Studied at University College London and appointed lecturer at the London School of Economics in 1929. Served in the Geographical Intelligence Division of the Admiralty during World War Two, specialising in railways and south east Europe. In 1950 became founding Professor of Geography at Keele. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 1930-1984. Member of the Council of the Royal Geographical Society, 1943-1947. Received the Murchison Grant in 1962.
Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver was born in Johannesburg in 1890. He was educated at Wellington College, after which he spent two years in the Indian Police force before joining Alexander Gibb and Partners, Engineers. In 1931 the firm was commissioned by the Canadian government to conduct a survey of its national ports. Sir Hugh spent seven months in Canada, during which time he was asked to supervise the rebuilding of the Port of St John in New Brunswick, which had been destroyed by fire. He was a partner of the firm, 1932-1942, and Director General and Controller General of the Ministry of Works,1940-1945. In 1946, he became a managing director of Arthur Guinness, Son and Co Ltd and stayed there until he retired in 1960. He was much involved in the efforts to rebuild the country and the Empire after World War II, and was a co-opted member of Lord Reith's Committee on New Towns 1946-1947, a member of the Building Industry Working Party 1948-1950, Director of the Colonial Development Corporation 1951-1960, and the chairman of the Committee on Power Station Construction 1952-1953. Sir Hugh Beaver was also interested in the promotion and application of science, and was chairman of the committee on Air Pollution 1953-1954, chairman of the Advisory Council on Scientific and Industrial Research 1954-1956, and chairman of the Industrial Fund for the Advancement of Scientific Education in Schools 1958-1963. He was knighted in 1943 and awarded a KBE in 1956. He also received honorary degrees from the University of Cambridge, Trinity College Dublin, and the National University of Ireland, and was made an honorary fellow of the London School of Economics in 1960. He died in 1967.
Educated Harrow and RMA Woolwich. Commissioned in Royal Engineers, 1890. Survey of India 1897-1925. Served in the Somaliland Field Force (1903-1904) and in Mesopotamia (1916-1918). Retired 1925 and worked with Sudan Air Survey 1929-1930. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 1919-1929.
No information available at present.
Bechstein are a German firm of piano makers founded in Berlin in 1853 by Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Bechstein (1826-1900), who founded the firm in 1853 in Berlin. Following successful receptions at the 1862 London exhibition and the 1867 Paris exhibition, the output of the firm grew from 300 instruments a year during the 1860s to 1000 a decade later, 3000 during the 1890s and 5000 in the years preceding World War I. Following the founder's death, his sons Edwin Bechstein and Carl Bechstein assumed control and later Carl's son, also Carl, joined the firm. The importance of the British market to the firm was such that half of the firm's annual output of pianos was sold there. The firm sought to provide an impressive yet intimate showcase for recitals (particularly featuring the firm's instruments). In 1901 the firm opened a concert room in London, known as the Bechstein Hall, next to its showrooms on Wigmore Street; the first concert on 31 May 1901 featured the virtuoso pianist Ferruccio Busoni. The Hall quickly came renowned for its superb acoustics and enjoyed popularity with both performers and the public. Bechstein, like other German firms in Britain during World War One, experienced anti-German hostility and a decline in business. The firm's affairs were wound up in 1916 by the Board of Trade and the entire business - including studios, offices, warehouses, 137 pianos, and the Hall itself - was sold at auction to Debenhams for £56,500. The Hall reopened in 1917 as the Wigmore Hall.
Not known
Hedwig, Pauline and Sabina Beck were Czech sisters. Hedwig and Pauline emigrated to France during World War Two. Sabina Bauml (née Beck) was transported to Auschwitz with her son in January 1944.
Rudolf Beck owned a removals business in Vienna. His contacts enabled him to ship many of his possessions to the USA during World War Two. Ferdinand Beck is the son of Rudolf.
Walter Richard Rudolf Hess was born April 26, 1894 and became was a prominent figure in Nazi Germany, acting as Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party. On the eve of war with the Soviet Union, he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom, but instead was arrested. He was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to life internment at Spandau Prison, where he remained until his death in 1987 as a result of strangulation by an electrical cord. The official cause of death was recorded as suicide.
