A first impression of Swindon’s Mechanics’ Institute
In November 1971, our Trustee Alan Wrixon, stood trying to get his bearing in Emlyn Square, the address he had to report to was “The Mechanics’ Institute, Emlyn Square”. This night Alan had his first impression of Swindon’s Mechanics’ Institute. In December 2023, he wrote his first-hand account of his experiences that very night:
“Emlyn Square seems to be all around me, indeed it totally surrounds a dark forbidding building on all four sides. This must be the building, but where to get in?
I do not know this area of town in detail. I have swum with the school in the nearby swimming bath and on a couple of other occasions roller-skated in the same place. So why am I here? The answer may seem odd in 2023 but was brought about by the way engineers were trained at that time. I took an engineering apprenticeship at the age of 16. Essentially the deal was that I worked 4 days a week and the company allowed me to go to college the other day. Any further advancement would be by attending college in the evening. So, I had completed my technical education by sacrificing evenings to education.
But now I had decided that I had got to where I wanted in education and needed to fill my evenings. I decided to do this by joining a singing group, SALOS – Swindon Amateur Light Operatic Society, but if this is the venue for my audition, I can’t see a way in.
There is light from the upstairs windows at the railway end so there are signs of life. I walk round it twice and find all the doors locked except a double door opposite Bathampton Street. I ventured in and walked straight ahead into what was a rather run down smoky bar. The doorman informed me that I was probably looking for the group ‘up in the theatre’ so I retreated and stood at the bottom of a really uninviting concrete staircase.
Paint was peeling off the walls and the whole place was totally depressing. This point was a sliding doors moment, I could walk away and forget the whole thing with no one any the wiser or walk up the stairs. I walked up the stairs and through the double doors at the top to enter into the auditorium.
I was then asked to wait at the top of the stairs for my turn. As I waited I was joined by more auditionees and eventually invited in to the auditorium. I don’t remember much of the next 5 minutes. I staggered through some Edward German music in front of an auditioning panel of 15 or so with another 20 watching from behind.
In the interview I discovered that this was SALOS’s home for now, but they were looking for somewhere warmer and more inviting. My memory of the auditorium is vague as I was really concentrating on the singing, but I remember a brass plate on the back wall underneath a balcony, a good target to sing at, tatty stage curtains flaky paint and, mostly, the cold.
At the end I was thanked me for my participation and told ‘we will let you know’ so I went home a little deflated, not sure whether or not I wished to take up membership if it were offered. Who would want to spend their spare time here?
Well that evening truly was a sliding doors moment. I accepted membership of SALOS which continues to this day. Over the last 50 years I have served as Stage Manager, Chairman and President. I then joined the Western Players (the Mechanics resident company) as an actor, stage manager and Chairman. Again my membership continues to this day. This gave me the dubious honour of stage managing of Stage Managing the last ever performance in the building. It also found me a wife who has been with me through all of this.”
The Last Performance Memory
Through a strange set of circumstances, our Trustee Alan, became the de facto Stage Manager of the Mechanics’ Institute’s very last performance. You can read Alan’s first-hand account of the last performance at the Playhouse Theatre here.
Share your Stories
The Missing Pieces Project by Historic England invites people to share their stories and pictures. Of all the unique, significant and memorable places on the National Heritage List for England. The List registers all nationally protected historic buildings and sites across England.
You can add your stories and pictures of Swindon’s Mechanics’ Institute to Historic England’s Missing Pieces Project here.
The Mechanics’ Institute
The Mechanics’ Institute sits in the centre of the Railway Village. It opened in 1855 as a social, educational and community centre. The building expanded in 1892 and underwent refurbishment in 1930 following fire damage. With the closure of the Railway Works, the Mechanics’ Institute closed in 1986 and has sat derelict since then.
Swindon Heritage Preservation is working with Swindon Borough Council and other partners to find a solution to the ownership, rescue, and rehabilitation of the derelict building, which has been allowed to severely deteriorate over the past few decades.
As one of Swindon’s most prestigious and significant heritage assets, the rescue of the Mechanics’ is the primary objective of Swindon Heritage Preservation although we do not currently own or lease the building.
Support from the Theatres Trust
In April 2025, the Theatres Trust awarded £10,000 in grant funding to Swindon Heritage Preservation for the Grade II* listed Mechanics’ Institution.
The grant funding will be used to reassess potential future uses for the cultural and educational operations of a fully restored Mechanics’ Institution. It is a key requirement in demonstrating the commercial viability of the building for future funders. You can read more here.
