Mechanics' Institutes are educational establishments, originally formed to provide
adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men. As such, they were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees (such
philanthropy was shown by, among others,
Robert Stephenson,
James Nasmyth,
John Davis Barnett and
Joseph Whitworth). The Mechanics' Institutes were used as 'libraries' for the adult working class, and provided them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.