Opening of the
Harris Free Library and Museum.
Interesting Ceremonial.

The Harris Free Library & Museum in Preston on a 1903 Postcard

Saturday October 28th 1893 | Preston Chronicle

The following article is a contemporary newspaper account of the opening of the Harris Library in Preston, recording the speeches, ceremonies, and civic context surrounding one of the town’s most significant late‑nineteenth‑century benefactions. It documents not only the formal inauguration of the building, but also the wider legacy of Edmund Robert Harris and his trustees, whose endowments shaped Preston’s educational, cultural, and charitable institutions for generations.

This text has been transcribed directly from the original printed source. The wording has been preserved verbatim, with only obvious mechanical OCR errors corrected. No attempt has been made to modernise language, alter emphasis, or abridge the content. The editorial material is confined strictly to this introduction; everything that follows reflects the voice and priorities of the period in which it was written.

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OPENING OF THE HARRIS FREE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.

INTERESTING CEREMONIAL.

After many years of patient waiting the people of Preston have at last been placed in actual possession, and they will shortly be in full enjoyment, of the magnificent heritage bequeathed to them by the late Edmund Robert Harris. It is indeed a splendid gift, which has been well worth waiting for, and we feel assured that many generations of Prestonians will learn to appreciate the priceless treasure, and to honour and revere the memory of their great though unassuming townsman through whom it came.

Preston has been exceptionally favoured in the matter of public-spirited benefactors. More than a century ago Dr. Shepherd, a native of Kendal, took up his residence here and soon became an influential citizen. He twice served the office of Mayor, and on his death, which occurred November 28th, 1761, he left to the Corporation in trust for the inhabitants of Preston an extensive library which he had collected during his lifetime, together with a sum of money for maintenance and the purchase and renewal of books. This formed the nucleus of the Dr. Shepherd Reference Library, which at different places has been maintained under the charge of the Corporation ever since.

Attached to the Shepherd Library, which for nearly thirty years has been located at a building in Cross Street, is a collection of the Patent Specifications from 1617 downwards. For a lengthened period this provision seems to have satisfied public requirements, and we have reason to believe that it was very highly appreciated by successive generations. Indeed at the present moment Dr. Shepherd’s Library at Preston comprises an extremely valuable collection of reference works.

As time went on the public demand for literature increased, and the passing of the Free Libraries Act in 1850 gave a considerable impetus to the movement. Mr. James Hibbert, the architect of the magnificent new Free Library and Museum, which was opened on Thursday, of whom we shall have more to say presently, tells us in a valuable little work entitled “Notes on Free Public Libraries and Museums,” printed for private circulation some years ago, that “an interesting volume was published in 1854 entitled, ‘A Free Public Library for Preston. Aye or No?’ earnestly advocating the movement, and containing much information on the subject of free libraries. It was understood to be from the pen of a gentleman, then and since well known for his active interest in all that concerns the welfare of the borough of Preston (Mr. C. B. Jackson, of Barlon Hall).”

Partly, as we believe, in response to this appeal, two separate movements were set on foot—one in which the present Mayor took an active official interest, being confined exclusively to the working classes—with a view of raising funds for the establishment of a Free Library for Preston. From a variety of causes the scheme languished, and eventually dropped out of notice.

So matters went on for another twenty years. On September 27th, 1877, the late Alderman Gilbertson, who was always keenly interested in ministering to the progress of his native town, again introduced the subject by moving in the Council for the appointment of a committee to consider the expediency of adopting the Free Libraries Act in the borough. The outcome of this step was that the Free Public Libraries and Museums Act was adopted at a public meeting of ratepayers in 1878, and the Corporation purchased the books, &c., belonging to the Literary and Philosophical Institution, about 4,000 volumes, which constituted the foundation of the existing library.

