“Loafers’ lounges”
Introduction
Victorian Bournemouth (254) explores how the town succeeded in founding its public library despite facing significant resistance. The study examines the motivations behind the opposition, outlines the sequence of events, reviews borrowing trends, and highlights the main figures involved. Creating the library brought together individuals from different social backgrounds and political beliefs, uniting them in a progressive initiative that diminished the impact of those differences.
Victorian Bournemouth (254): background
Public Library Act
During the Victorian period, a reformist movement enabled the passing of the Public Library Act. Its sponsors shared concerns that working people might spend their leisure time consuming excessive alcohol. The Act allowed towns to levy a maximum of 1d in the pound on local rates to fund the provision of public libraries. This money would fund the buildings, while the supply of books needed public donations. The movement encountered opposition. People pointed out increased taxation, danger to private libraries, the encouragement of work avoidance, and social risks in educating working people. Nevertheless, publishers had taken advantage of rising literacy levels to increase book supplies. The number of novels grew sevenfold during the Victorian period. By this Act, the government created the opportunity for towns to establish public libraries but left the initiative to the communities. Supporters still had to obtain public agreement and raise private funds for books.
Bournemouth
Less than five years after its commercial foundation, Bournemouth acquired a library and reading room. In 1840, John Sydenham, an entrepreneur from Poole, established a subscription library and reading room beside the sea. Increasing numbers of well-to-do visitors provided the basis for his business. Immigration and commercial success added respectable and working people to Bournemouth’s social structure. Accompanying this increase came a growing interest in academic and artistic subjects as well as a tenacious Temperance movement. A public library would cater to both developments. An attempt to take advantage of the Act had occurred early in the 1880s. J. R. Ridley, a successful ironmonger of humble origin, a local public figure, had taken the initiative. Ratepayers, however, refused to accede. Within a decade, however, Ridley judged it opportune to make a second attempt. A large committee secured another ratepayers’ poll. The results this time favoured establishing a library.
Victorian Bournemouth (254): progress
Statistics
After some delay, the Council agreed to establish a separate Committee to organise the library. Early plans aimed at 3,000 books, available via free access. Donations, however, provided the library with double this. During the decade, readers borrowed around 450 volumes per day, although numbers dropped to around 400 by 1900. The book stock soon reached 9,000, while a reference section also opened. Success required the library to change its premises. Suburban demand required additional branch openings. The Boscombe branch opened a ‘ladies’ annexe’. The library’s management published statistics about usage levels and title preferences. Despite an early promise to keep novels below half their issues, they accounted for almost 80%. Library staff, however, did refuse to stock novels written by Hall Caine. Also, they denied access to Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Soon after its opening, the library became part of Bournemouth’s intellectual and academic culture.
Cultural network
Despite misgivings held by the Temperance people and those of a Puritan inclination, artistic expression began to flourish at Bournemouth during the late Victorian period. Despite the difficulty provided by opponents, a theatre obtained a licence to operate. Regular musical performances, supported by the Council, rescued the Winter Gardens from financial disarray. Oxford University’s Extension scheme arrived, offering lectures and courses. A society provided mutual support and encouragement to the scheme’s students. It also had a small library. Interest in fine arts had developed into a local society which sponsored an annual exhibition of paintings. This also won support from leading men in the town’s administration. In turn, this contributed to the formation of a college offering courses in the arts and sciences. Bournemouth’s new public library, therefore, matched well with this broadening cultural experience available for all social types. Indeed, its staff often attended the college’s annual prize-giving.
Victorian Bournemouth (254): people
Edward Leveson Scarth
A clergyman’s son, Scarth (1852-1925), trained as a physician but did not appear to practice. By 1889, the press in Bournemouth reported that he attended the annual dinner held by the Boscombe Conservative Club. Scarth gained a Council place but resigned from it by 1894. He may have moved from Bournemouth to Bath soon after, yet he retained connections with the former. Scarth emerges from the local press as a man having a sense of duty and community service. He participated in several groups, some progressive. These included the Chrysanthemum Society, OddFellows, the Firs Home, the School of Science and Art, the Oxford University Extension scheme, and the Natural Science Museum. In addition, he championed the movement to establish the Public Library, its first chairman on opening. Thus, despite his Conservative values, Scarth supported activities intended to benefit all levels of Bournemouth society. He recognised the transformative potential within education.
C.J. Whitting
The son of a Police sergeant who later kept a public house, Whitting (1865-1932), apprenticed with an outfitter based in Wellington, Somerset. By 1888, Whitting, married with a growing family, had arrived in Westbourne. He founded a tailoring business that would last decades. Of humble origin, Whitting proved an articulate communicator with the press, writing lengthy letters. Most related to his central involvement in securing the Public Library. After its successful establishment, he maintained his connection, later translating it to become Chairman of the Higher Education Committee. He also helped found Bournemouth’s Rotary Club and joined the Hengist Lodge. A sharp letter, critical of J.H.R. Smythe, an alderman aligned with the Conservatives, shows Whitting as a firm Liberal supporter. Smythe, however, admired Leveson Scarth. Whitting and Scarth, however, created a successful partnership to establish the Public Library. The institution would have a wide social appeal, politics aside.
Takeaway
Victorian Bournemouth (254) charts the successful establishment of Bournemouth’s Public Library through the collaborative efforts of two men having different social backgrounds and political leanings. Despite the opposition stemming from social segregation, the Conservative (Leveson Scarth) remained steadfast in working with the Liberal (Whitting) to create an educational resource that transcended social boundaries. This partnership between the sons of a clergyman and of an innkeeper united a broader team to achieve this transformative goal.
References
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