The Portico Library and its lawyer subscribers 1806 – 1850

Higgins, Nicola Anne (2022) The Portico Library and its lawyer subscribers 1806 – 1850. Masters by Research thesis (MA), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This study considers a group of proprietors of the Portico Library and Newsroom (the Portico) who were connected to the legal profession and who all held a share in the Portico at some point in the period from its establishment in 1806 until c.1850. Its intention is to further our understanding of why Portico members may have chosen to associate themselves with this particular cultural institution during their professional working lives, in order to draw conclusions more widely about the Portico’s attraction and significance in Manchester in the first forty years of its existence. This group has not been considered in its own right previously. This study seeks to fill in that gap and argues that, against a backdrop of significant development and change in Manchester and by reference to their activities and interests identified in this study, this group merits attention in its own right and has something of interest to tell us about Manchester, its middle classes and its cultural development in this period. All of the individuals considered in this study held their share at a point in time in which they were professionally active. Far from representing a retired gentleman’s means of spending their leisure time, this study argues that the Portico served both a philosophical and practical purpose for its lawyer members. It can be said to have provided a blue-print for cultural and other institutions which came after it and the conclusions reached in this regard inform us more widely about its significance in Manchester.