On New Year’s Day, 1879, an excellent start was made, the Free Library being opened in the front basement of the Town Hall. The institution quickly became popular, and for many years the premises have been altogether inadequate for the purpose. In 1880 the Museum in Cross Street was established in connection with the Free Library; in 1888 the public observatory, which is perhaps not appreciated to the extent it might be, was erected and fitted up in the Deepdale enclosure, a magnificent instrument having been secured from the executors of the late Mr. R. G. Watson; and in 1884 the Art Gallery, comprising valuable pictures bequeathed to Preston by the late Mr. Rd. Newsham, was opened temporarily in the Town Hall.

These several departments have always been ably administered by the Free Public Library Committee under the successive chairmanship of the late Alderman Gilbertson and Alderman Hibbert. They were fortunate in securing an experienced, painstaking, and obliging Chief Librarian in the person of Mr. W. S. Bramwell, who was appointed in 1879, and still holds the post.

The Library was started, as we have shown, with between four and five thousand volumes. There are now over thirty thousand volumes under the charge of the Free Public Library and Museum Committee and the Dr. Shepherd’s Library Committee. Of these nearly twenty thousand are lent out for home reading, and nine thousand are valuable reference volumes, including patent records. All this has been kept going successfully, together with the Art Gallery and the Museum, out of a penny rate—an expenditure which even the most querulous of local ratepayers will hardly grudge.

One or two figures will suffice to indicate the growing estimation of the public for the Library. At the end of 1879 the number of registered borrowers was 1,000; at the close of last year it had increased to 16,520. During the first year of the Library’s existence 18,000 volumes were issued for home reading; in last year 110,000 volumes were issued, and it is estimated that there is a daily attendance of at least 500 in the reading room.

The Library in its several departments has been an eminent success from the first, and long ago it was found to have far outgrown its present quarters. It has been considerably augmented from time to time by purchases of books made by the Committee, and gifts from private friends and the institutions like the British Museum. The judicious purchases made by the Committee include the collection of local literature, which reflects credit on any library.

Soon after the establishment of the Museum the Rev. Jonathan Shortt, vicar of Hoghton, evinced a warm interest in the Museum, and he was subsequently appointed Honorary Curator, a position he has held for many years to the great advantage of the town. To his unremitting care the success of that department is very largely due, and for his valuable and unselfish efforts Preston owes him a deep debt of gratitude.

The Museum has been enriched from time to time by loan collections from local gentlemen and valuable gifts from private friends. At the present moment it is exhibiting an interesting collection which will, doubtless, be improved and certainly displayed to greater advantage in its new home.

It was on May 25th, 1877, that Mr. Charles Algernon Jackson and his colleagues received intimation of the death of Edmund Robert Harris, and of their appointment as executors and trustees of his will, the personality placed at their disposal being very considerable, the leading feature of the trust being the selection of objects of public charity and utility that would best perpetuate the memory of the testator’s father and family in the town and neighbourhood of Preston.

There is no call upon us to go into a detailed history of the Harris family at the present moment. The father held an honoured position in Preston during the first half of this century, and his sons proved eminently worthy successors. Their name will be most appropriately perpetuated by the magnificent institutions founded or largely endowed as a result of their bounty—the Orphanage, the Harris Institute, and the Free Public Library and Museum, and the Technical School to be erected in Corporation Street.

The trust was left in the hands of most capable administrators, and they have discharged it with painstaking care, with the result that Preston receives the greatest possible advantage from the handsome bequest. A somewhat unique, but not injudicious, provision in the will of Mr. E. B. Harris was that sites for the institutions to be erected at the cost of the trust fund should be provided from other sources.

To meet this requirement the Preston Corporation, in the present instance, appropriated a valuable piece of land situate between Lancaster Road and Market Place, as a site for the erection of a public library and museum to be designated “The Harris Free Public Library and Museum.” The site, one of the most elevated positions in the borough, cost about £8,000, and the splendid structure which now crowns the eminence, provided, as we have intimated, out of the Harris bequest, cost £75,000.

