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35-531: The Institution moved into premises at Finsbury Circus in 1815 and was particularly noted for the teaching of chemistry. It closed in 1912 and the buildings were used for the University of London until their demolition in 1936. The first recorded meeting to discuss the idea of an Institution was arranged by Sam Woods on 27 March 1805, and held at Mr Bodley's house in Lombard Street A further meeting

70-508: A politician , created Baron Ashcombe in 1892. Mary, later Mrs Parker, was a botanist whose botanical specimens are held at the Royal Botanica Gardens, Kew. Thomas through his son, George , is a great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Camilla . Cubitt died in 1855 and was taken from Dorking for burial at West Norwood Cemetery on 27 December 1855. After his death, Queen Victoria said, "In his sphere of life, with

105-624: A "capacious house" in King's Arm Yard, Coleman St, at a modest annual rent of only £40. This soon proved to be inadequate to cope with the Institution's rapid growth and so plans were made to move to purpose-built accommodation at Finsbury Circus . The architect of the elegant stone structure was William Brooks and the contract to build it was awarded to Thomas Cubitt , it being his first large-scale project in London. The Institution's new building

140-600: A circuit of lime trees , were developed by William Montague to the specifications of the architect George Dance the Younger in 1815. In 1819 the London Institution moved into "ingeniously planned and elegantly detailed" premises designed by William Brooks at the north end of the circus; it closed in 1912 and the buildings were used for the University of London until their demolition in 1936. Fronting onto

175-550: A coup for the Institution and shortly afterwards the governors were able to buy the library of the Marquis of Lansdowne . However Porson turned out to be unsuited for the post because of his heavy drinking and untidy ways. As his responsibilities grew in proportion to the Institution's increasing collection of valuable books he failed to meet the challenge. Before any action needed to be taken, he died in September 1808 shortly after

210-487: A fit of 'apoplexy' in the street that had led to him being anonymously committed to St Martin's Lane workhouse. William Maltby was chosen as librarian in 1809 to replace him. Maltby carried out the duties of Librarian for the next twenty-five years. During the years 1806–11 more than £36,000 was spent on books and equipment and it was reported in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1811 that the Institution had collected ..."at

245-680: A group of landowners including the Duke of Bedford . He was commissioned in 1824 by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster , to create a great swathe of building in Belgravia centred on Belgrave Square and Pimlico , in what was to become his greatest achievement in London. Notable amongst this development are the north and west sides of Eaton Square , which exemplify Cubitt's style of building and design. After Cubitt's workshops in Thames Bank were destroyed by fire, he remarked "Tell

280-510: A large expense, some of the rarest and most splendid specimens of Typography in the kingdom." In his Biographical Index of the current House of Commons , J. Wilson cites Richard Sharp as an important figure in the history of this institution and claims that it was "...chiefly owing to his influences and exertions that the London Institute for the improvement of Science and Literature has been established." Many of those who supported

315-500: A manor which had existed since the 12th century, on which the second Bethlem Royal Hospital had stood since 1675. The "circus" of the name reflects the elliptical shape of the space, similar to the circus venues of ancient Rome , in this case with a long axis lying west-east. The original houses, the last of which were demolished in 1921, were intended for merchants and gentlemen, but were soon broken up internally and leased for solicitors and other professions. The gardens, featuring

350-446: A one-storey garden pavilion constructed from natural materials. Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia , Pimlico and Bloomsbury . His great-great-great-granddaughter is Queen Camilla . The son of a Norfolk carpenter, he journeyed to India as

385-478: A private space for the use of the freeholders or lease-holders of the surrounding buildings, who objected to their compulsory purchase , fearing that their use by the public would create a nuisance which would lower the value of their property. The campaign to make them a public space was led by Alpheus Morton , deputy-Alderman for Farringdon Without and a member of the Corporations' Streets Committee, and

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420-692: A railway station; public protests averted the loss, but in 1869 the oval was tunnelled for the Metropolitan Railway . From 2010 to 2020 the central section of the gardens were taken up for the construction of the Liverpool Street Crossrail station. This included the excavation of a 16m diameter, 42m depth shaft to allow the construction of the platform tunnels beneath. The project was due to be completed in September 2018, but due to mismanagement it missed that deadline, going over budget by £896,700 as of April 2019. The work