Lydia Becker (1827-1890) was born in the Manchester area in Feb 1827 the eldest of 15 children the surviving siblings being Mary, Esther, Edward, Wilfred, Arthur, John and Charles. Her father, Hannibal Leigh Becker (1803-1877) was the son of Ernest Hannibal Becker (1771-1852) a German immigrant who had settled in England and become a naturalised citizen. Hannibal married Mary Duncroft and became the proprietor of first a calico-printing works at Reddish and then a chemical works at Altham in Lancashire. The couple had fifteen children. Her early life was conventional her main interests were in astronomy and botany, and she wrote one book on each subject. In 1865, the family moved to central Manchester where Becker founded the Manchester Ladies' Literary Society, which was a centre for scientific interests and at the first meeting a paper written by Darwin for the event was read. The previous year she had attended a Social Science Association meeting and heard Barbara Bodichon lecture on women's emancipation. Bodichon encouraged her to contact Emily Davis. Through these individuals, Becker became involved with local suffrage groups. In Feb 1867, she was named honorary secretary of the Manchester Committee for Women's Suffrage and was instrumental in rewriting its constitution as the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage.
In 1868 she became treasurer of the Married Women's Property Committee. She travelled about the country organising meetings and support for the issue throughout the 1860s and was involved in the campaign to have women ratepayers included on the electoral register. She worked alongside Jacob Bright as the parliamentary agent of the National Society for Women's Suffrage to have the amendment to the Municipal Franchise Bill passed in 1869 so that this could be achieved at a local, if not a national, level. However, her efforts were not restricted to suffrage. In 1870, she was the first woman to be elected to the Manchester School Board, she was also the founder-editor of the 'Woman's Suffrage Journal' in 1870. In the 1870s she was active in the campaign to have the Contagious Diseases Acts repealed and worked beside Josephine Butler and Elizabeth Wolstenholme in the Vigilance Association for the Defence of Personal Rights. She organised a significant repeal meeting in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, 1870 with JB, Elizabeth Wolstenholme and James Stuart. She also served on the LNA Executive Committee between 1872-1873. She introduced the first motion against Bruce's Bill at the Conference of Repeal Organisations, 29 Feb 1872. However, parliamentary developments in 1874 led many to believe that the vote might be granted to single though not married women. Becker pragmatically supported this as an interim measure, leading to criticism from the Pankhursts, the Brights and Wolstenholme Elmy. In the later part of that decade she was secretary to the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage and remained with it when the London societies divided over opposition to the CD Acts in 1888. However, her health began to deteriorate and she withdrew from active work in 1889 and travelled to Aix-les-Bains to recuperate. On the 21 Jul 1890 she died in Geneva, Switzerland having contracted diphtheria.
Lydia Becker (1827-1890) was born in the Manchester area in Feb 1827 the eldest of 15 children the surviving siblings being Mary, Esther, Edward, Wilfred, Arthur, John and Charles. Her father, Hannibal Leigh Becker (1803-1877) was the son of Ernest Hannibal Becker (1771-1852) a German immigrant who had settled in England and become a naturalised citizen. Hannibal married Mary Duncroft and became the proprietor of first a calico-printing works at Reddish and then a chemical works at Altham in Lancashire. The couple had fifteen children. Her early life was conventional her main interests were in astronomy and botany, and she wrote one book on each subject. In 1865, the family moved to central Manchester where Becker founded the Manchester Ladies' Literary Society, which was a centre for scientific interests and at the first meeting a paper written by Darwin for the event was read. The previous year she had attended a Social Science Association meeting and heard Barbara Bodichon lecture on women's emancipation. Bodichon encouraged her to contact Emily Davis. Through these individuals, Becker became involved with local suffrage groups. In Feb 1867, she was named honorary secretary of the Manchester Committee for Women's Suffrage and was instrumental in rewriting its constitution as the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage. In 1868 she became treasurer of the Married Women's Property Committee. She travelled about the country organising meetings and support for the issue throughout the 1860s and was involved in the campaign to have women ratepayers included on the electoral register. She worked alongside Jacob Bright as the parliamentary agent of the National Society for Women's Suffrage to have the amendment to the Municipal Franchise Bill passed in 1869 so that this could be achieved at a local, if not a national, level. However, her efforts were not restricted to suffrage. In 1870, she was the first woman to be elected to the Manchester School Board, she was also the founder-editor of the 'Woman's Suffrage Journal' in 1870. In the 1870s she was active in the campaign to have the Contagious Diseases Acts repealed and worked beside Josephine Butler and Elizabeth Wolstenholme in the Vigilance Association for the Defence of Personal Rights. She organised a significant repeal meeting in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, 1870 with JB, Elizabeth Wolstenholme and James Stuart. She also served on the LNA Executive Committee between 1872-1873. She introduced the first motion against Bruce's Bill at the Conference of Repeal Organisations, 29 Feb 1872. However, parliamentary developments in 1874 led many to believe that the vote might be granted to single though not married women. Becker pragmatically supported this as an interim measure, leading to criticism from the Pankhursts, the Brights and Wolstenholme Elmy. In the later part of that decade she was secretary to the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage and remained with it when the London societies divided over opposition to the CD Acts in 1888. However, her health began to deteriorate and she withdrew from active work in 1889 and travelled to Aix-les-Bains to recuperate. On the 21 Jul 1890 she died in Geneva, Switzerland having contracted diphtheria.
