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VIII.
MECHANICS INSTITUTE ONE of the earliest Educational Institutues in Wednesbury was the Mechanics' Institute Library, and Reading Room, which sprang into existence on the 16th March, 1838, in which date the inaugural meeting was held in the Parish Schoolroom, and Mr. Sampson Lloyd was appointed secretary, and Mr. John Addison, treasurer ; at the same time an influential council was elected including among others, Messrs. Edward Elwell, Francis Woodward, Samuel Danks, Peter Turner, Thomas Bill, and E. Blakemore, and of course the Chairman of that meeting, the Rev. Isaac Clarkson. A subsequent meeting was held in the Workhouse Vestry, Old Meeting Street, when it was resolved to erect a suitable building, to carry on the work of the Institute, at the moderate outlay of £500. Towards this sum £161 were promised as donations, and 354 other promises were made to take up £1 shares ; but for some reason or other this project fell through, and shortly afterwards, in the month of July of that same year, the house next to the churchgates - the Old Library House, as it has since been called - was opened as the home of the establishment, with Mrs. Walker as its custodian. When the first years of its existence closed, the annual meeting made some important changes in the constitution of its governing body, and the new members of the Council included such old Wednesbury names as Joshua Roton, Cornelius Whitehouse, Benjamin Round, and James Millner. Again in 1843 some more well-known names appear in connection with a tea-party got up in aid of the Institiute funds - they are Frederick Ladbury, Thomas Southern, Richard Williams, Joseph Broom, and Dodo Adams. This mild form of dissipation, by the way, seems to have been recognised as a legitimate means of raising money, for so late as May, 1863, we find a soiree got up in St. John's School Room for this purpose by two officials of the institution, E. Bridgewater, and Charles Britten. But to enumerate all the names which appear in connection with this subject through such a long course of years as that which its history embraces would not be within the scope of this article, interesting as it might prove : so being content with those already mentioned, we will once more revert to the building proposals of the Institute. In October, 1845, the question of securing a more suitable edifice again cropped up, and very soon promises were obtained to take up 258 shares of £1 each towards purchasing the People's Hall in Russell Street ; but Mr. W. Horton, architect, failed to effect the purchase for £400, the highest sum he was commissioned to offer, and the county authorities bought the place over his head for the purpose of a Police Station and Court House. Disappointed in this undertaking, the Institute in the September of 1848 changed the scene of its operations to the premises of the corner of Lower High Street and Russell Street, which were occupied till early in 1867, when another and a final change was made, the establishment moving to adjacent quarters in 83, Russell Street, just then vacated by the Board of Health for their present location in the Public Offices. The last scheme proposed for the acquirement of a separate and commodious home for the institution was in July, 1873, when Mr. Samuel Lloyd offered £50 towards buying the Bank premises at the corner of Victoria Street ; this proposal again fell through for the want of adequate support. Even now, on looking through the records of the Institute, some of the entries seem to carry us back to an old-world period. In 1839 the account passed for candles was in itself large enough to have a separate vote taken upon it ; and it was not till 1851, that the first gas bill was entered upon the transactions of the Society. Again, it seems strange to read that in 1840 the delivery of the Morning Chronicle to the reading room by the omnibus was so irregular that it was resolved to have it forwarded through the Post Office. This plan, however, did not work quite so satisfactorily as was expected, as will be gathered from the terms of the following resolution passed in 1841, and which determined "that in future the morning papers, if taken from the Post Office by members, must be returned there before nine o'clock, and the evening papers before six o'clock, or the persona taking them away must forfeit one shilling, one half of which the postmaster shall keep, and the other shall be paid to the boy who delivers the papers at the Institute."
On the other hand, the Council showed itself well in advance of the time when so early as January, 1840, it proposed to add a Museum to its other attractions, and active steps were at once taken in that direction.
