| Administrative History | The Whitworth Institute was built and opened in 1890, 3 years after his death, mainly through the efforts of his wife. It contained one of Britains's first heated indoor swimming pool, an assembly hall, library, various reading and committee rooms, a museum of natural history, and a landscaped park complete with recreational areas and a lodging house for visiting lecturers (subsequently the Whitworth Hotel). The Institute was used as a military hospital during the First World War and came back into public use until 1939 when it was again requisitioned by the armed forces. It was reopened in the late 1940s with the lake drained due to damage caused during the military occupation and the building in need of renovation and upgrading. A private charitable trust continued to maintain the building and park in order that it would remain open for public use. In 2002, the trust received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of nearly £1 million to restore the Victorian landscaped park. On 1 Mar 2005, the private charitable Trust was transferred to the body corporate of Darley Dale Town Council, who continue to be responsible for the Institute, its grounds and assets. A further Heritage Lottery Fund grant was awarded in 2008 and enabled the renovation and upgrade of the Institute building. |
| Custodial History | These records were deposited by members of the trust in various deposits from 1963 |
| Archivist Note | Interimlist by JP November 1992, updated by MOS c1995.
The Admin History was significantly amended at the time of the May 2019 accession. It previously read:
The Whitworth Institute was built and opened in 1890. It contained Britain's first heated indoor swimming pool, an assembly Hall, library, various reading and committee rooms, a museum of natural history, and a landscaped park complete with recreational areas and a conservatory. It remained in use until the 1930s when it was taken over by the armed forces. It was reopened in the 1950s but the lake had been drained and the building neglected. In 1997 the charitable trust running the institute received an £8 million lottery grant to restore the centre and its grounds.
This description was also found on Flickr against a photograph of the building. It is unclear if the information was taken from Flickr for the catalogue or vice versa, but it was the same word-for-word. BS, May 2019 |