Embracing a variety of objects connected with the pursuits of literature
and science, and the cultivation of the fine arts, originated with a few
public-spirited individuals, in the year 1823, and was soon honoured
with the public, and finally, with royal, patronage, The building, which
has been erected from a design by Mr. Barry, of London, and is of a
durable and richly-coloured stone, from the vicinity of Colne, forms a
splendid addition to the architectural ornaments of the town. It is in
the Grecian style. The principal elevation, (_seen in the Engraving_)
towards Mosley-street, has a noble portico of six lofty columns of the
Ionic order, supporting a rich entablature and pediment in the centre,
on each side of which are columns and pilasters connecting it with the
wings. Above the doors and windows are panels for bas-reliefs symbolical
of the design of the Institution: the attic story of the hall has been
recently, or is to be, surmounted by a finely-sculptured figure of
Minerva. The area round the building is enclosed with a handsome iron
palisade on a lofty plinth of masonry, with pedestals at the angles
of the steps leading to the portico and side entrances. The centre
comprises the Hall and the Theatre; one of the wings is appropriated as
an Academy of the Fine Arts, with exhibition rooms, and the other as a
Museum of Natural History. The Hall which is wholly lighted from the
attic story, is 40 feet square, and 60 feet high; it contains a grand
staircase of stone, consisting of central and lateral nights, with
pedestals for sculptures, leading to a gallery on three sides of the
hall, supported on Doric pillars; and to the theatre, which is of a
semicircular form. On the gallery are entrances on each side leading
through corridors flanked with columns, into the exhibition-rooms in
each wing of the building; the ceiling of the Hall is richly-paneled in
deeply-recessed compartments, and beneath the attic windows is a rich
frieze for bas-reliefs. The Theatre will hold 600 persons, has a gallery
supported on columns of bronze, and the walls are decorated with engaged
columns, and with isolated columns in the angles: the ceiling is richly
paneled, and the theatre is lighted by a lantern, which, by machinery,
may be darkened instantaneously, at the will of the lecturer. There are
three exhibition rooms in each wing, which may be thrown into one. There
are also various rooms for the use of officers and others connected with
the Institution, to which access is obtained from the hall and other
parts of the building. The whole cost of this elegant pile is stated at
about 50,000_l_. The Institution is under the direction of a President,
twelve vice-presidents, and a committee, chosen from a body of nearly
700 hereditary and life governors, of whom the former are contributors
of forty, and the latter of twenty-five guineas each.
These Views are from well-executed engravings, by Fothergill, of
Manchester, which we recommend to the notice of tourists, for memoranda
of their visit, as well as of the due rank of Manchester among the
provincial towns of the United Kingdom.
Among the other public buildings of Manchester, are the Exchange, a
handsome Grecian structure; the Hall of the Literary and Philosophical
Society, universally known by its excellent published memoirs; the
Portico, and other public libraries; theatres, hospitals, churches,
bridges, &c.
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