Former Mechanics' Hall, Albert Street

Image: © Rose and Trev Clough Taken: 4 Feb 2015

Now a private house, the building is dated 1851 - see Image . It was a meeting place for the Independent United Order of Mechanics (IUOM). This was a friendly society which provided benefits for members during hard times, it also had social and ritual aspects somewhat similar to the Freemasons. The IUOM originated in the north of England in the late 18th/early 19th century, by 1876 it had more than 17,000 members. As government insurance schemes were introduced in the U.K. membership declined, and the Order was dissolved in England in 1947. An academic paper about the IUOM can be downloaded here https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CDcQFjAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de%2Findex.php%2Fritualdynamik%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F9071%2F2913&ei=4ezcVP-lJ8rearONgNAJ&usg=AFQjCNG-Zfji87VWhTCqn8C5Hd2ENIMY5A&cad=rja . Branches of the IUOM were established in the British colonies (starting 1877) and expanded to other countries, today the Order appears to be thriving overseas and has its headquarters in New York http://www.iuomwh.org/ .

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0