Opening its doors in 1895, the Bishopsgate Institute is located in Bishopsgate among numerous shops and businesses—a feature shared during our modern era and the era of the Institute’s construction. The building’s exterior is intended to draw attention to itself by contrasting the frontages of the businesses surrounding it. Inner details of the Institute still reflect the stylistic influences of its architect Charles Harrison Townsend, such as in its mosaics and subtle Japanese ornamentation (“Charles Harrison Townsend”).

Intended to function as a place of free public education, the Institute has hosted classrooms, lectures, and the Bishopsgate Library as resources for those of all classes since its inception. Inspired by the plight of those in the nearby poor East End, Bishopsgate Institute founder William Rogers petitioned friends in government to allocate charitable funds for the use in educational initiatives, allowing the construction of three institutions dedicated to public learning, including the Bishopsgate Institute (“William Rogers”).

“Charles Harrison Townsend and Our Architecture.” Bishopsgate Institute,

https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/our-history/charles-harrison-townsend. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.

“William Rogers and Our Origins.” Bishopsgate Institute,

https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/our-history/william-rogers. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.