1907

1907-8 saw a rise in subscriptions, and the Committee took very seriously the benevolent influence the Institute had over the boys of the neighbourhood:  ‘The boys are a very deserving class and pay for the privileges they enjoy. If they had not such Institutes, where they spend their evenings in a sensible and manly way, they might easily acquire bad habits’.

Sadly, the Trustee and Vice President Mr A.F. Warr died, so as a tribute to his memory the Reading Room in the south end of the building was renamed the ‘Warr Reading Room’, where subjects such as Physics, Botany, Zoology and Literature were studied. 

As you’d expect with a building of the Institute’s size and purpose, regular maintenance and repairs were required. This year, the pointing to the South End of the building was repaired for the princely sum of £10.00. Such maintenance could cost as much as £50,000 today!

The Orchestral Society was introduced this year, made up entirely of Institute members. This contributed to a lively programme which included minstrels, cadet drills, musical drills, Reading room club, Fife and Drum band, ambulance, boxing, and football in the cellars, and of course the ever-popular Saturday night entertainments.

Finances dropped from £81 10s. 10d to £95.00 18s. 2d, due to decreases in public subscriptions, an increase in the price of coal, and the purchasing of uniforms for the Cadets.