 It was incorporated in 1807 and renamed the Royal Cork Institution (RCI).It operated from premises on the South Mall opposite the current Imperial hotel and was a British government supported educational centre for 70 years.Its early patrons included businesses and landed people including William Beamish (1760–1828), William Sharman Crawford (1781–1861), Cooper Penrose (1736–1815) and James Roche (1770–1853).