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{{Short description|Educational establishment}}
{{other uses of|school of arts|School of Arts (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
[[Image:Leeds City Museum.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Leeds Mechanics' Institute|Leeds City Mechanics' Institute]]'s building]]
'''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 [[British Empire|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.

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]] at the [[Andersonian Institute]] in Glasgow. 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<ref name=infed/> on 16 October 1821<ref name=hwu>{{cite web | title=Mechanics Institute Worldwide 2021 | website=[[Heriot-Watt University]] | date=5 November 2021 | url=https://www.hw.ac.uk/alumni/watt-club/mechanics-institute-worldwide-2021.htm | access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref> of the first mechanics' institute in [[Edinburgh]], the [[Edinburgh School of Arts]] (later [[Heriot-Watt University]]<ref name=hwu/>). Its first lecture was on [[chemistry]], and within a month it was subscribed to by 452 men who each paid a quarterly subscription fee.<ref name=mi>{{cite web | title=[Home page]| website=Mechanics Institutes | date=25 May 2021 | url=https://mechanicsinstitutes.org/ | access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref>  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.<ref name=infed>{{cite web|url=http://www.infed.org/walking/wa-birb.htm |title=George Birkbeck and the London Mechanics Institute| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817042028/http://www.infed.org/walking/wa-birb.htm |archive-date=17 August 2010| website=The encyclopaedia of informal education| date=1997| first= Mark K. |last=Smith }}</ref> Its purpose was to "address societal needs by incorporating fundamental scientific thinking and research into engineering solutions".{{Citation needed|reason=The phrasing of this is suspiciously modern.|date=March 2023}} 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.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/speecheshenrylo06vauxgoog/page/n154 <!-- pg=152 quote=liverpool mechanics july 1823. --> Speeches of Henry, Lord Brougham] Vol. II, 1841, Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia</ref>

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 Institute]], where Birkbeck had been chair of [[natural philosophy]] from 1799 to 1804 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.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Birkbeck, George|volume=3}}</ref>
[[File:Manchester Mechanics Institute (1825).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Manchester Mechanics' Institute, Cooper Street, in 1825]]
[[Image:Wakefield Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Wakefield Mechanics' Institute]] (1825), later 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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kidd, Alan J. |title=Manchester (Town and city histories) |publisher=Ryburn |location=Manchester |year=1993 |isbn=1-85331-016-6 | pages = 57–8}}</ref> 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]], 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.<ref>{{cite thesis|title=Politics in Mechanics' Institutes 1820–1850, Turner, C. M., Thesis (PhD), 1980 |publisher=Leicester University|hdl=2381/35680 |date=January 1980 |type=thesis }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Notes of Mr Hunt reporter August 15 1842, The Trial of George Jacob. Holyoake on an Indictment for blasphemy |url= https://www.bl.uk/ |website=British Library main catalogues|publisher=British Library }}</ref>

In Australia, the first mechanics' institute was established in [[Hobart]] in 1827, followed by the [[Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sydneymsa.com.au|title=SMSA (Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts)|work=SMSA}}</ref> in 1833, [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] School of Arts in 1835, then the [[Melbourne]] Mechanics' Institute established in 1839 (renamed the [[Melbourne Athenaeum]] in 1872<ref>{{cite web|url=https://melbourneathenaeum.org.au/timeline/1872-2/|title = 1872 - Name Changed)}}</ref>). From the 1850s, mechanics' institutes quickly spread throughout [[Victoria (Australia)|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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lowden, Bronwyn |title=Mechanics' Institutes, Schools of Arts, Athenaeums, etc.: An Australian Checklist – 3rd Edition |publisher=Lowden Publishing Co. |location=Donvale, Australia |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-920753-16-0 | pages = 64–111}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Kilgour, Frederick 1998, p. 99">Kilgour, Frederick. ''The Evolution of the Book''. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 99.</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2021}}

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.<ref name=Harris>Harris, Michael. ''History of Libraries in the Western World''. 4th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 153.</ref> However, by 1900 there were over 9,000 mechanics institutes around the world.<ref name=mi/>

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 lighting|gas light company]]. The London Mechanics' Institute installed gas illumination by 1825, revealing the demand and need for members to use the books.<ref name="Kilgour, Frederick 1998, p. 99"/> Some mechanics' institutes also offered a programme from the arts; [[Wisbech]] Mechanics' institute booked [[Fanny Kemble|Mrs Butler]] to give readings from [[Shakespeare]]'s plays and [[John Milton|Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' to audiences of nearly a thousand.<ref>{{cite news|title= Wisbech|newspaper= Cambridge Independent Press|date= 16 December 1854|page= 8}}</ref>

