Plymouth Mechanics’ Institute (Plymouth Branch)

This lecture – full title: “Education, enlightenment and entertainment: Plymouth Mechanics’ Institute 1825 -1899” – will be given by Owen Ryles, Chief Executive of the Plymouth Athenaeum.

Mechanics’ institutes were established in all major towns and cities across the country. Plymouth Mechanics’ Institute was part of the movement in the 1820s to spread education to the skilled and working classes.

This lecture looks into the Mechanics’ Institute’s foundation, glory days and eventual absorption into the Plymouth Athenaeum.

Owen is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the Linnean Society and Zoological Society.