Lord Derby at once, in response to his Worship’s request, unlocked the main doors of the building, and entering proceeded at once to the dais on the central floor, the other guests following and taking seats which had been specially reserved for them. When all had assembled the whole space round the large central hall was filled. The Mayor presided, and conducted the proceedings, which were opened with a special prayer by the Ven. Archdeacon Hornby, followed by the Lord’s Prayer.

Mr. Josef Cantor’s Quartette Party, comprising Madame Laura Smart, Miss May Waymack, Mr. Ben Roberts, and Mr. Eaton W. Batty, with a chorus of 80 voices, assisted by the Bijou Naval Orchestra, under Mr. Cantor’s conductorship, rendered selections of vocal and instrumental music during this portion of the proceedings.

After an excellent performance of a selection from The Creation, the Mayor said he had now the pleasure to call upon the Right Hon. the Earl of Derby, and ask him to declare the building duly opened.

Lord Derby, on rising in response to the call, was warmly cheered. He said:—

In rising to discharge the duty which you, sir, have called upon me to fulfil, I cannot but feel a great regret, which is shared no doubt by many here present, that it has not fallen into other hands than mine to perform this important function. (No.) There was one who had been but recently among us, who from his earliest public life was foremost in the movement of liberal progress. Among other works that he took no slight part in was that called the Free Library movement, of which we see one of the evidences this day (applause). Had he lived he would naturally have been looked upon to share in your proceedings to-day. But as it is, you must accept one who stands in his place.

I think I shall best discharge my duty by endeavouring, without any elaborate criticism, and without any discursive remarks upon art in general, simply to do that which lies before me as briefly as I can, and I am sure I shall receive your hearty co-operation.

It is comparatively but a short time ago, in the lives of most of us, since we stood within the precincts of this now handsome building, some hundreds under the auspices of my noble relative, Lord Lathom (applause), who, with the magnificent ceremonial of the Masonic Order, proceeded to lay the foundation stone. And now we can truly say, “Achieved is the glorious work” (applause).

We have the privilege to-day of standing in a building which, I believe, will bear comparison with any adapted for the purpose in the kingdom (applause). We stand in a building which has not only been worked out with elaborate detail, care, and liberality which spared nothing that was wanting, but it has been the creation—may I almost say the pet child—of our honoured friend and townsman, Alderman Hibbert (applause).

They say that a prophet has no honour in his own country. Let us hope the same rule does not apply to architects (hear, hear). I trust that Alderman Hibbert, and those who have acted with him in connection with this work, may be spared for many years to see this great and noble building, which has grown up under their fostering care, productive of the results which its beneficent author intended (applause).

I should be trespassing on ground belonging to others were I to go back into the history of this movement. But I may claim for Lancashire, and I think for Preston, pre-eminence in this movement for establishing and maintaining free libraries, which has been characteristic of this century (hear, hear).

It is little more than forty or fifty years since the Free Library movement began to gain ground. At the outset it was felt that people should not be allowed to grow up without having the opportunity, which at that time existed only for the few, of reference to good books, of access to good designs, and all those treasures which were stored up in past times by artists and authors for the benefit of generations yet to come (applause).

Lancashire, as usual, was foremost in the movement (applause). I think Manchester may claim the honour of having been first in the field in 1852. Salford, it is true, was a few years earlier, but the library there was adjacent to the museum, and was created under an earlier Act, known as Ewart’s Act, which was passed in 1850 by the late Mr. William Ewart, and by which public bodies were given the power of maintaining and later on of acquiring the libraries which now form the pride of so many great towns.

Liverpool in 1852 erected her great library, which has now developed into the magnificent building erected by Sir William Brown. In the year 1853 Bolton adopted the Act, Blackburn in 1858, Southport in 1873, Wigan in 1878. But it would be invidious to speak of these without mentioning the fact that many other towns have followed in a similar direction, and wherever the free library movement has been adopted it has achieved great success (applause).

