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Canny Lass The Bedlington Iron and Engine works operated between 1736 and 1867 and The Doctor Pit operated between 1855 and 1968. Each had their own Mechanics Institute. The Ironworks Mechanics Institute was in the Clock House at Furnace Bank and was opened in 1829 (from Evan Martin’s book on the Ironworks.) The Colliery Mechanics Institute was initially at the Market Place and then moved to what is now the community centre. I don’t know when it opened but it is shown on the 1860 map of Bedlington so it must have been shortly after the colliery started operating