The Mechanics' Institute was built in 1855 by the Great Western Railway as a facility for the education and recreation of its Swindon Works employees — a library, reading room, theatre, and classrooms all under one roof. The GWR subsidised memberships, deducting a penny a week from workers' wages. At a time when the company ran the town, it was one of the more enlightened examples of Victorian paternalistic capitalism.
The building itself is a confident piece of Italianate architecture — a handsome two-storey structure with elaborate stonework that looks somewhat out of place in modern Swindon. It's a Grade II* listed building and has been used for various cultural purposes since the railways declined. Worth a look from the outside if you're walking through the railway village area near STEAM.