The Mechanics Institute Manchester

About the venue

The Mechanics Centre is located in Manchester city centre (near to the corner of Portland Street and Princess Street).

Close by is Chorlton Street Bus Station and Piccadilly Gardens/Bus Station. It is a five minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road Railway Stations. There are numerous Car Parks located near by. There is a Metro Link Tram stop at St Peter’s Square and on Mosley Street. There is a variety of Rooms available for hire. They are suitable for Meetings, Conferences, Seminars and Social events. Rooms can be organised to seat from 6 persons to 180 persons. The venue can provide tea, coffee, biscuits and other refreshments as well as a variety of excellent buffets. There is a fully licensed bar in the newly refurbished UIA Insurance Lounge . There is good disabled access with a wheelchair ramp at the entrance and a lift to all floors. The Mechanics Institute is a grade II listed building it is best known as the birthplace of the TUC which was founded in the building in 1868. It is also the birthplace of the Co-operative Insurance Society and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology) The small Manchester Mechanics' Institute was established in 1824 entirely through private initiative and funds to teach artisans the basic principles of science by part-time study. Several Manchester men met in the Bridgewater Arms in High Street to establish the Mechanics' Institute in Manchester, where artisans could be taught by part-time study the basic principles of science - the science being mechanics and chemistry. Of the hundreds of such institutions founded around that time it alone has survived to date as an autonomous body.