Yet from some cause or other our MECHANICS' INSTITUTE was never very popular among the labouring portion of the community, and so far as the word "Mechanics'" was concerned its name was a misnomer. A few artizans of the steadier sort certainly patronised the institution, but they never at any time constituted the bulk of its members. Perhaps this was owing in some degree to the narrow-minded views of its managers, and their inability to appreciate the fact that the hard-fisted labourer may occasionally take his recreation in a literary or scientific manner, but that the exclusion of all rational amusement of a lighter and less serious character would not, in an age of limited educational acquirements, suit the tastes of the average mechanic. For instance, this intolerance of the management was well exemplified in the April of 1858. Mr. Douglas, of the Theatre Royal, had offered them the sum of £5 10s., the proceeds of a benefit performance, which they coldly but formally refused to accept - this was unmitigated prejudice. But feeling some compunction for this exhibition of temper, they voluntarily taxed themselves, and a whip-round produced the sum of £10 - and this was their sense of justice. This rebuff to the kindly expressions of Mr. Douglas' good-will was all the more inexcusable because at this particular juncture, and as indeed was the case throughout the greater portion of its history, the financial resources of the Institute were extremely precarious ; and manifold, and various were the means adopted to sustain vitality in the concern. To swell the income, lectures were engaged from time to time ; in January, 1849, a profit of over £11 accrued from the efforts of Mr. George Dawson who was courteously permitted by the magistrates to use the Court House in Russell Street as a lecture-room ; again in February, 1855, the same lecturer was the means of bringing another eight guineas into the exchequer. Other entertainments for the same purpose were given at different periods, and allusion has already been made to the Tea Party and the Soiree. Other efforts of a special character were also frequently made, often in the shape of donations, and once by the use of collecting-cards. Then, on the other side of the book, it was found constantly necessary to reduce the standing expenses to a workable limit ; to this end a part of the Institute premises was in 1842 sub-let to the Wednesbury Auxillary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and in 1856 there was added to the same side of the accounts the welcome item of £1 monthly, which the Local Board paid for the privilege of holding its meetings in the Library of the Institute. Notwithstanding all these financial expedients, the failure of the Council to catch the popular support of the town prevented the Institute from attaining a flourishing position, and its distressing to have to chronicle the following facts : in March, 1843, a balance of over £20 was reported due to the treasurer ; in June, 1852, the funds were announced to be in a "low state," and the same phrase occurred in the report of March, 1865 ; in February, 1866, the sum of £25 being again deficient it was resolved to wind up the concern, and advertisments to that effect duly appeared in the Wednesbury Advertiser and Birmingham Daily Post.
However, another meeting in March rescinded this resolution, and a fresh start was made ; yet how far the Council were out of harmony with the actual requirements of a working population like that of Wednesbury is evidenced by their action at this critical period when they were at their lowest ebb ; it was at this very eventful stage of their existence, when threatened with extinction that they absolutely refused to treat with the Working Men's Club in the matter of a proposed amalgamation. The offer of this prosperous and popular rival, then installed in the very premises once coveted by the Institute - and known at different periods under the various names of "People's Hall," "Police Station," "Court House," "Old Town Hall," and "Assembly Rooms," - this offer for amalgamation was repeated in 1871, and again was it declined. The struggle for existence on these old independent lines, admirable as it was from one point of view, yet too loftily exclusive to be altogether appreciated, was manfully maintained till near the close of 1877, when all the volumes upon the shelves of the Institute were generously given to the town to form the nucleus of our collection in the Free Library. The number of these volumes had grown from 680 in 1843, to 1,594 in 1877, and Mr. C. Clarke, to whom we are indebted for most of these particulars, brought to a close a long line of eminent and worthy Librarians. Then the scene changed from one of private enterprise to one of public foundation ; on March 20th, 1878, was opened the Free Library, an institution which is a monument to the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Joseph Wilkes Marsh.