Preston, I venture to claim, has never been behind in the march of progress, nor is it so in this instance. Not to speak of Dr. Shepherd’s Library, which was of an earlier creation, I may just mention the fact that Preston took up the Free Library movement so long ago as 1854. Among those who took a prominent part in it at that time was our late friend, Mr. Charles Roger Jackson, who, we all regret, has been recently taken from us.

For some reason or other, possibly owing to the fact that the Dr. Shepherd’s Library afforded access to a splendid collection of books, the movement languished at that time. It was, however, revived in 1877, when a committee was appointed to consider what steps should be taken with a view to the establishment of a Free Public Library.

The Free Public Libraries Act was adopted by the Council in 1878, and a free library containing between 4,000 and 5,000 volumes was opened in the Town Hall building in 1879. The magnificent bequest of the late Edmund Robert Harris has now enabled us to make a still further movement in that direction.

Owing to the cordial co-operation of the Harris Trustees and the Corporation of Preston, acting together in a large and liberal spirit, the town is now possessed of this magnificent building which I have the honour to open to-day.

Within its walls will shortly be placed the valuable Corporation library now existing, amounting to some 25,000 volumes, to which, I have no doubt, further additions will be made; and besides that we have the beautiful collection of pictures bequeathed to the town by the late Mr. Richard Newsham (applause). So that within one centre there will be a focus of art and science of which, I feel assured, my fellow Lancastrians will make ample use (hear, hear).

My belief is that a great institution of this kind is not founded in a place like Preston without attracting to it many of those who are desirous to study and to acquire knowledge, and it is by no means impossible that in days not very far distant Preston may become, from an artistic, an architectural, and an industrial point of view, one of the great centres of learning in Lancashire (applause).

A free library has this advantage over other institutions of the kind—that it is open without restraint to those desirous to avail themselves of its treasures (hear, hear).

 

 The motion was very cordially adopted.

Lord DERBY, responding, said that between himself and the borough of Preston there had always existed the very warmest and closest feelings of affection, which he was vain enough to feel encouraged by their kindness that day to think might be reciprocal. He trusted they would never hesitate to call upon them when either Lady Derby or himself could render any service that would tend to benefit the town (applause).

Lord LATHOM, in proposing a vote of thanks to the Mayor, congratulated his Worship and the town of Preston on the accomplishment of this great work. It was now eleven years since he, in the absence of the late lamented Duke of Albany, had the distinguished honour of laying the foundation stone of the building in the presence of H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. He thanked them heartily for having invited him to witness the successful completion of the work, and he hoped it would long be a great boon and benefit to the people of Preston (applause).

Mr. W. ASHCROFT, J.P., said:—I have great pleasure in seconding the vote of thanks to the Mayor, which has been moved by the noble Earl. In doing so I wish to congratulate his Worship upon occupying to-day the position which naturally he must be most proud to fill. His old and long connection with Mr. Harris, and the part which he took, now many years ago, in forwarding the Free Library movement, must make this ceremony one to him of unusual interest. It is most fitting that this important undertaking, destined to confer so great benefits upon the town and district, should be opened during his year of office.

When this building was handed over to the Mayor on behalf of the town, along with the purchase and endowment funds, our public work as Harris Trustees was ended. In administering the trusts imposed by Mr. Harris’s will, we have had, of course, difficulties to encounter, but all have been satisfactorily overcome, and we can now look with satisfaction upon the completion of our work as trustees, and upon the possession by the town of the Orphanage, the Institute, and this foundation, which are already conferring benefits upon thousands of our townspeople, and will for ages to come keep the name of Harris fresh in the grateful memory of those who will come after us.

It is a pleasant recollection to us to look back upon the invariable goodwill with which we have acted together, and this satisfaction is tempered only by our great regret that Mr. Jackson should not have been spared to take part in the opening of this building, in the erection of which he felt no small interest. His loss is one which we, in common with everyone, have deeply felt. But behind the sense of this loss we have the pleasant memory of his cultured intellect, his invariable courtesy, his sense of fairness and anxiety to do justice, and his devotion to works likely to promote the welfare of others.

