London Metropolitan University Special Collections

Location
  • Web
  • Email
  • Address
    • The Wash Houses, Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT, United Kingdom (accessible via Old Castle Street)
  • Opening Hours
    • The Reading Room is open from 10am to 5pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. However, during term-time, the hours for Thursdays are extended: from 10am to 7pm.
  • Archival and Other Holdings

    The Special Collections includes (but is not limited to):

    Committee papers,

    College prospectuses,

    Course handbooks,

    Ceremonial (e.g. awards ceremonies),

    Photographs,

    Staff and student magazines (internal publications),

    Students' Union handbooks and internal communications,

    Ephemera,

    Student records (from c. 1910),

    Scientific equipment, and

    Legal documents.

  • History

    London Metropolitan University has a rich history with strong educational roots dating back to 1848.

    The University as it is today was created in 2002 with the merging of London Guildhall University and the University of North London, the first merger between two universities in the UK. Its roots however, lie firmly in the nineteenth century with the establishment of the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men, in 1848. For more information about the history of the university please see http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/our-university/our-history/

    The newly-formed central Special Collections contains material that relates to London Metropolitan University's precursor institutions and which contributes towards the narrative arc of university's extensive history. These past institutions include the Northern Polytechnic Institute, North Western Polytechnic, Northern Polytechnic Institute, University of North London, City of London College, London Guildhall University, Sir John Cass Technical Institute and the London College of Furniture.