The supporters and benefactors of the Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM): musical patronage and philanthropy in Manchester, 1891–1920

Wright, Anna Elizabeth (2025) The supporters and benefactors of the Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM): musical patronage and philanthropy in Manchester, 1891–1920. Doctoral thesis (PhD), The Royal Northern College of Music in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

‘Hallé also founded the Royal Manchester College of Music…’.1 This phrase is an oft-repeated summary of the establishment of the RMCM in the 1890s, but it is only a partial representation of what occurred. In the Preface to his history of the College, Michael Kennedy refers to the ‘ghosts of the past’, naming particularly Charles Hallé and Gustav Behrens.2 In this thesis I argue that it was less eminent ghosts - the supporters and benefactors whose contribution has not been recognised hitherto - who were as important as Hallé in founding the RMCM, and enabling its continuation. I place this argument in the context of the philanthropic support of other educational institutions in the city in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, and the increasing demand, during the 1880s, for a conservatoire of music in Manchester. I examine the events leading to the establishment of the RMCM, focussing not only on those who were directly involved but also on the membership of wider networks whose support was sought financially, and in order to give the project credibility. I analyse these networks in relation to the initial project and in the years after 1893 up to 1920, demonstrating that involvement with the city’s musical institutions and membership of its leading business organisations were particularly significant factors. By examining these relationships in depth I provide evidence that validates the assertions about networks made previously by commentators on social and cultural life in nineteenth-century Manchester. I end by highlighting connections between key individuals, their position in civic life and involvement in the other musical institutions, and noting those who were celebrated for their philanthropy. In the light of recent research, I also draw attention to the donors whose wealth came from the proceeds of the slave trade and businesses which involved enslavement. This research throws light on a previously unexplored aspect of the history of the RMCM and the people who were so crucial to its creation.