In connection with this trust I have been brought into much and close communication with him. I never heard from him an uncourteous word, or saw in him the least trace of an unworthy thought. To paraphrase a well-known expression, “To know him was a liberal education.”

But to return to the resolution before us. The Mayor has had a satisfactory year of office, marked by important events. He has discharged his duties in a manner to the credit of himself and his town. By his early efforts he helped to sow the seed which has contributed to the growth of the important harvest reaped to-day, and I am certain that this resolution of thanks to him will meet with your hearty approval (applause).

The motion was carried with great cordiality.

The MAYOR, in reply, said:—My lords, ladies, and gentlemen,—Before acknowledging the vote of thanks so kindly proposed and seconded by Lord Lathom and Mr. Ashcroft, and adopted by you, I desire to give a brief account of the origin of this building.

The late Mr. Edmund Robert Harris, of this borough, solicitor, was the eldest and surviving child of the Rev. Robert Harris, who was a native of Clitheroe, but settled in Preston when a young man. Mr. Edmund Robert Harris departed this life on the 17th May, 1877, possessed of a large fortune. By his will, after amply providing for his relatives and setting aside £11,800 for certain specified charitable purposes, including £8,000 for founding scholarships at the Preston Grammar School, of which in early life his father was headmaster, and a munificent gift to Queen Anne’s Bounty, he placed at the disposal of his trustees a very large fund, out of which they were to establish or build and endow a convalescent hospital or orphanage, or almshouses, or a literary or scientific institution, or free library, or all or any of them, or any other charitable institution or other institution of public utility which the trustees might think proper, and which might contribute to perpetuate the remembrance of his late father and his family in the town and neighbourhood of Preston.

His trustees were Mr. Charles Roger Jackson, Mr. John William Eccles, the Rev. Charles Harrison Wood, and Mr. David Irvin, all of whom accepted office. A vacancy occurring by the death of Mr. John William Eccles was filled by the appointment of our respected townsman, Mr. Ashcroft. It is, I think, admitted on all hands that the responsible trust committed to these gentlemen has been most judiciously performed.

There was set aside £100,000 for the erection and endowment of the Harris Orphanage, which now provides for 110 children. A further sum of £70,000, including £30,000 for technical education, established and endowed the Harris Institute, an institution which is providing education for no less than 3,122 students, and has been the means of converting Preston into a most important centre of education in art, literature, science, and trade subjects.

In the year 1878 the Corporation decided to establish a Free Library. I think it right to recall in this connection that some 38 years ago a committee of working men, of which I had the honour of being secretary, endeavoured to raise funds for establishing a free library. It is an act of justice to as many of those earnest men as now survive to acknowledge that, although their efforts were not then successful, there was handed over to the Corporation a handsome sum which they had subscribed and collected.

The Corporation approached the Harris Trustees, by whom they were most liberally met. There has been appropriated to the erection of this building, its maintenance, and for providing a reference library and objects of art, sums amounting, with their accretions from dividends since their appropriation, to no less than £121,483.

The entire sums set aside for charitable and educational purposes in this borough amount to £300,713, viz.:—For the erection of this building, £73,060; for forming the Reference Library and purchasing objects of art, etc., £22,947; for an endowment fund, £18,877; for the Orphanage, £100,000; for the Harris Institute and technical education, £70,000; for churches and schools, £6,335; for scholarships at the Grammar School, £3,000; total, £300,713— in addition to £14,000 for the purposes of the Diocesan Societies and the bequest to Queen Anne’s Bounty.

As Mayor of this borough, and in the name of my townsmen, I gratefully, and with every feeling of respect, acknowledge the bountiful provision made by Mr. Harris for the benefit of his native town. I have no fear that either this or succeeding generations will cease to repeat the wish expressed by him that the name of his father and family may be kept in remembrance.

