Bishopsgate Institute

The Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute, located on Bishopsgate, two minutes walk from Liverpool Street station and Spitalfields market, London, England.

Bishopsgate Institute offers a range of activity: courses for adults, a regular cultural events programme, an historic library and hall and room hire.

History of Bishopsgate Institute

Since opening on New Year's Day 1895, Bishopsgate Institute has been a centre for culture and learning.

The original aims of the Institute were to provide a public library, public hall and meeting rooms for people living and working in the City of London. The Great Hall in particular was "erected for the benefit of the public to promote lectures, exhibitions and otherwise the advancement literature, science and the fine arts".

Bishopsgate Institute was built using funds from charitable endowments made to the parish of St Botolph's, Bishopsgate. These had been collected by the parish for over a period of 500 years, but a scheme agreed by the Charity Commissioners in 1891, enabled these to be drawn together into one endowment. Reverend William Rogers (1819-1896), Rector of St Botolph's and a notable educational reformer and supporter of free libraries was instrumental in setting up the Institute and ensuring that the original charitable aims were met.

The Grade II* listed building was the first of the three major buildings designed by Charles Harrison Townsend (1851-1928). The other two are the nearby Whitechapel Gallery and the Horniman Museum in South London. His work combined elements of the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau style, along with the typically Victorian.

Courses for Adults

Bishopsgate Institute offers a full programme of courses for adults.

All courses have been developed for complete newcomers, and there are advanced levels in many of these subjects. The classes run before work, during lunch times and after work.

Subjects typically include:

Performing arts: Salsa, Flamenco, Latin American Dance, Tango, Ballroom, Street Jazz, Rock and Roll/Jive, Acting and Singing

Body and exercise: Pilates, Body Toning, Yoga, Chi-gung, Alexander Technique and Meditation

Leisure: Creative Writing, Practical Photography, Wine Tasting, Art History and Appreciation, Sketching, Walking Tours, Introductions to Classical Music and Film History Self Development: Intensive Public Speaking, Stress Management, Assertiveness and Effective Communication

Languages: French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese Mandarin and Russian

Language courses are run in partnership with City University’s Centre for Language Studies. The language tutors are all native speakers and a specialist Languages Programme Manager can guide students’ choice of course.

Cultural events

Regular cultural events are also hosted at Bishopsgate Institute. These include free lunch time concerts in the historic Great Hall, a range of talks, debates, readings and poetry.

Bishopsgate Library

Bishopsgate Library is a free, independent library, open every weekday.

Bishopsgate Library holds historical collections about London and the labour movement, free thought and cooperative movements. The library also has a small general reference collection, Internet access and photocopying facilities.

Hall and room hire

Bishopsgate Institute has meeting space available for hire. The rooms can host meetings, events or training sessions, and include:

Rosebery room (up to four people)

Townsend room (up to ten people)

Boardroom (up to 20 people)

Great Hall (up to 300 people)

Supporting the local community

Bishopsgate Institute runs a programme dedicated to supporting people in the local community. It does this by focusing on two main areas of activity:

A pensioners club which provides monthly lunches, regular outings and a quarterly top-up pension to a group of 55 local residents

A grant award scheme which is open to local organisations who help people in need, hardship or distress and who have resided or worked in the parishes of St. Botolph’s Bishopsgate, Christchurch Spitalfields and St. Leonard’s Shoreditch

External links

* [http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/ Official website]