Royal Victoria Gallery for the Encouragement of Practical Science
Encyclopedia
The Royal Victoria Gallery for the Encouragement of Practical Science was an adult education
institution and exhibition gallery in Victorian
Manchester
, a commercial enterprise intended to educate the general public about science
and its industrial applications.
, the leader of the troops at the Peterloo Massacre
in 1819, who revelealed that the project was to be based on Jacob Perkins
' Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science in London
and was to:
William Fairbairn
, Eaton Hodgkinson
and John Davies
were all at the meeting and gave their enthusiastic support. A prospectus
was published in the Manchester Guardian seeking to raise capital
through a joint-stock company, representing the Gallery as a sound financial investment. A committee was established to create the new Gallery and included, Hodgkinson, Fairbairn, Davies and Richard Roberts
, the last three, all founders of the Mechanics' Institute.
Annual subscriptions were to be offered at one guinea
with two guinea family subscriptions. The admission fee was to be one shilling
, beyond the means of most of the Victorian working class
and a rival committee held a meeting on 4 April proposing a not-for-profit alternative but without realising any of their ambitions. In due course, William Sturgeon
was retained as superintendent of the Gallery and Queen Victoria was prevailed upon to offer her patron
age.
The Gallery planned lectures and demonstrations and the collection of a library was started.
In February 1841, Sturgeon promoted James Prescott Joule
's first public lecture at the Gallery and the directors were sanguine about the Gallery's prospects. However, ultimately, there proved to be insufficient local people willing to pay the admission fee and the Gallery closed in 1842. Joule observed:
. Sturgeon attempted to revive the concept in the Manchester Institute of Natural and Experimental Science but it failed a shortly after it opened.
The Gallery had been one of several similar institutions established in the 1830s and 1840s, all of which quickly closed. It has been suggested that their promoters, such as Sturgeon, had overrated the public's appetite for science and its willingness to pay. Further, "electricians" such as Sturgeon had alienated themselves from the increasingly professionalised scientific establishment represented by the Royal Society
and the Royal Institution
, denying themselves the experience and expertise in managing scientific enterprises.
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
institution and exhibition gallery in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, a commercial enterprise intended to educate the general public about science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and its industrial applications.
Origins
During the 1830s, the Manchester Mechanics' Institute was failing to attract students to its science lectures. On 21 March 1839, a meeting was held at the York Hotel to discuss the possibility of establishing an institution aimed solely at science education. The meeting was chaired by Hugh Hornby BirleyHugh Hornby Birley
Hugh Hornby Birley was a leading Manchester Tory who is reputed to have led the fatal charge of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry at the Peterloo Massacre. He was also instrumental in founding the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science in 1839...
, the leader of the troops at the Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
in 1819, who revelealed that the project was to be based on Jacob Perkins
Jacob Perkins
Jacob Perkins was an Anglo-American inventor, mechanical engineer and physicist. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Perkins was apprenticed to a goldsmith...
' Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and was to:
- Provide a collection of scientific apparatusScientific instrumentA scientific instrument can be any type of equipment, machine, apparatus or device as is specifically designed, constructed and often, through trial and error, ingeniously refined to apply utmost efficiency in the utilization of well proven physical principle, relationship or technology to...
"combining philosophical instruction and general entertainment"; - Present demonstrations of elementary physical principles;
- Exhibit progress in the application of science to industry;
- Establish awardAwardAn award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
s to foster learning and invention; and - Appeal to young people.
William Fairbairn
William Fairbairn
Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder.-Early career:...
, Eaton Hodgkinson
Eaton Hodgkinson
Eaton A. Hodgkinson was an English engineer, a pioneer of the application of mathematics to problems of structural design.-Early life:...
and John Davies
John Davies (lecturer)
John Davies or Davis was an English scientist in Victorian Manchester. He was a lecturer and private tutor who played an important role in the administration of some of the city's learned societies.-Career:...
were all at the meeting and gave their enthusiastic support. A prospectus
Prospectus (finance)
In finance, a prospectus is a document that describes a financial security for potential buyers. A prospectus commonly provides investors with material information about mutual funds, stocks, bonds and other investments, such as a description of the company's business, financial statements,...
was published in the Manchester Guardian seeking to raise capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
through a joint-stock company, representing the Gallery as a sound financial investment. A committee was established to create the new Gallery and included, Hodgkinson, Fairbairn, Davies and Richard Roberts
Richard Roberts (engineer)
Richard Roberts was a British engineer whose development of high-precision machine tools contributed to the birth of production engineering and mass production.-Early life:...
, the last three, all founders of the Mechanics' Institute.
Annual subscriptions were to be offered at one guinea
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
with two guinea family subscriptions. The admission fee was to be one shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
, beyond the means of most of the Victorian working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
and a rival committee held a meeting on 4 April proposing a not-for-profit alternative but without realising any of their ambitions. In due course, William Sturgeon
William Sturgeon
William Sturgeon was an English physicist and inventor who made the first electromagnets, and invented the first practical English electric motor.-Early Life :...
was retained as superintendent of the Gallery and Queen Victoria was prevailed upon to offer her patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
age.
The Gallery
The Gallery opened in June 1840 in the Exchange Dining Room. The exhibition comprised artistic and scientific exhibits including:- Dial weighing machines;
- Mathematical instruments designed by William Read;
- FossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s excavated during the construction of the Manchester and Leeds RailwayManchester and Leeds RailwayThe Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
; - A model of Wheatstone and Cooke's electric telegraph;
- ElectromagnetElectromagnetAn electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current. The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off...
s; - A ball and socket valveValveA valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically pipe fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category...
from Sharp, Roberts and CompanySharp, Roberts and CompanySharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, initially based in Manchester, England. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co. and moved to Glasgow, Scotland in 1888, eventually amalgamating with two other Glasgow-based locomotive manufacturers to...
; - Surface plateSurface plateA surface plate is a solid, flat plate used as the main horizontal reference plane for precision inspection, marking out , and tooling setup. The surface plate is often used as the baseline for all measurements to the workpiece, therefore one primary surface is finished extremely flat with...
s from Whitworth & Co.Joseph WhitworthSir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads...
; - A "spectacular" electrotype engravingEngravingEngraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
by Sturgeon of Richard IRichard I of EnglandRichard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
leaving Cyprus.
The Gallery planned lectures and demonstrations and the collection of a library was started.
In February 1841, Sturgeon promoted James Prescott Joule
James Prescott Joule
James Prescott Joule FRS was an English physicist and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work . This led to the theory of conservation of energy, which led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The...
's first public lecture at the Gallery and the directors were sanguine about the Gallery's prospects. However, ultimately, there proved to be insufficient local people willing to pay the admission fee and the Gallery closed in 1842. Joule observed:
Aftermath
The Gallery's collections were transferred, some sold, some donated, to the Royal Manchester InstitutionRoyal Manchester Institution
The Royal Manchester Institution was an English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a city lacking in culture and taste.The Institution was housed in a...
. Sturgeon attempted to revive the concept in the Manchester Institute of Natural and Experimental Science but it failed a shortly after it opened.
The Gallery had been one of several similar institutions established in the 1830s and 1840s, all of which quickly closed. It has been suggested that their promoters, such as Sturgeon, had overrated the public's appetite for science and its willingness to pay. Further, "electricians" such as Sturgeon had alienated themselves from the increasingly professionalised scientific establishment represented by the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and the Royal Institution
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London.-Overview:...
, denying themselves the experience and expertise in managing scientific enterprises.