G. Jefferson explains:
<blockquote>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.<ref name=Jefferson>Jefferson, G. ''Libraries and Society''. Cambridge & London, Great Britain: James Clark & CO. LTD., 1969, p. 21.</ref> </blockquote>

==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.<ref name=mivhist>{{cite web | title=History of Mechanics' Institutes | website=Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. | url=http://www.mivic.org.au/history-of-mechanics-institutes.html | access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref> As of 2021, there have been five such conferences:<ref name=mivww>{{cite web | title=Mechanics' Worldwide | website=Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. | date=15 October 2021 | url=http://www.mivic.org.au/mechanics-worldwide.html | access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref>
*2004: ''Buildings, Books and Beyond: Mechanics' Worldwide'', at [[Swinburne University]], [[Prahran, Victoria]], and the Prahran Mechanics' Institute, Australia<ref>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}}</ref>
*2009:  ''Self Help: Mechanics' Worldwide'', at the [[Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution]], [[Bath, Somerset]], England<ref>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}}</ref>
*2012: ''Buildings, Books and Blackboards – Intersecting Narratives: Mechanics' Worldwide''. [[RMIT University]], [[Melbourne]], Australia.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049670.2013.809648|title=Buildings, Books and Blackboards – Intersecting Narratives|first1=Sue|last1= Reynolds |first2=Mary|last2= Carroll|pages=88–89 | date=1 July 2013|journal=The Australian Library Journal|volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/00049670.2013.809648 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
*2016: ''Reinvention: Thriving in the 21st Century  Mechanics' Worldwide'', [[Mechanics' Institute, San Francisco|Mechanics' Institute]], [[San Francisco]], [[California]], U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.milibrary.org/reinvention|title=Reinvention: Thriving in the 21st Century -|website=www.milibrary.org|access-date=11 April 2018}}</ref>
*2021: ''Mechanics' Institutes: Past, Present and Future – Mechanics' Institutes Worldwide''. Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, and online (due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]])

==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===
[[File:Ballarat mechanics institute.jpg|thumb|Ballarat Mechanics' Institute building]]
[[File:BallaratMechanicsInstitute1942.jpg|thumb|American and Australian soldiers in the reading room of the Ballarat Mechanics' Institute in 1942]]{{main|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.<ref>{{cite QHR|15341|Old Town Hall|600566|access-date=31 December 2021}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International  (CC BY 4.0)] licence.</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite book| url=https://eprints.utas.edu.au/23823/| title=Catalogue of the library of the Van Diemen's Land Mechanics' Institution| date=1843| publisher=Printed by William Pratt| via=Open Access Repository, [[University of Tasmania]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Hobart Town Mechanics Institute (1827-1871) - Corporate entry | website=Encyclopedia of Australian Science | date=12 December 2017 | url=https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P005877b.htm | access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref>

The [[Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts]] (1833), in [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], is the oldest school of arts still operating<ref>{{cite web | title=About | website=Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA) | date=25 November 2020 | url=https://smsa.org.au/about/ | access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref> and the largest institute in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | last=Wotherspoon | first=Garry | title=Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts | website=The Dictionary of Sydney | date=2008 | url=https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/sydney_mechanics_school_of_arts | access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref> Others in NSW include the [[Moruya Mechanics' Institute]]<ref name=nswshr-485>{{cite NSW SHR|5045358|Mechanics Institute|hr=00485|fn=S90/03448 & HC 33392|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> and the [[Scone School of Arts]].

In [[South Australia]], the [[South Australian Museum#19th century|South Australian Institute]] (1838, then 1847–),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31829387|publisher=South Australian Advertiser|title=South Australian Institute|date=27 October 1863|page=4|website=Trove|access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref> was the forerunner of the [[State Library of South Australia]], the [[South Australian Museum]], and the [[Art Gallery of South Australia]].<ref name=pothist>{{cite web|title=A Brief History of the South Australian Museum|url=http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/files-about/a-potted-history.pdf|date=2004|publisher=South Australian Museum|access-date=18 May 2019 |archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401154508/https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/files-about/a-potted-history.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The first institute in the [[colony of Victoria]] was the [[Melbourne Mechanics' Institute]], created in 1839. It was renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1872, and continues to operate a library, theatres and shops in the original building.<ref name="mivhist"/> Many mechanics' institutes, athenaeums, schools of arts and related institutions in the state of [[Victoria, Australia|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]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Victorian Members | website=Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. | url=http://www.mivic.org.au/victorian.html | access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref name=what>{{cite web | title=What is a Mechanics' Institute? | website=Prahran Mechanics Institute | date=8 November 2012 | url=https://www.pmi.net.au/home/mihistory/ | access-date=2 January 2022}}</ref>

