Ipswich Institute society in Tavern Street turns 200

Ipswich Institute, which is based in Tavern Street, was founded on November 23 1824 following a public meeting in the council chamber.

A committee was elected at the meeting and 107 people joined what was initially known as The Ipswich Mechanics' Institution.

It was dedicated to making knowledge available to 'artisans' in Ipswich as well as encouraging the development of their general and vocational education.

Ipswich Institute library. (Image: Ipswich Institute) It moved to its current site at 15 Tavern Street in 1834 after buying it for £1,000, establishing a library and reading room.

Jo Rooks, general manager of The Ipswich Institute, emphasised that during its early years the organisation was focused on providing cultural enlightenment to adults in era before compulsory education had been introduced.

She said: "The idea was to provide educational opportunities to adults who perhaps wouldn't have had much schooling. Less vocational but more around the idea of science and literature.

"It wasn't teaching people skills, it was the opportunity to learn about science or a penny reading of Dickens, where you could pay a penny to listen to an evening of Dickens."

Mr JT Rainer Chairman of Ipswich Institute in 1926. (Image: Ipswich Institute) Today the institute has more than 2,000 members, extensive library lending facilities an extensive programme of leisure learning courses, talks and trips.

In 2001 it also bought a listed building in Tower Street known as Admiral's House.

The house was once occupied by Admiral Benjamin Page and visited by the Duke of Wellington and now is home to an art centre, study rooms, a licensed restaurant, and a coffee lounge.

So far throughout 2024 the institute has been holding a series of free events to mark its bicentenary.

This will culminate in an event held on November 15 in partnership with The University of Suffolk at The Hold in Fore Street.

Mrs DE Moss Ipswich Institute librarian 1974-1990. (Image: Ipswich Institute) The talk on the history of the institute from 1.30pm to 3.30pm features John Field, an expert on the late Daily and Sunday Express cartoonist Carl Giles, Dr Harvey Osbourne and award winning internationally published novelist, journalist and writer Dr Amanda Hodgkinson.

Over the summer the institute held a series of talks to mark the milestone on a variety of different topics including Beethoven, poetry, the foundation of Ipswich Town Football Club, the history of food, and philosophy.

The institute also organised a number of organised walks run by Ipswich Tourist Guide Association around the town focusing on different themes such as street art, education, the working class in Victorian Ipswich, as well as trade and industry.

Fundraising events were also held to mark the anniversary including a sold-out fashion show in May and a quiz in July both held in the institute's Tavern Street library. 

A model posing during the Ipswich Institute fashion show. (Image: Ipswich Institute)

In August, Newmarket based cook and food historian Monica Askay ran a cookery demonstration with tastings offering those who took part a 'taste of 1824' with dishes with connections to Ipswich and Suffolk.

Ms Rooks added that the activities held over the summer had been a great success.

She said: " We had almost 500 people come to listen to free talks and go on free walks. We wanted to open ourselves up to those who might not know we exist, we're a well-kept secret. 

"We had a mini exhibition about the history of the institute, and we also had an open day in September. It was really lovely to see people coming in."