The growth of the Working Men's Institutes in East and Midlothian in Scotland was a slow one. The earliest known example seems to be in Dalkeith, in Midlothian, where 'The Dalkeith Working-Men's Club and Institute' was formed in 1867. Further examples are scattered about, with only a handful known to have opened prior to the 1920s. It was during this period, however, that a number were opened, mainly thanks to grants from the District Miners' Welfare Fund.

Occasionally, the Institutes were housed in buildings that had been built for another purpose. At Dalkeith, Midlothian, for example, the Working Lads' Institute was housed in what had been the Back Street School, whilst Prestonpans West, East Lothian, was housed in Bankfoot House, previously a private dwelling. Generally, however, buildings were erected with the sole purpose of housing such an Institute. Whilst Cousland's Hall was made from corrugated iron, all others were brick-built and built to a set plan. The outside was imposing and eye-catching, whilst the inside was spacious and well-lit.

The funds for such ventures, mostly came from a wealthy benefactor or from a mix of subscriptions, fundraising and a grant from the Mining Welfare Fund. Many wealthy private individuals or companies saw such institutions as particularly beneficial. Robert Dundas paid for building Newbyres Hall in Gorebridge, Midlothian because he believed in the social benefits that a local Institute would have on the community. It would provide an alternative choice to the public house. Most institute rules provided that no gambling or drinking of liquor took place in the there. Alexander Cowan, whose bequest paid for the erection of the Cowan Institute in Penicuik, Midlothian, believed that it would impart 'further education and instruction' to the people of the town. Others, such as the Lothian Coal Company, believed that the economic advantages of keeping their workers out of the pub would outweigh the costs of funding such a large enterprise.

In the 1920s, the Central Welfare Committee of the mining industry was set up in London. Its aim was to upgrade 'recreation, health and education in the mining areas'. To help reach this goal, 1d was levied on every ton of coal produced in Great Britain and the benefits were distributed by local Miners' Welfare Funds. A number of schemes were organised. In Newtongrange, Midlothian, for example, a park was opened in 1926.

Other mining communities benefited from new pithead baths, such as those erected at Arniston Colliery, Midlothian, in 1938. Most notably, however, the Fund began to give grants to local communities setting up of Miners' (or Working Men's) Institutes. Any shortfall was generally made up by local subscriptions and fundraising. In Loanhead, Midlothian, for example, an Institute was opened in 1924. It was paid for by a grant from the Fund and by miners contributing 5d per month.

The Fund paid £2,000 towards building an Institute in Ormiston, East Lothian, in 1925, but this was only part of the cost. The rest was probably made up by subscriptions and fundraising. In 1930 the Fund paid for the erection of the Cousland Institute, Midlothian, although the Earl of Stair donated the land.

Some communities, including two in Midlothian, went against the norm and found other ways of funding their institutes. These were the ones at Newtongrange and Easthouses. In 1899, The Lothian Coal Company had built a Gothenburg pub in Newtongrange. The profits from this were to benefit the local community in ways that would discourage them from drinking their wages. (Oddly enough, the profits themselves were coming from a public house.) In 1911 an Institute was opened in Newtongrange, and in 1926 the Gothenburg Trust paid for another in the neighbouring village of Easthouses. The Lothian Coal Company also paid for the erection of the Rosewell Institute, but this did not come from Gothenburg funds.

Given the expense of building the Institutes the office-bearers were determined to attract large, and regular, groups of subscription-paying customers. Given that in many cases alcohol was not for sale, popular alternatives had to be offered. In Midlothian, The Dalkeith Working-Men's Club and Institute housed a library and reading room. Gorebridge offered newspapers and periodicals, chess, draughts, dominoes and membership of the 1,500 volume Arniston Lending Library to its customers.

Penicuik's Cowan Institute was perhaps the most impressive. For a small subscription members had access to a gymnasium, library, chess room, smoking room, circulating library and billiard room. Two baths were added at a later date. The introduction of a billiard room was to become a popular means of attracting and keeping members.

Nearly all of the larger Institutes built in the Twentieth century had at least one billiard table, and there is evidence that Easthouses had at least seven.

Wallyford, East Lothian, also oversaw the building of a tennis court in 1924.

The Dalkeith Working Lads' Institute also held a series of lectures each year and practised gymnastics. In 1925, it was transformed into the Dalkeith Maoris.