Liverpool Medical Institution

The Liverpool Medical Institution is a historic medical organisation based in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Its building on the corner of Mount Pleasant and Hope Street was opened in 1837, but the site has been used as a medical library since 1779.[1]

Liverpool Medical Institution
Liverpool Medical Institution
LocationMount Pleasant and Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Coordinates53.4033°N 2.9692°W / 53.4033; -2.9692
OS grid referenceSJ 357 900
Built1837
Built forLiverpool Medical Institution
ArchitectClark Rampling
Architectural style(s)Greek Revival
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated28 June 1952
Reference no.1208429
Location in Liverpool

History

The building is on the site of a former inn and a bowling green, which was the birthplace of the businessman and amateur scientist William Roscoe. In 1779 a group of local doctors created the Liverpool Medical Library.[2][3] In 1833 the Liverpool Medical Society was formed. The two societies merged as the Liverpool Medical Institution, and commissioned Clark Rampling to design a building to house it. The building cost £4,000 (equivalent to £380,000 in 2016),[4] and was opened in 1837.[3] In 1907 the Council Room was remodelled by Edmund Rathbone.[5] The society was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1964.[6] An extension was added to the building in 1966.[5] In 1998 a major refurbishment of the building took place.[2]

The Liverpool Medical Institution is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[7]

Architecture

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 have two storeys; the rest of the building is single-storied. 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.[7] Inside is a central hall, a lecture theatre, a library, a museum, and meeting rooms, all lit from above by glazed domes.[3]

Present day

The Institution "exists to foster an environment for furthering medical and health education and knowledge".[8] It organises lectures and social events,[9] runs a library,[10] and hosts meetings of the Liverpool Medical History Society, which was founded in 1984.[11] It is a registered charity,[6][12] and hosts the Mersey branches of the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of General Practitioners of Great Britain.[13][14] The Institution also contains an historic library, available to members and researchers, which includes an archive of rare medical books and manuscripts from the 16th century.[15]

A portrait of Dr Richard Caton hangs in the Institution, who founded the forerunner to the Liverpool Medical Students Society, known as The Liverpool Royal Infirmary School of Medicine Debating Society (M.S.D.S.) in 1874.

Liverpool Medical Institution: Architecture, Notable Individuals and Interior
  • Modern Extension of Liverpool Medical Institution, shown from Mount Pleasant, Liverpool
  • William Roscoe (1753-1831) born at the Bowling Green public house on the site now occupied by the Liverpool Medical Institution
  • Henry Cohen, 1st Baron Cohen of Birkenhead, president of the Liverpool Medical Institution for the year 1954.
  • Frances Ivens, first female vice-president of the Liverpool Medical Institution, 1926.
  • The Institution's library
  • The Council Room
  • The Lecture Theatre
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See also

References
  1. Bickerton, T.H. (1936). A Medical History of Liverpool from the Earliest Days to the Year 1920. London: J. Murray.
  2. Welcome, Liverpool Medical Institution, retrieved 7 August 2011
  3. Pye, Ken (2011), Discover Liverpool, Liverpool: Trinity Mirror Media, p. 32, ISBN 978-1-906802-90-5
  4. United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018), "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 2 February 2020
  5. Pollard, Richard; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 378, ISBN 0-300-10910-5
  6. Liverpool Medical Institution, Charity Commission, retrieved 7 August 2011
  7. Historic England, "Liverpool Medical Institution (1208429)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 22 June 2012
  8. Membership, Liverpool Medical Institution, retrieved 7 August 2011
  9. Diary of lectures & social events, Liverpool Medical Institution, retrieved 7 August 2011
  10. The Library, Liverpool Medical Institution, retrieved 7 August 2011
  11. Liverpool Medical History Society, Liverpool Medical Institution, retrieved 7 August 2011
  12. Disclaimer & site information, Liverpool Medical Institution, retrieved 7 August 2011
  13. "RCGP | Mersey Faculty", www.rcgp.org.uk, retrieved 8 February 2017
  14. "Mersey", RCP London, 10 October 2015, retrieved 8 February 2017
  15. "Library and Archives, Liverpool Medical Institution", www.lmi.org.uk, retrieved 11 November 2016
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