1835: why was it built?

Industrialisation, the growth of a large Empire and the intensification in manufacturing and trade saw an increased need for a more literate and numerate workforce that could read, write and account.

The 18th and 19th centuries saw a transition to new methods and machines, unemployment, changes to the Poor Law (1834) and the economic recession of 1830-40 all of which resulted in protest and uprisings that threatened the established order.

Local Industrialists and Benefactors saw the advantage of funding educational opportunities which rested on principles of self-improvement, as did the working man himself who saw the significant role education had for advancement.

Mechanic Institutes were a National response to meet this need.