The first [[Western Australian]] institute was the [[Swan River Mechanics' Institute]], established in 1851, later renamed the Perth Literary Institute.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48146125 |title=The Perth Literary Institute. |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=13 January 1951 |access-date=28 October 2011 |page=22 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite QHR|14847|Brisbane School of Arts|600072|accessdate=1 August 2014}}</ref>

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.<ref name=what/>

===Canada===
[[File:Bytown Mechanics' Institute cornerstone from the original building.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Bytown Mechanics' Institute]]]]
[[File:Relief of a torch at the Montreal Mechanics Institute.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Montreal Mechanics Institute (established 1828)]]
[[File:Mechanics Institute Toronto.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Mechanics Institute Toronto]]

====Atlantic provinces====
* [[Halifax Public Library|Halifax Mechanics Institute]]
* [[Saint John Free Public Library|St. John Mechanics' Institute]]

====Ontario====
* [[Barrie Public Library|Barrie Mechanics' Institute]]
* Brockville Mechanics' Institute, now Brockville Public Library<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onbdhs/brockville_library.html|title=Brockville Public Library|work=ancestry.com}}</ref>
* [[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 system|Guelph Public Library]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.library.guelph.on.ca/about/history.cfm|title=Our History|publisher=Guelph Public Library|access-date=15 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121216042549/http://www.library.guelph.on.ca/about/history.cfm|archive-date=16 December 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Hamilton Public Library (Ontario)|Hamilton and Gore Mechanics' Institute]]
* [[Kingston Frontenac Public Library|Kingston Mechanics' Institute]]
* [[London Public Library|London Mechanics' Institute]]
* Mechanics' Institute, Coldstream
* [[Orillia Public Library|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 & North Grey Union Public Library|Owen Sound Mechanics Institute]]
* [[Peterborough Public Library|Peterborough Mechanics' Institute]]
* St. Catharines Mechanics' Institute Library
* [[Toronto Mechanics' Institute]]
* Woodstock Mechanics' Institute

====Quebec====
[[File:Atwater Library, Sep 28 2022.jpg|thumb|right|Atwater Library of the Mechanics Institute of Montreal]]
* [[Montreal Public Libraries Network#History|Montreal Mechanics Institute]]
** [[Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal]]
** [[Montreal Children's Library]] – Atwater Branch
* Quebec Mechanics' Institute

===Hong Kong===
* [[The Hong Kong Polytechnic University|Government trade school]]

