecture room was sub-let for talks etc.

By the end of 1847, the annual income was just over £200 and at the annual meeting in January 1848 it was stated that the debt had been reduced. At the meeting in January 1850, it was stated the library was well-attended with a large demand for books, but the number of subscribers was falling. The library contained 1,456 books.

4,500 periodicals had been circulated during the previous year and the finances were adequate, but this state of affairs was not to continue.


Samuel Dickinson.

By January 1851 there were 371 members, 1,580 books in the library, and over the previous 12 months, books had been loaned out 2,200 times. At the meeting in January 1853, complaints were made against Mr. Foster, who had many outside interests and was not devoting sufficient time to the institute, so he was given three months notice and adverts were placed for a successor, who would receive an annual salary of £40 plus a 10 percent commission on all subscriptions collected by him and work solely for the institution. This appears to have been a success. Thanks to the efforts of the new librarian, the income increased as did the circulation of books.

All went well for a time, but at a committee meeting in August 1858 it was stated that the institution was not receiving the support from the public that it deserved. The committee had tried hard to remedy this by enlarging and improving the newsroom and the library, as well as starting classes for maths and chemistry. Most people could not afford the membership fee and the institute entered a period of decline and stagnation.
   
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