Fears of 'less boozing' meant Sunderland Museum was almost never built

As the multi-million pound redevelopment of Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens continues at the already beautiful venue, it's worth looking back to the 19th century to see how difficult it was to build it in the first place.

Then, as now, there was a persistent body of opinion that whatever public money might be spent on, it would have been better invested elsewhere.

An excellent article by Carol Robertson published in the Sunderland Echo in November 1979, on the centenary of the building's opening, has given us much to draw upon; or "shamelessly burgle" as some authorities would have it. We are obliged to Carol.

Highly vocal opposition

The opposition to the construction of what became Sunderland Museum and Library was based on financial arguments, but on two fronts. First, quite straightforwardly, was the effect upon the public purse.

In 1855 there was an ill-tempered public meeting in the Athenaeum in Fawcett Street, about the proposal to create the new civic building. The meeting featured a vitriolic contribution from the editor of local newspaper the Sunderland Herald (boo).

When there are arguments about spending public money, there is nothing new under the sun.

The Herald’s editor, George Hardcastle, barked about "the the deplorable state of Corporation finances, the heavy rates now pressing upon the burgesses ... it is not expedient at the present time to to establish what is called a free library to be paid for by the overtaxed ratepayers of Sunderland."

Mr Hardcastle had a point. Money had already been set aside for the reconstruction of Wearmouth Bridge by Robert Stephenson between 1857 and 1859 (replaced by the current version in 1929).

However, the second financial argument against the museum and library sounds truly bizarre today.

It was feared that the men of Sunderland (evidently women had not been invented at this stage) would not be boozing nearly enough for the wellbeing of the night time economy; not if they were wasting their time reading books then perusing artworks and ancient artefacts. Publicans were implacably opposed to the idea.

The publicans' opinion is easy to understand. But the view of the extraordinarily snobbish sounding Literary and Philosophical Society seems quite batty.

The Public Libraries Act 1850 gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries, but the Newcastle-based Lit & Phil mob were incensed, failing to see what good could come from the masses having their ignorance interfered with.

Happily they are a far more enlightened organisation today and run a famous, first-class and - best of all - free library themselves today.

Nevertheless, in 1855 they made an unlikely alliance with the publicans while Mr Hardcastle, whose finer qualities did perhaps not include a cavernously open mind, wanted to make his amendment against the free library before the motion for it was even put at the Athenaeum meeting.

Equally vocal argument in favour

Representing the other viewpoint was Mr JW Summers, who does not seem to have conducted himself with any more decorum than Mr Hardcastle and was described as making the "most abusive and personal speech". There is no evidence of popcorn being sold, but you get the picture.

Abusive and personal or not, Mr Summers was reportedly "the greatest hit of the evening" and "struck left and right and pulverised" his opponents.

The motion was carried and Sunderland was to have its museum and library - even if it did take another 20 years for work to begin. It opened on November 6, 1879 complete with Wallace the lion.

Visits to the pubs somehow continued - straight up

But what became of the town's boozing community? Did they abandon their passion for libation at the expense of an addiction to viewing stuffed animals?

With some perspicacity, Carol Robertson wrote in 1979: "There is no evidence that the drinking classes have suffered any vast reduction in numbers because of the availability of books."

We can confirm that the situation has not altered in 2024. We’ve checked.

At the 1879 opening of the museum, a gloating Mayor of Sunderland, Cllr Samuel Sinclair Robson, denounced "the croakers who talk about wasting public money".

Nevertheless, even those firmly in favour of the enterprise might have struggled to produce an argument that it would actually save Sunderland's rate payers some cash. Not so Cllr Robson, whose mental gymnastics appeared effortless.

He reasoned that: "If young men are left to wander about the streets at night and get into public houses they would become drunkards and chargeable on you in various ways; increasing the police rate and in all probability the poor rate."

Was the museum even open at night in 1879 to divest the streets which were apparently awash with drunkards? It's doubtful.

Yet Robson continued: "In providing such a place as this and putting it within the reach of the poorer classes, the hard workers, the men who up to this time have had only the public house or the club to go to, you are doing something to make them better men and more useful citizens."

Along with women, the concept of being extremely patronising was also waiting to be invented.

Mayor Robbo added: "I do not care so much what kind of books they read at first, for when they get more sense they will read better ones."

Somewhere in that vulgarly phrased sentence lies some sense.

President Grant is invited to a binge

For well-meaning, educated Victorians, providing activities other than drinking was one of the extolled virtues of the museum and library. Therefore the civic event accompanying the laying of the foundation stone was tinged with irony; as well a buckets of booze.

The stone was laid in 1877 by visiting former US President Ulysses S Grant, in the presence of Sunderland Echo founder Alderman Samuel Storey.

Following the hoo-ha about drink versus culture and learning, it is notable that the occasion was replete with a generously available amount of “refreshments”.

Carol Robertson describes a quite epic meal "washed down with sherry, Chablis, sauternes, champagne and claret". Fortunately no one was driving home in those days.

Two years later the Sunderland Museum and Library opened to the public and with a few tweaks, the latest of which will soon be upon us, it is pretty much the magnificent public building it ever was.

And even in the 21st century, it is still possible to enjoy both the Museum & Winter Gardens as well as Sunderland's many fine drinking establishments. Some people can even manage both in the same day.

Resilient or what?