The foundation stone was laid on 4th March 1867 by the Hon. Mrs. Jesse Bootle -Wilbraham mother of Lord Skelmersdale, and less than a year later the Right Hon. Lord Skelmersdale officially opened it. The land the Institute stood on was given by Lord Derby, but the cost of the building was paid for by public subscription and the £1,520 needed was raised in a very short space of time. There was a great deal of public support for the venture as it was seen as a counter balance to the town's numerous pubs, beer houses and inns. It was a place where working men could improve their minds and spend their free time reading, discussing the news, playing billiards and attending bible or singing classes, all for just a penny a week.
Penny Readings 1860s
One of the very popular entertainments regularly held at the Working Men's Institute in the 1860s were the "Penny Readings". During the mid nineteenth century these were a form of popular public entertainment which included music, readings and other performances for which the audience were charged one penny. One such Penny Reading was held in the Institute's large hall on Monday 7th 1868 and was part of a winter series. Performances were given by, amongst others, Mr. W. Tweddell, Mr. L. Brighouse and Mr. R. Orritt. The scene at the Working Men's Institute may have been similar to the one pictured which took place in Aldershot in 1871 for the 71st Highland Regiment.
A centre for the local community
The Ormskirk Working Men's Institute quickly became an important and vibrant centre of the local community. Although many of the early pursuits reflected the high minded aspirations of the Institute's founders, it was also a venue for entertainment and celebrations. In February 1899 there was much excitement when the Ormskirk Advertiser announced there was to be a cinematographic picture show and concert on Shrove Tuesday in aid of St. Mary's Catholic School, Scarisbrick. "Living pictures" of the homecoming at Halsall and Scarisbrick of the Count and Countess Andre de Casteja in August 1898 were to be shown. The Count and Countess had been married the previous June and the elaborate celebrations at Halsall Station and Scarisbrick Hall to mark their return from honeymoon must have been filmed. The cinematograph show was pronounced a great success and "drew forth shouts of delight" from the audience. The projector was considered to be a wonderful invention which deserved its title as "one of the wonders of the age". Unfortunately the type of instrument used for the show is not mentioned; the one pictured is an Alfred Wrench Cinematograph Projector 1898 model which could also show lantern slides.
The Working Men's Institute was a centre of the Ormskirk community during its lifetime and was where countless entertainments of all kinds took place. Many dances and concerts from its later years are still remembered by people in the town today. It was a large building; the ground floor consisted of seven rooms, the largest being the reading/news room measuring 31ft 3ins by 24 ft. Another room was a smoking and coffee room and there was also a bagatelle games room. The other four were classrooms. There was a central corridor running through to the back of the building off which all the rooms opened. Next to the front door there was a broad winding staircase which led up to the first floor assembly room. This room was 75 ft x 40 and built to take up to 800 people. On the same floor was a lecture room, 33ft x 17ft and a smaller lecture room, 14 ft x 12 ft. The large assembly room was lit by two rows of five large gas pendants, with each pendant holding five gas jets. This lit up the room with brilliant light, it must have been a sight to behold.
A debate on women's suffrage, 1907
Tuesday 5th Feb. 1907, The Ormskirk Working Men's Institute held a very controversial debate about 'Woman's Suffrage' and the very conservative Conservative Party in the town hosted the debate. Visiting the town to present their arguments for women being given the vote were Miss Adela Pankhurst, (youngest daughter of Emmaline Pankhurst); Miss Mary Gawthorpe and Mrs Ada Chatterton. It was a lively but civilised debate, Sir Samuel Brighouse was chairing the meeting and he made sure that each side of the argument was heard. It was a very well attended meeting with the opposition to women being given the vote being in the majority. Sir Sam however did close the meeting predicting that within the coming 5 years the voting would be more in favour of women having the vote he was certain.
Rock and Roll
Rory Storm and the Hurricanes appeared at the Institute in 1960, the line up included Rory Storm, Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr), Johnny Guitar, Vince Earl and others over the years, on the same bill were Ian & the Zodiacs, led by Ian Edwards, the other support group were The Jokers, this group included local lad Derek Crumbleholme, his day job was at Hattersley's. Thanks to Keith Hubbard for the info on these sixties groups, Keith tells us that another sixties group, Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes also played the Institute including Ted Taylor; Bobby Thompson and John Frankland.
The end for Ormskirk Working Men's Institute
The local authority decided not to renovate the Working Men's Institute and instead decided to knock it down.
Plans for a civic centre morphed into buying and renovating the old Drill Hall and opening it as the Civic Hall. The Moorside offices, developed from the old home of builder James Whittle was also demolished. Plans for the Moor Street site were constantly delayed, it was derelict for many years, free car parking though, amongst the demolished walls and broken flags. Parking space for the Westbrook lorries and the Ribble Buses too. We'll get to Jonah later.
What became of the space left behind after the demolition of the Institute?
One of the more quirky uses for the space left by the demolished Working Men's Institute on Moor Street was to play host to Jonah the Whale for two days in May 1971. The 58 ton scientifically preserved "Finbeck" whale arrived in Ormskirk from Chester in the early hours of the Monday 24th May. The articulated vehicle which transported the exhibition was the largest in Europe and required a police escort. Jonah remained in the Moor Street car park for two days to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. His progress around the country was followed avidly by "Blue Peter" and many children were inspired to pay the 8p admission charge to see the famous whale and listen to the accompanying commentary and message from Peter Scott, the wildlife expert. Finbeck whales were, and still are, a protected species, however, Jonah had been caught off the Norwegian coast six years previously for scientific purposes in order to prove such a large creature could be preserved for prolonged periods. The experiment was successful and the exhibition toured throughout the world to raise funds. After his brief stay in Ormskirk, Jonah's next stop was Bootle.
A New Bus Station for Ormskirk
Friday 4th December 1981 Kenneth Clarke (in 1981 he was Parliamentary Secretary of State for Transport) was invited to officially open Ormskirk's new bus interchange, along with local MP Robert Kilroy-silk, on the footprint of number 47 Moor Street and the Working Men's Institute and the Moorside Council Chambers.
In the spring of 2022 work began on the redevelopment of Ormskirk Bus Station and car park forty years after it had originally opened in its new position in December 1981. For a short time during the works it was possible to see the footings of the Working Men's Institute, which provided a good understanding of the footprint of the building. An old photograph of the Institute and Beaconsfield statue attached to the barrier to the works helped to orientate those interested in the heritage of the site. Thank you to all those who have previously posted their own photographs of this interesting point in time as comments on the Ormskirk Heritage Hub page.