===New Zealand===
* [[Auckland Mechanics' Institute]], founded 30 September 1842, closed 1880, with transfer of all library content to [[Auckland Libraries|Auckland City Council library]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lianza.org.nz/sites/default/files/mechanics_institutes_verran.pdf|access-date=5 January 2019|date=8 September 2004|title=LIANZA Conference|publisher=LIANZA – Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa|archive-date=4 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204030403/https://lianza.org.nz/sites/default/files/mechanics_institutes_verran.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 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)''
* Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute, Market Street, [[Aberdeen]] (architect [[Archibald Simpson]]), now a hotel.
* [[Alford, Lincolnshire|Alford Institute]]. Founded 1854.
* Alnwick Mechanics' Institute,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peter |date=2020-08-27 |title=Mechanics' Institute |url=https://alnwickcivicsociety.org.uk/2020/08/27/mechanics-institute/ |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=Alnwick Civic Society |language=en}}</ref> Northumberland. Founded 1824.
* [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]]. Founded in 1849, became the Boston Atheneum in 1855.
* [[Bradford Mechanics' Institute Library]], Yorkshire.
* Brechin Mechanics Institute, Angus.<ref name="Brechin">{{cite web |title=Brechin Mechanics Institute |url=https://brechinmechanicsinstitute.com/ |website=Brechin Mechanics Institute |access-date=9 June 2021}}</ref>
* Brentford Mechanics' Institution, Middlesex. Founded in 1835 and closed around 1890.<ref>{{cite book |title=History and Antiquities of Brentford, Ealing, & Chiswick |url=https://archive.org/details/historyantiquiti00faul|last=Faulkner|first=T.|year=1845}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ronalds|first=B. F.|date=2018|title=The Montgomrey Family of Brentford: Timber Merchants and Benefactors|journal=London's Industrial Archaeology|volume=16|pages=57–69}}</ref>
* [[Burnley Mechanics]], [[Burnley]], Lancashire.
* [[Darlington Mechanics Institute]], built in 1854, as of 2014 a nightclub and bar.<ref name=rude>{{cite news|last=Lloyd|first=Chris|title=HISTORY: School for rude mechanicals |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/history/11065778.School_for_rude_mechanicals/ |access-date=11 May 2014 |newspaper=The Northern Echo |date=10 March 2014}}</ref>
* Dysart - Mechanics Institute.
* School of Arts of Edinburgh, renamed to [[Heriot-Watt University]] in 1966.
* Epworth Mechanics Institute, North Lincolnshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epworthmechanicslibrary.co.uk/ |title=Epworth Mechanics Institute |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425180925/http://www.epworthmechanicslibrary.co.uk/ |archivedate=25 April 2013 }}</ref>[[File:Mechanics' Institutes 201307 109.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ipswichinstitute.org.uk/|title=Ipswich Institute – Reading Room & Library}}</ref>
* Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
*[[Keighley]] Mechanics' Institute, West Yorkshire, founded 1825, developed into [[Keighley College]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Keighley College is Back |url=https://keighleycollege.ac.uk/keighley-college-back/ |website=Keighley College |access-date=26 October 2023 |language=en |date=7 September 2017}}</ref>
* [[Leeds Mechanics' Institute]] (West Yorkshire) designed by [[Cuthbert Brodrick]], now [[Leeds City Museum]].
* [[Lincoln Mechanics' Institute]]. Founded 1833 in the undercroft of  the [[Greyfriars, Lincoln|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, Lincolnshire|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|Marsden]], West Yorkshire, HD7 6BW,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marsdenmechanics.co.uk/|title=Home|first=Marsden|last=Mechanics|website=Marsden Mechanics}}</ref> now a rental hall and public library
* Neath Mechanics Institute, Neath, Neath Port Talbot Founded in 1842
* [[University of South Wales]], Newport – converted to private apartments
*Nottingham Mechanics Institute<ref name="NMI">{{cite web |title=The Nottingham Mechanics Institute History |url=http://www.nottingham-mechanics.org.uk/about/history/ |website=Nottingham Mechanics Institute |access-date=1 November 2021}}</ref>
* [[Otley Civic Centre|Otley Mechanics Institute]], West Yorkshire
* Royston, Hertfordshire, built 1855, later became the town hall and [[c:File:Royston Picture Palace.jpg|picture palace]] 
* [[Spitalfields]] Mechanics' Institution, founded in early 1825 by Thomas Gibson, father of [[Thomas Field Gibson]]<ref>{{cite book |title=A Course of Three Lectures on the Formation of a Spitalfields Mechanics' Institution|year=1825}}</ref>
* [[Stamford, Lincolnshire]], Stamford Institution. Founded 1842.
* [[Swindon Mechanics' Institute]], Wiltshire
* [[Wakefield Mechanics' Institute]], West Yorkshire
* Wolverhampton (Queen Street, c. 1835)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/VictorianBuildings/19thCentBritain.htm|title=Victorian Wolverhampton, a town though its buildings|publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website|access-date=15 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601141849/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/VictorianBuildings/19thCentBritain.htm|archive-date=1 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* Wisbech Working Men's Club & Institute, [[Wisbech]], Isle of Ely.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol4/pp268-269|title= Miscellaneous institutions|website= British History Online|access-date= 24 September 2021}}</ref>

===United States===
====Timeline====
* 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 of Boston|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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgorman.com/Other_Sites/mechanics_institute.htm|title=Mechanics' Institute|work=mdgorman.com}}</ref> Marshall Street properties are now part of [[Virginia Commonwealth University]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maps.vcu.edu/mcv/vmibldg/|title=Virginia Mechanics Institute Building – VCU Maps|work=vcu.edu}}</ref> and Richmond Public Schools<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newweb.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/specialty/rtc.aspx|title=Richmond Technical Center|work=richmond.k12.va.us|access-date=19 June 2014|archive-date=17 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217063831/http://newweb.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/specialty/rtc.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/policiesmanual/sectionA/HISTORY.html|title=A01.0 History, Accreditation and Legacy – University Policies – RIT|work=rit.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622021635/http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/policiesmanual/sectionA/HISTORY.html|archive-date=22 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

====Existing names and uses====
* [[General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York]]
* [[San Francisco Mechanics' Institute|Mechanics' Institute]], San Francisco, California
* [[Mechanics Hall, Worcester]]
* [[Maine Charitable Mechanic Association]]
* [[The Institute Library (New Haven)|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|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 ==
* [[Athenaeum (disambiguation)|Athenaeum]]
* [[Cultural institutions in Australia]]
* [[Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|first =Thomas |last =Kelly |title=The Origin of Mechanics' Institutes|journal =British Journal of Educational Studies| volume =1|issue =1 |date=Nov 1952|pages =17–27 |publisher =Society for Educational Studies |doi= 10.2307/3119430 |jstor =3119430 }}
* Russell, Rex C. (1994). ''Living and Learning in Lindsey, Lincolnshire: 1830–1890 — A History of Adult Education in North Lincolnshire.'' The University of Hull 1994. {{ISBN|0859580245}}.

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