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Mechanics' Institute

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Venue Type & Location

Lecture Hall

Overview

  • Address: Mansfield Road (previously Milton Street), North of Trinity Church, Nottingham. For a current map, Click Here.

  • Capacity: According to A Centenary History of Nottingham, the venue's lecture hall could seat 1000 people (403).

  • Audience Composition: While the Mechanics Institute was established as a venue for working people, John Beckett suggests that the many of its patrons were nevertheless drawn from the "lower middle class" (ibid). "In 1850," he writes, "236 out of the 579 members were described as clerks, warehousemen and shopmen. Most members were interested in recreational rather than educational pursuits, although lectures were well attended" (ibid).

  • Performance Space Description: The Mechanics Institute was a large building that housed "a library, classrooms and a small museum" in addition to its grand lecture hall (Centenary History ibid). It also appears to have been a rather stately, Classically-inspired structure. In A Stranger’s Guide Through Nottingham (2nd ed), for instance, the venue is described as follows (c.1849): “The front consists of a lofty portico in antis [sic], supported by fluted columns of the Corinthian order of architecture, imitated from the temple of the Sybil, at Rivoli; and the parapets are profusely ornamented and enriched with elaborate decorations, offering a bold and imposing front to the spectator’s view. (51, quoted in Kathleen Barker Collection). The author also provides some description of the lecture hall as a performance space, noting that "[t]he large room or hall is eighty feet long by forty-five broad, and thirty in height, lighted by seven large windows at each side… The orchestra will accommodate a vast number of performers, and is accessible by a door in the upper story” (ibid).

  • Typical Fare: The author of A Stranger's Guide Through Nottingham suggests that the Mechanics' Institute was “used for concerts, balls, and public exhibitions” (ibid). Between 1842 and 1852, it was also home to other kinds of entertainment, including lectures and Shakespearean readings.

    • Performance History

  • The Mechanics Institute was built c. 1840, replacing a house on St. James Street as the site of the organization's meetings and events.

  • The venue was constructed using funds (at least partially) raised at a Mechanics Exhibition held by its members. The land for the new building on Mansfield Road was donated by John Smith Wright, then president of the Institute.

  • Further information about the history of the venue has yet to be found.

    Please see the 'Bibliographic Sources' link at right for a complete listing of materials (both primary and secondary) from which the above information was compiled.

    Beth Marquis
    Additional research by Paul Babiak

    • Troupes at Mechanics' Institute

    Film Affiliated people Film Type # of event(s)
    American Serenaders (1850) Juba, Minstrel Definite American Serenaders (1850)
    Carpenter, J.E. Vocal Entertainment Definite Carpenter, J.E.
    Catlin & Museum/Lecture Troupe Exhibition Definite Catlin & Museum/Lecture Troupe
    Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47) Roberts, B. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47) May, Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47) Sherwood, Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47) Daniels, Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47) Fortescue, Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47) Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Germon, Francis Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Harrington, George Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) White, W. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Stanwood, Moody Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Pell, Gilbert W. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Dumbolton, James A. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Female American Serenaders Rosa, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Woski, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Womba, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Cora, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Miami, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Jumba, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Hodson, G.A. Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Female American Serenaders Yarico, Minstrel Definite Female American Serenaders
    Montgomery, Mrs. Washington Lecture Definite Montgomery, Mrs. Washington
    Phillips, Henry Phillips, Henry Vocal Entertainment Definite Phillips, Henry
    Russell, Henry Russell, Henry Vocal Entertainment Definite Russell, Henry

    Events at Mechanics' Institute

    Event Date Venue Location Film
    Vocal Entertainment - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Russell, Henry
    Vocal Entertainment - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Phillips, Henry
    Minstrel Show - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Minstrel Show - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Ethiopian Harmonists (1846-47)
    Minstrel Show - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Minstrel Show - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Female American Serenaders
    Lecture - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Catlin & Museum/Lecture Troupe
    Lecture - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Catlin & Museum/Lecture Troupe
    Lecture - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Montgomery, Mrs. Washington
    Vocal Entertainment - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Carpenter, J.E.
    Minstrel Show - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire American Serenaders (1850)
    Minstrel Show - Nottingham, Nottinghamshire American Serenaders (1850)

    Bibliographic Sources

    View a list of abbreviations.

    • Manchester and New York: Manchester UP, 1997