Mechanics Worldwide 2009 conference diary

Friday 25th September 2009

The Mayor of Bath, Cllr Colin Barrett, addresses conference delegates in the Mayor's Parlour..

Day two began at the Guildhall, Bath's centre of local government, where delegates were received in the Mayor's Parlour by the Mayor of Bath, Cllr Colin Barrett. Surrounded by civic memorabilia (including a couple of gold maces worth a cool £1 million or so), the Mayor and his clerk gave a history of the Mayoralty from the days of Richard 'Beau' Nash to the controversy over what title to give the first woman to achieve the office ('Lady Mayor' was the eventual compromise).

Fittingly for the conference's 'Self Help' theme, Cllr Barrett described how he had risen from the ranks of local government tea boy after his family moved to Bath from London in 1942. He also cautioned us not to confuse the Mayor with the Chair (of Bath and North-East Somerset Council). This completed the circle as the previous evening at the Roman Baths the Chair, Cllr Bryan Chalker, had cautioned us not to confuse him with the Mayor. Both wear impressive chains of office, although as the Mayor's Clerk pointed out, her boss's is older and worth a lot more.

After a visit to the Council Chamber, there was a talk on The Cultural Heritage of Bath by Stephen Bird, the Council's Director of Heritage Services. Mr Bird described how Bath rose to become the eighth largest city in England by the end of the 18th century, with visitors engaging in a wide, and sometimes questionable, variety of pursuits at the great King's Bath in the city centre, and everyone blissfully unaware that the ruins of the original Roman Baths lay buried underneath them (they weren't discovered until hot water flooded someone's basement in 1880). Even seasoned BRLSI members agreed that this was one of the best talks on Bath they'd heard, delivered with wit and scholarship and aided by some stunning aerial photography.

The Chair (not Mayor) of B&NES Council, Cllr Bryan Chalker, with Lady Gass, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, and Dr Peter Ford, conference co-organiser.

Next it was back across town to the Bath and County Club, near the BRLSI, for the Conference Lunch. The Principal Guest was Lady Gass who, as Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, is the Queen's official representative in the county. After the Loyal Toast Lady Gass gave an insight into the achievements of her county, which range from (perhaps surprisingly) the world's first powered flying machine to Brigwater's honourable role as an early centre of support for the abolition of slavery. To test delegates' powers of observation the Chair of B&NES, Cllr Bryan Chalker, was also present complete with chain of office (and a rather striking tie - see picture), although everyone had been thoroughly briefed by now and no-one mistook him for the Mayor.

Bronwyn Lowden

Roger K Morris

Janet Cunliffe-Jones

Then it was back to the BRLSI and the conference proper. The first speaker of the afternoon was Bronwyn Lowden (daughter of Jim) who spoke on Mechanics Institutes in Australia. Over 3,000 of these organisations existed at the movement's peak (under a variety of titles), and Bronwyn gave us a guided tour, illustrated by photographs of a wide selection. The contrast with the pristine (and often semi-palatial) Athanaeums of the USA, seen in Richard Wendorf's talk on Thursday, was striking; these were working buildings where function took priority, often used for everything from ballet lessons to marriages and funerals, with a core mission of 'the diffusion of useful knowledge', with the emphasis on the 'useful'.

Bronwyn Lowden's talk was complemented by the next presentation, The Second Wave and Self-Help: The Schools of Arts of the Suburbs and the Rural Towns of New South Wales, by Roger K Morris, President of the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts. 'Schools of Arts' are what Mechanics Institutes are called in New South Wales, and they serve the same purpose. He rejected the view that these establishments were 'Glorious Failures', pointing out that, with often less high-minded, and more practical, objectives than Institutes in other countries, they served as the first civic centres (often pre-dating civic government), only declining when purpose-built alternatives, from libraries to churches and billiard halls, were developed. As such they were (and are) a 'distinct Australian variant' of the movement.

After tea it was the turn of Janet Cunliffe-Jones, the BRLSI's Poetry Convenor, who spoke on The Perilous Act of Lecturing Clara Lucas Balfour, 1808 - 1878, prolific travelling lecturer. Clara Balfour was Janet's Great-Great Grandmother, and it was clearly with some familial pride that Janet spoke of the illegitimate girl, born in 1808 and married before she was 16, who schooled herself and rose to become one of Britain's most sought-after public lecturers at a time when it was still rare (and even dangerous) for women to speak in public. On her side were the Temperance Movement, a modest manner and a speaking voice which could reach audiences of 400 and more without amplification or shrillness, as well as geat tenacity and a husband who could deal with hecklers at open-air Temperance meetings in London.

Dr Ann Brooks

Next Dr Ann Brookes (left), formerly of the Portico Library in Manchester,spoke on Science, Liberality and good taste : The nineteenth century movement for Subscription Botanic Gardens. The Subscription Botanical Gardens of the Britain's 19th Century industrial cities were exclusive places (share costs of £25 or more were beyond all but the genuinely wealthy) where Botany as an 'acceptable' science (especially for women) could be studied and practised, all behind walls to keep the lower classes from entering (or even seeing). However on open days the middle classes were admitted and came in droves (though nothing as vulgar as fireworks were allowed), and the same groups founded more inclusive organisations such as the Portico Library and Manchester Mechanics Institute, so did earn some socially progressive credentials.

Prof Dale Gordon

The day's final speaker was Dane Gordon, Emeritus Professor at the Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology, who spoke on Contemporary Higher Education fromt he Perspective of an Institute of Technology. Every inch the British scholar despite many years working in the USA, Prof Gordon said that he disagreed with C P Snow's idea of the 'separate cultures' of the arts and sciences, a view he'd put into practice as a Philosophy professor at an Intsitute of Technology. Although great progress had been made in getting women into technology, there was still a serious problem for minorities, with less than six percent of American engineering students coming from minority groups. That, and the new requirement to make the scientists and technologists of the future constantly aware of the envionmental and social impact of their work, were the major challenges facing Institutes of Technology today.

After another long, but very rewarding, day delegates had a chance to unwind at a reception sponsored by the Association of Independent Libraries, this time with no walking across town required as it was in the next-door Duncan Room at the BRLSI. After that the conference organisers had some cinematic entertainment with a Bath theme laid on - although for many a good night's sleep may well have taken priority.

Conference delegates enjoy a glass of wine at the evening reception