The Mechanics Institute, on the corner of Hatherlow Lane and London Road, was started by Mr. Brookes, headmaster of Norbury School, in 1868 in a shop, for the "benefit of local mechanics and apprentices". Mr. David Clayton Shore gave the land. This building was opened on 19 April 1871. Voluntary teachers took evening classes and in 1881 recreation rooms were opened. In the 1970s the building was sold to the Hazel Grove and Bramhall UD council and reopened as a government and information centre - it is now the Civic Hall.