It was my lot to enter the service of Mr. Harris and his brother in 1844, to remain upwards of 22 years, and to retain their friendship until they died. I venture to think that my long acquaintance with these gentlemen made me appreciate the tenderness of the reference made by Mr. Harris to his venerable father.

The Rev. Robert Harris lived his early manhood, and even his advanced middle age, at a time when the relations of society were not what they have since become. There was need for toleration and charity. Quiet and unpretentious, the reverend gentleman abstained from everything likely to give offence to those whose religious views differed from his own. He was content to preach the Gospel in simple but effective terms; to live the life he preached, and to be at peace with his neighbours. He gained the sincere respect of all classes of the community and the affections of all who were intimately acquainted with him. He died on the 6th January, 1862, “in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.” He was in his 98th year. His remains were laid in the burial ground at St. George’s Church, in which for upwards of 64 years he had faithfully ministered to succeeding generations.

His son, whose bounty we are now acknowledging, was a man of the most reserved disposition and retiring habits. It is to this that I attribute the circumstance that he did not during his lifetime establish some charitable institution and afford himself the luxury of seeing it grow and prosper under his own fostering care. And yet I am able to say that years before his death he led me, and probably others, to understand that the bulk of his fortune would be left for charitable purposes. When it became known to him that an infectious ward was needed at the Infirmary he did not hesitate to hand over £7,000 for the purpose of providing one.

An able man, conscientious and upright to a degree, he was yet incapable of taking part in any business of a public nature, and shrank from appearing ostentatious or prominent. But the true index to his mind is to be found in the generosity, thoughtfulness, and elasticity of the dispositions made by his will, which were so faithfully interpreted by his trustees. Our acknowledgments are due to them, not only for the soundness of their judgment, but for the care and anxiety which their duties involved during a period of more than sixteen years.

We cannot forget that there is a vacant place in this assembly. We look for the familiar and ever welcome face of Mr. Jackson, and find it not. On the 15th of August last he handed to me the keys of this building, and by that act, and other formal acts, he and his co-trustees put the Corporation in possession, and transferred to them the funds they are to administer, thus completing a work which had long been to him a labour of love. In the short interval between then and now he has passed away. It will be long ere his private virtues and his eminent public services, so conscientiously and continuously rendered, are forgotten or lose their influence in this county and borough.

The foundation stone of this building was laid during the celebration of the ancient Guild Festival in 1882 by Lord Lathom, whom, with the respected lady who bears his name, we are proud to see here to-day. Lord Derby’s noble brother was also present and taking part in the proceedings. The site of the building was provided by the Corporation at a cost of £10,000 as part of an extensive scheme of improvement still in progress.

It is with pride and pleasure that I refer to the fact that this noble building is the creation of a local architect. Mr. Alderman James Hibbert had already by other works in his native borough given evidence of his skill and his devotion to his profession. That a local architect should be entrusted with a work of such magnitude and importance speaks well for the confidence with which he had inspired his townsmen, and we need only look around us to see that their confidence was not misplaced.

For upwards of 22 years Mr. Hibbert has been an active member of the Borough Council, and has taken a warm and abiding interest in the Free Library, having for many years been the Chairman of the Committee. I am sure all here present will recognise the importance of the undertakings which, thanks to the bounty of Mr. Harris, have been entered upon. The Orphanage provides for fatherless children. There is provision for promoting technical education, with the object of maintaining the supremacy of this great commercial country, foremost in mechanical invention, and in the production and diffusion to the uttermost parts of the earth of the comforts and blessings of civilisation. The Harris Institute and this building are calculated to place within the reach of all classes the potentiality to cultivate a higher standard of life.

Date: Saturday,  Oct. 28, 1893

Publication: Preston Chronicle (Preston, England)

Issue: 4184

The Harris Free Library & Museum at Preston in 1893