Moberly Hall Collection

A very small collection of papers relating to Moberly Hall. These were accumulated by Dr Brian Robinson, and relate to various aspects of Hall adminsitration. As a small hall, Moberly did not have a governing committee (in contrast to the older halls), and it is unlikely that many records were generated. The Hall did have a Residents' Association, which may have created records, but these have not been located.

• HMT/1 - File: Refectory Review Oct 1964: review of the University Refectory with recommendations
• HMT/2 - File: general, 1972-1984, includes Warden's notices about graffiti, fire-lighting; propsoed improvements to social facilities
• HMT/3 - File: Gastro-intestinal outbreak 1967, relates to outbreak of gastro-intestinal poisoning at the Hall (and Grove House) in October 1967 [some documents are restricted]. Includes a report on the outbreak.
• HMT/4 - Warden's general file, 1970s-2008, includes a "certificate of merit" awarded to Robsinson to mark his retirement in 1987 (presumably from residents); a petition about compensation for missed meals; a copy of the University's 1990 wartime graduation booklet.

Moberly Hall was a University hall of residence which opened in October 1963. It was a twelve storey tower block which was part of the building which included the Refectory and Staff House. It was located on the corner of Oxford Road and Burlington St. The Hall provided accommodation for over 190 male students, mainly postgraduates, but also mature undergraduates and third-year undergraduates. Typically, the Hall had a high proportion of students in science and technology subjects, and a significant number of international students (usually around 50%).

The Hall had only modest facilities; there was a small common room and a bar. Students dined in the adjoining University refectory. Moberly Hall closed c. 2010 when the site was redeveloped. The tower was demolished and the remainder of the building was repurposed as the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons.

As this is a very small and incomplete collection, it has not been organised into series.

The collection is open to any accredited reader unless otherwise stated.

The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018. Under the Act 2018 (DPA), The University of Manchester Library (UML) holds the right to process personal data for archiving and research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, UML has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves.

Open parts of this collection, and the catalogue descriptions, may contain personal data about living individuals. Some items in this collection may be closed to public inspection in line with the requirements of the DPA. Restrictions/closures of specific items will be indicated in the catalogue.

Donated by Michael Jickells in June 2024.

Photocopies and photographic copies of material in the archive can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH.

The papers in this collection were accumulated by Dr Brian Robinson (1936-2023), warden of the Hall from 1975 to 1987. Dr Robinson was also reader in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University. His personal papers were purchased at auction after his death and were found to include the Moberly Hall papers. The purchaser, Mr Michael Jickells, donated these papers to the Library in June 2024.

None expected

The University Archives also has custody of the archives of Ashburne Hall (AHA) Dalton Hall (HDH), Ellis Llwyd Jones Hall (HEJ), Hulme Hall (HHH) St Anselm Hall (HAH) and Langdale Hall (HLH).

The Vice-Chancellor's archive has two files on Moberly Hall: VCA 7/951, VCA/7/1057