History
Early meetings were held at the London coffee house on Ludgate Hill. The institution chose its name after a property convenient for its needs was found: the Rotunda Building on the south side of the Thames, at the time part of the county of Surrey.
The architect employed was Joseph T. Parkinson, son of James Parkinson who owned the Rotunda, opened in 1787. The building had been the final home of the Leverian Museum, housing the collection of Sir Ashton Lever, but had fallen into disrepair. The Institution renovated it to include a large lecture hall capable of accommodating 500 people, and a galleried library of 60 feet in length; it opened on 1 May 1808. Other facilities in the building included committee rooms; a library with lending facilities; a reading room, chemical laboratory and contemporary philosophical apparatus.
Costs were met by an initial 458 subscribers contributing thirty guineas each. The library had more than 5000 volumes by 1810.
Read more about this topic: Surrey Institution
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