Records of Battersea Polytechnic and Battersea College of Technology

This archive encompasses records relating to the foundation of Battersea Polytechnic and records created and accumulated by Battersea Polytechnic and Battersea College of Technology.

Records include those relating to governance and regulatory activities, external regulatory bodies, finance, property, relations with external bodies, marketing and publicity, student activities and teaching and academic activities. There is a small amount of material relating to staff and students as well as a collection of photographs.

Battersea Polytechnic was the founding institution of the University of Surrey. It was founded in 1891 under the City of London Parochial Charities Act (1883) scheme to establish Polytechnic Institutes throughout London. Situated in Battersea Park Road, the Institute was the second of three proposed Polytechnics for South London and was formally opened in 1894 with six main departments: Mechanical Engineering and Building Trades; Electrical Engineering and Physics; Chemistry; Women's Subjects; Art and Music.

During the years 1927 to 1939 the Polytechnic consolidated with a growing emphasis on science and engineering and the addition of metallurgy and the closure of the Art Department. Postwar expansion was curtailed by the site at Battersea. In 1956 the Polytechnic was designated a College of Advanced Technology and the name was changed the following year to Battersea College of Technology.

In the 1960s, Battersea College of Technology began the process of looking for a new site and of becoming a University. In 1966 it was given its charter and became the University of Surrey, moving to Guildford over the course of the academic years 1968-1969, 1969-1970 and 1970-1971.

Material has been arranged according to function. The original order and exact origin of these records is, in most cases, unknown. Previous catalogue structures made use of thematic and subject based classifications: these have now been dismantled, with the reference numbers recorded as alternative references where relevant in order to enable continued identification of material.

Material is available to view in the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections Research Room.

Access to some collection items may be restricted, for instance where sensitive personal or commercial information has been identified during cataloguing, or to protect very fragile items. The Archives team will advise of any restrictions that may be in place. Limited access to uncatalogued elements of the collection may be provided at staff discretion, depending on the nature of the material and the degree of existing organisation.

All records are open to public access under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 unless subject to specific exemption. Records containing personal information on individuals are subject to the terms of UK Data Protection legislation.

The records were transferred internally over a period of several decades.

Work is currently underway to catalogue the archives of Battersea Polytechnic and Battersea College of Technology. Whilst this is happening, some catalogue records for Battersea Polytechnic and Battersea College of Technology can be found in the legacy University Archives catalogue [collection reference: UA] on the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections online catalogue.

A partial catalogue of the collection is available to view on the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections online catalogue.

Collection Level Description compiled by Joseph Hettrick, 2017, with revisions by Melanie Peart, 2018 and 2021, and Simon Mackley, 2023.

This Archives Hub description prepared by Simon Mackley in November 2023. Please see the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections online catalogue for any subsequent amendments.

Previous cataloguing approaches grouped Battersea and University of Surrey material together. This approach has been discontinued and records of the University of Surrey and the records of Battersea Polytechnic/College of Technology have been catalogued as separate archival fonds.

All requests to publish or otherwise reproduce material from the archive should be directed to archives@surrey.ac.uk in the first instance. Unauthorised copying or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Records generated and retained by Battersea Polytechnic and Battersea College of Technology, and subsequently held by the University of Surrey as a successor body.

University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections additionally holds the following related collections:

• Records of the University of Surrey, [collection reference: US];
• University of Surrey and Battersea Polytechnic Alumni collections, comprising material given to the archives by former staff and students [collection reference: ASD];
• The Remembering Battersea Oral History Project, comprising interviews with Battersea alumni focussing on memories of life at Battersea Polytechnic and Battersea College of Technology [collection reference: RMB];
• Records of the University of Surrey Students' Union [collection reference: SU].