455-663: A ship's carpenter, from which he earned sufficient funds to start his own building firm in 1810 on Gray's Inn Road , London, where he was one of the first builders to have a 'modern' system of employing all the trades under his own management. Cubitt's first major building was the London Institution in Finsbury Circus , built in 1815. After this he worked primarily on speculative housing at Camden Town , Islington , and especially at Highbury Park , Stoke Newington . His development of areas of Bloomsbury , including Gordon Square and Tavistock Square , began in 1820, for

490-541: Is Moorgate , 150 metres to the west, with Liverpool Street Station about 350 metres to the east. Finsbury Circus has been used as the finish point for the Miglia Quadrato each year. In recent years it has also played host to the start of the Miglia Quadrato since the event start was removed from Smithfield Market . During the years 1860–65 Finsbury Circus was threatened with demolition in favour of

525-631: Is a park in the Coleman Street Ward of the City of London , England . The 2 acre park is the largest public open space within the City's boundaries. It is not to be confused with Finsbury Square , just north of the City, or Finsbury Park , a few miles away. The circus was created in 1812 on the site of the former Lower Moorfields , an area which was originally part of the Manor of Finsbury ,

560-647: The building be used as a School of Oriental Studies . In 1912 the London Institution closed, the building having been transferred to H.M. Office of Works . The library of over 100,000 volumes was divided between the British Museum (now British Library ), the Guildhall Library (for works of London topographic interest) and the new school. The School of Oriental Studies, as part of the University of London , opened to students in 1917, in

595-418: The buildings of the London Institution. Following the move of the school to Bloomsbury , the buildings of the London Institution itself were demolished in 1936. The London Institution was one of four such organisations in London in the early Nineteenth century; the other three were [REDACTED] Media related to London Institution at Wikimedia Commons Finsbury Circus Finsbury Circus

630-646: The circus became known with the Corporation as "Morton's Park". Fronting the northwest quadrant of the oval, with fronts on roads entering the Circus from the west stands Edwin Lutyens 's massive Britannic House (1921–25, listed Grade II), designed for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company , which became BP ; its free-standing architectural sculptures are by Francis Derwent Wood . It was built on

665-423: The circus from the 1820s was the substantial South Place Unitarian Chapel, erected under the leadership of William Johnson Fox ; this evolved into Conway Hall Ethical Society . The circus was opened as a public park in the early 20th century, under powers granted to the City of London Corporation in the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1900 ( 63 & 64 Vict. c. ccxxviii). The gardens had previously been

700-575: The diffusion of useful knowledge". The Institution was established on 18 January 1806, in the house of Sir William Clayton (Lord Mayor of London in the time of Charles II), at 8 Old Jewry in the City of London at an annual rent of £350. It was modelled on the Royal Institution in London's West End. By 21 January 1807, a royal charter for the "London Institution for the Promotion of Literature and Useful Knowledge" had been drafted listing

735-519: The following officers, President Vice-Presidents Managers Richard Porson , poet and scholar, was unanimously chosen as the first Librarian of the London Institution at a meeting on 22 April 1806. With the position went a salary of £200 per annum, a servant and rent-free accommodation. Thomas Campbell , the Scottish poet, had come to London to be considered for the position and had been 'well received' but rejected. A man of Porson's eminence seemed

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770-456: The idea of such an educational institution for London were fellow Dissenters who were forbidden to attend Oxford or Cambridge universities because of their religious beliefs. The Institution was short of space at Old Jewry and larger premises were needed. After considering a group of seven houses at 16–22 Token House Yard, belonging to the Bank of England, the Institution eventually moved in 1812 to

805-599: The men they shall be at work within a week, and I will subscribe £600 towards buying them new tools." Cubitt was also responsible for the east front of Buckingham Palace . He also built and personally funded nearly a kilometre of the Thames Embankment . He was employed in the large development of Kemp Town in Brighton , and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight , completed in 1851. Cubitt's public works included

840-549: The practical details that would be involved in setting up a proper "London Institution". The philosophical aim of the London Institution was "to promote the diffusion of Science, Literature and the Arts", and the objects were to provide The Institution was to consist of a limited number of Proprietors and Life and Annual Subscribers. It was agreed that the motto of the Institution would be Studio fallente laborem and that its purpose would be to procure "the advancement of literature and

