Two venerable institutions celebrate a significant anniversary this year: Ipswich County Library has its first centenary; but this is dwarfed by Ipswich Institute which is 200 years old. The Institute was founded in 1824 as part of Dr George Birkbeck’s Mechanics Institution movement, with the intention of ‘making knowledge available to the artisans of Ipswich’ (1) through the provision of information and education.
Birkbeck was a Yorkshire physician, who began with courses of lectures established for working men in 1800. This initiative must be seen in terms of the background of the Enlightenment, revolutions (including the Industrial Revolution) and the social pressures leading to the wave of nineteenth-century reforms. In Ipswich, John Raw first suggested starting a Mechanics’ Institution, but it was not until 23rd November 1824 that a foundation was made and a steering Committee appointed, composed of local dignitaries (2). After two moves the Institute finally settled in its current premises in 1834, purchased for £1,000, although its exact extent and layout have varied greatly in the years since. More longstanding members will probably recall that The Admirals’ House, the listed building which includes an art centre, study rooms and a coffee lounge (3) was only bought by the organisation in 2001.
Celebrated as a tranquil oasis in the middle of town, the Institute is far more than this, with its library and reading room operating at the centre of its activities. Both the library and the Institute as a whole have had ups and downs during a long history, with some quirks along the way. A highlight must have been the inspiration to provide ‘Penny readings’ evenings in the mid-nineteenth century, when Ipswich worthies were credited with the idea of giving readings from popular fiction of the day and other performances, for which the sum of one penny was charged (4). This went ‘viral’ (as we say now), and became a popular movement in vogue for about 30 years. By contrast, the Institute seems to have fallen into a trough in the 1960’s, with a membership of only 464 by 1971, also featuring outdated books, premises and practices – notably, the penny charge for use of the lavatories which was only discontinued that year (5). More recently, the Institute has had to deal with the issues created by the pandemic, but now seems to have emerged triumphantly from the other side of it, with membership at 1,887 and still rising in 2022; and loans of books also on the increase (6).
Suffolk Book League’s relationship with the Institute dates back over many years, with their kindly hosting of numerous meetings for us; aside from a fruitful collaboration (since 2009) in the shape of the biennial New Angle prize for a book ‘of literary merit, set in or influenced by the region of East Anglia’ (7).
Ipswich Institute. About Us, no date, https://ipswichinstitute.org.uk/about-us/
Walker, H. The Ipswich Institute 1824-1924, reprinted in Hanson, E.H. An historical essay of the Ipswich Institute 1925-1987, 1989, Ipswich: The Committee of the Ipswich Institute: 31.
Ipswich Institute About Us, no date, https://ipswichinstitute.org.uk/about-us/
Hanson, E. H. An historical essay of the Ipswich Institute 1925-1987, 1989, Ipswich: The Committee of the Ipswich Institute: 24-25.
Hanson, E. H. An historical essay of the Ipswich Institute 1925-1987, 1989, Ipswich: The Committee of the Ipswich Institute: 14.
The Ipswich Institute. The Ipswich Institute Reading Room and Library report and accounts 2022, 2022, Ipswich: Ipswich Institute: 7.
Ipswich Institute. New Angle, no date, https://ipswichinstitute.org.uk/new-angle/
Janet Bayliss
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