Now to consider separately the history of another Institution, THE WEDNESBURY RECREATION SOCIETY (LIMITED). Some thirty years ago the town was then even more destitute of amusements that it is at the present time ; and in the evenings almost at every season of the year, idlers of all ages were unfailingly to be found lounging about the street corners, and in the summer months might be discovered making a playground of the public thoroughfares. This appropriation of the streets, in the absence of a free and legitimate Recreation Ground, was in those times a recognised feature in the out-door life of Wednesbury. The top of Dudley Street was the well-frequented rendezvous of foot-racers, and many an impromptu handicap has been started from the spot where the Public Weighing Machine now stands. The pigeon-flyers to, resorted there, and anxiously scanned the sky from time to time for the "whommers" ("homers"), whose goal was an adjacent Inn. The tap-room of this old public-house has witnessed the making of many a match, and the settlement of many a betting transaction, of the Columbarian "fancy." Higher up the street, and on another triangular space in the Bullen, many a skilful jumping contest has taken place ; and some of the flying leaps that have been taken there at "fly-the-garter," locally known as "foot-not-shoe," by men of average weight and stature, have been really feats of marvellous daring that have made the uninitiated hold their breath to witness. In this neighbourhood also, the gable-end of any available building, provided it were of a fairly large size, was not unfrequently pressed into the service of the ball-players who indulged in a ready kind of tennis, in which the hand was used as a racket ; this game was once the delight of the Irish portion of the population. It was about this time that a second visit was paid to the town by Douglas' company of strolling players, and a disposition was shown on the part of the authorities to again resist the erection of their booth upon any of the usual vacant plots. This opposition provoked some expression of public indignation. So far as the showman himself was concerned, he solved the difficulty by purchasing from Mr. Mayes the piece of land in Earp's Lane, whereon the Theatre Royal now stands ; here he was free to erect his celebrated iron-roofed travelling thaetre. But Mr. John Goddard, who had for some time been agitating for the social advancement of the people and accompanying his demands with a defence of reasonable recreation, determined to make the matter a casus belli. His attacks upon the authorities in letters to the Wednesbury Observer, written under the nom de plume of "Pop-gun" had prepared the public mind for the coming struggle. He therefore called a town's meeting on the Back Field, behind the Green Dragon Inn, at which Mr. Samuel Danks promised to preside ; but this gentleman failing to put in an appearance, the proceedings were conducted by the promoter himself, and resolutions were unanimously and enthusiastically passed, condemning the action of the authorities. On this very same evening an opposition meeting was held in St. John's School, attended chiefly by the church clergy and the intolerant section of the Methodist party : the result of their deliberations was a deputation, consisting of Messers. Bourne and C. Bill, to wait upon Mr. Goddard, and to invite him and other leaders of the popular party to a meeting of deputies representing both sides, who were to discuss the position, and if possible to come to some amicable solution. And when the "religious" party selected such liberal-minded delegates as Messrs. Muntz, R. Brown, and R. Williams, it is not surprising that a compromise was easily effected. On the demand of the tribunes the clerical element was at once eliminated and declared ineligible for any office or position of control in carrying out a programme which was readily agreed upon, and which was to include both educational efforts and rational amusements, to be carried on side by side and through the agency of a limited liability company, whose first duty was to be the erection of a public building. Under one roof were to be grouped a large central Hall, and adjacent classrooms ; the former, presumably, for the amusement of the town, and the latter for its educational training.
A RECREATION SOCIETY (LIMITED)
The company was floated and registered as THE WEDNESBURY RECREATION SOCIETY (LIMITED), the last word being inserted through the requirements of the Joint Stock Company's Act (1856), just then come into force. When the name of the new venture appeared on a notice in the windows of the Mechanics' Institute, the strangeness of that word "Limited" puzzled many of the more ignorant supporters of the cause actually took offence when they had interpreted it to mean that the recreation was to be limited ! The Rev. John Winter, who was ever popular, was, however, allowed to acquire a close connection with the concern, which was enrolled by Mr. J.H. Thursfield, and 6000 shares of £1 each were put into the market. Nearly all the works and large firms of the town took up shares, but only £3000 were raised even then.Mr. Goddard lost his seat on the Board of Directors because he was not in a position to hold the requisite six shares. The failure to get the full capital subscribed, and the disaffection of the popular party owing to their lack of representation on the Directorate, blighted the whole prospects of the undertaking, which soon had to be wound up with Messrs. Blakemore and Goddard acting as liquidators. The last meeting of shareholders was held in St. John's School on Thursday, May 20th, 1858, Mr. R. Williams in the chair ; but long after, it was commonly supposed that there was a balance yet available for some purpose or other. In the previous article allusion has been made to the successful operations of ST. JOHN'S INSTITUTE, formed in connection with the Night School held in that parish from 1866 to 1870. The athletic element of that Institute survives to this day in our most successful football club, "The Old Athletic."
[Yet one more attempt is about to be made. A WEDNESBURY INSTITUTE, similar to the West Bromwich and other Birmingham Suburban Institutes, is about to spring into existence. Profiting by the experience of the past, two things will be carefully attended to. First, Amusement will be largely included in the programme of the proceedings ; while Instruction will be duly cared for. (This latter, which is perhaps the more important element, will work in conjunction with the Free Library Science and Art Classes.) Secondly, the Committee of Management will primarily be made up of managers of Works, and others who are daily brought into contact with the working men who form the great bulk of our population. THE WEDNESBURY INSTITUTE is already affiliated with the BIRMINGHAM SUBURBAN INSTITUTES UNION, and will make a start in the coming term of 1884-5.]
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