Said to be one of the first public lending libraries in England, the Newport Technical Institute and Seely Library was opened by Lord Alverstone in Upper St James’ Street, Newport on 30th January 1904 – 120 years ago today.
The Technical Institute provided evening education for adults. Horticulture was practised in the gardens, which is now the site of a playground in Church Litten.
It has been used by a variety of educational institutions over the years. In 1907, it became the base for Newport County Secondary Grammar School, where it remained until 1958 before moving to a new purpose-built campus at Carisbrooke. There, it became known as Carisbrooke Grammar School and later Carisbrooke High School – now Carisbrooke College.
After 1958, the building housed various educational establishments, including Priory Girls and Nodehill Middle School. Today it is now the site of the Island Sixth Form College.
The library was funded by Sir Charles Seely, who donated a cheque of £5,000 (around £500,000 in today’s values). The total cost of construction came to around £10,000. The Seely Library contained over 12,000 books.
Sir Charles was also to donate a further £100 a year for the upkeep of the building, as well as donating his book collection, valued at £1,000. He also announced his intention to establish village libraries throughout the length and breadth of the Island.
Alderman Eldridge – who seconded a motion of thanks to Sir Charles at the opening of the Seely Library – said:
“Now, they were to have this library, his advice was: make use of it. “It was not for this town only, but it was for the whole of the Isle of Wight. “His last word of advice to the people of the Wight was: ‘Read’.”
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Lord Alverstone told those present at the opening:
“Where should they be without books, the histories of great men, for instance? “What is more interesting than reading of the struggles, failures, successes and final triumph of the great men who had preceded them? “The history of nations was most engrossing and, after being hard-worked, what was more refreshing than to revel in the regions of romance; how delightful to look back and read some of the masterpieces of the old time novelists.”
On a more practical note, Lord Alverstone stated:
“If Great Britain was to keep pace with continental nations, we must spend more – a great deal more – on education than we had hitherto. “With regard to the library, it would provide something that would not pass away; it would be a constant and everlasting font of information that never could be dried up, and which would be at their disposal for all time.”
The Seely Library moved out of the building in 1981 when the new Lord Louis Library building was built on nearby Orchard Street.
In my school days, there was a groove worn into the pavements all the way between my home and the Seely Library. My favourite book that I borrowed and reborrowed was Andre Maurois’s The Fattipuffs and Thinnifers, even crazier than Gullier’s Travels, but in the same tradition.
There was also a Seely Library in Lind Street, Ryde, at the corner behind what was the Natwest Bank in recent years.
Caption should have said
Read all about it!
Given its name I guess the fiction section will be full and the factual section yet to be populated.
Those were the days! Allegedly … when there were plenty of “great men”, but, astonishingly, no ‘great women’!