875-480: The provision of public parks, including being an organiser of the Battersea Park Scheme. His work outside London includes the country house Polesden Lacey , near Dorking, Surrey, which he rebuilt to largely its present form in the early 1820s. In 1827 he withdrew from the management of his Gray's Inn Road concern leaving this to his brother William Cubitt ; the firm of Cubitts still carried out

910-439: The site of the last remaining original houses, and is now home to international law firm Stephenson Harwood . Until renovation of the park in 2024, it had a Lawn Bowls club in the centre, which had existed in the gardens since 1925. A bandstand , built in 1955, was located nearby. The gardens are closed to the public from Monday 20th November 2023 until late 2024, for renovation work to take place. The nearest Tube station

945-601: The systematic study of chemistry. At the beginning of the 20th century, the location of the Institution, in Finsbury Circus was becoming increasingly inconvenient for members. In 1908, the Board of Management announced that costly repairs to the buildings were required and in 1909 the Institution came under the purview of the Royal Commission on University Education in London. The Royal Commission proposed that

980-635: The work of Thomas Cubitt and the change robbed neither partner of the credit for their work. Cubitt had two brothers, the contractor and politician William and the civil engineer Lewis who designed many houses built by Thomas. Cubitt married Mary Anne Warner (1802–1880), on 25 March 1821 in the church of St Marylebone and they had at least twelve children – Anne (1820), Mary (1821), Emily (1823), George (1828), Sophia (1830), Fanny (1832), William (1834), Lucy (1835), Caroline (1837), Arthur (1840), and twins Thomas and Charles (1842), although five children predeceased their father. George became

1015-579: Was completed in 1815 and contained a library, reading-rooms, a lecture-room capable of containing 750 people, a laboratory and other amenities. The opening was marked by a colourful procession through the streets of London conducted by the Lord Mayor. The construction of Cubitt's new building cost £31,000 and it soon housed 70,000 books by which time the Committee of Managers consisted of the following, Committee meetings were held monthly and Samuel Woods

1050-581: Was finally completed in 2020. In July 2020, the City of London Corporation announced the park would reopen to the public in August 2020, after a call in June for design proposals to transform the gardens into a sustainable multipurpose space. The winner of the design competition was announced in October 2020 as Architecture00 + Studio Weave, with Realm (previously called ReardonSmith Landscape), whose plan includes

1085-616: Was held the following month at the George & Vulture Tavern in George Yard, Lombard Street, when Sir Francis Baring took the chair and at this meeting it was agreed to send an introductory letter signed by William Haseldine Pepys to a number of potential patrons, mostly London bankers and merchants. A more formal meeting took place at 12 noon on 23 May 1805, at the London Tavern , again chaired by Sir Francis Baring, to discuss

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1120-412: Was librarian. Edward William Brayley was another long-serving librarian. As it developed, Chemistry became one of the main activities of the Institution in terms of the volume and variety of its presentations and the high standing of its lecturers. These included Michael Faraday , John Playfair , Norman Lockyer , and Sir William Ramsay , and many other visiting lecturers. The Institution's laboratory

1155-508: Was limited in size and facilities, but catered for instruction in practical chemistry. Between 1863 and 1884 it gained the reputation as a significant centre of chemical research under the professorships of James Alfred Wanklyn and Henry Edward Armstrong who published frequently in chemical periodicals as 'From the Laboratory of the London Institution'. This role of the Institution declined as universities became increasingly concerned with

1190-474: Was set at 25 guineas. A number of strict rules were laid down: members had to apply to the Librarian or an attendant to obtain a book; no books were to be removed from the premises; and ladies could only be admitted as "subscribers to the lectures". The Gentleman's Magazine reported The library came to hold over 70,000 volumes and was particularly rich in topographical works, collected while William Upcott

1225-433: Was the Institution's secretary. The popular interest being taken in all forms of scientific advance, together with the quickening pace of the industrial revolution, ensured there was a strong demand for the Institution's resources and there was no shortage of subscribers. Several hundred people paid 75 guineas for the honour of becoming a "proprietor" – the total number being limited to 1000. The cost of ordinary life membership

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