If you are walking along Hope Street or up Mount Pleasant
you can not help but notice the fine building that occupies that site next to
the new Everyman Theatre, the Liverpool Medical Institution stands on the
corner of Mount Pleasant and Hope Street.
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| Liverpool Medical Institution |
The building opened in 1837 and is designated by English
Heritage as a Grade II listed building. The Institution’s origins go back to
1779, when it was formed originally as the Liverpool Medical Library by a group
of local doctors. The library was associated with the Liverpool Medical Society
which was formed in 1833. The two later merged and thus formed the Liverpool
Medical Institution. This provided the medical profession with a collection of
books and journals. The orthopaedic surgeon, Henry Parle had personally assembled
a large collection of medical reference material which was housed in the
institution. The institutions founder was Dr John Rutter (1762-1838). Dr Rutter
envisioned a centre that would provide not only a meeting place but also
somewhere that members of the medical profession could develop
their skills. Doctors using the institution could enhance their skills, take
examinations and learn new codes of conduct established by professional bodies.
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| Bowling Green House - 1843 |
The site was formerly the location of an inn and a bowling green,
which was the birthplace of the businessman and amateur scientist William
Roscoe. The Liverpool Medical Institution, commissioned Clark Rampling to
design the building at a cost £4,000
(£320,000 as of 2014), and it was opened in 1837. In 1907 the Council Room was
remodelled by Edmund Rathbone. The society was incorporated under a Royal
Charter in 1964. An extension was added to the building in 1966. In 1998 a
major refurbishment of the building took place.
The interior of the building has a hall with a curved double
staircase, there is a galleried library housing the institution collection and a
lecture theatre. The building also houses a museum room and committee rooms.
The building also houses a memorial plaque to Doctor Duncan who was the
president of the Liverpool Medical Society from 1836 until 1838 and also the secretary
of the institution in 1814.
The building is constructed in stone, and presents a curved
façade to Mount Pleasant and Hope Street. Its architectural style is Greek
Revival. It has 16 bays. The lateral three bays on each side are recessed and
is two storey, the rest of the building is single-storey. The central seven
bays form a recessed entrance behind six unfluted Ionic columns. Elsewhere the
bays are divided by pilasters. The windows are sash windows. Along the top of
the building is a cornice. Inside is a central hall, a lecture theatre, a
library, a museum, and meeting rooms, all lit from above by glazed domes.
The Institution "exists to foster an environment for
furthering medical and health education and knowledge". The present
library houses a stock of monographs and journals covering the whole range of
medical specialities. It organises lectures and social events, and hosts
meetings of the Liverpool Medical History Society, which was founded in 1984.
It is a registered charity, and forms part of the University of Liverpool.
Sources
Liverpool Central Library
Liverpool Records Office
The University Of Liverpool
The Liverpool Medical Institution
Rober F Edwards
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