Laura Elsie Beckingsale was born on 1st September 1886 in Camden Town, North London. She was educated privately at first, and then attended Bestraven High School, Brondesbury, until she was eighteen. After teaching for a year elsewhere, she returned to Bestraven as a member of staff. At the age of twenty-three she entered the Women's Missionary College, Edinburgh, and in March 1911, went to Wuchang, China, with the London Missionary Society. She remained there until 1915, when she returned to England under medical advice, arriving March 1. A year later she resigned her connection with the London Missionary Society and joined the Baptist Missionary Society, for work in China. She was put in charge of a girl's boarding school at Tai Yuanfu Shansi. She finally returned to England in 1939. Laura Beckingsale never married. She died in 1983.
No biographical information was available at the time of compilation.
Born in 1884; educated at Eton College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into 16 (Queen's) Lancers, 1902; Adjutant, 16 Lancers' Depot, Woolwich, 1910; attended Staff College, Camberley, 1912-1913; stationed in Ireland, 1914; served in France and Belgium, 1914-1918; General Staff Officer Grade 3, 2 Cavalry Div, Oct 1914-Jan 1915; Bde Maj, 4 Cavalry Bde, Jan-Jul 1915; General Staff Officer Grade 2, Indian Cavalry Corps, Jul- Nov 1915; General Staff Officer Grade 2, 2 Cavalry Div, Nov 1915-May 1916; General Staff Officer Grade 2 Reserve Army, May-Jul 1916; General Staff Officer Grade 2, 5 Army, Jul-Nov 1916; General Staff Officer Grade 1, 8 Div, Nov 1916-Nov 1917; General Staff Officer Grade 1 (Operations), 5 Army, Nov 1917-Apr 1918; General Staff Officer Grade 1 (Operations), 4 Army, Apr-Jun 1918; General Staff Officer Grade 1, 5 Army, Jun-Dec 1918; Maj Gen, General Staff, 5 Army, Dec 1918-Apr 1919; General Staff Officer Grade 1 (Intelligence), British Army on the Rhine, Apr-Jul 1919; Assistant Military Secretary, British Army of the Rhine, Jul-Sep 1919; served in Palestine with 16 Lancers, 1919-1920; retired from Army, 1920; appointed Director of Africa and Eastern Trading Company and Joint Managing Director, United Africa Company, 1930; retired from business and became involved in local politics, 1936; served in Home Guard and Military Intelligence, War Office, 1940-1945; Chairman, Hertfordshire County Council, 1952-1958; High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, 1948-1949; died in 1966.
The green field site near to Croydon Airport in south London was redeveloped following consultation in the 1960s. This brochure shows the plans that had been made by some interested parties in preparation for the redevelopment.
The turnpike system dated from 1663 when Parliament authorised the erection of toll barriers along the Great North Road. The principle was that each person should contribute to the repair of the roads in proportion to the use he made of them. A barrier was placed across a road and a toll taken from each road user except pedestrians; the monies were then used to support the maintenance and improvement of the road. Turnpikes were placed under the control of bodies known as Turnpike Trusts. By 1770 there were over 1100 Trusts, administering 23,000 miles of road, with 7800 toll gates.
In 1728 the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust had charge of the Great West Road (now the A30) from the Hounslow Powder Mills to the Basingstone, an old stone which stood near the Jolly Farmer Inn west of Bagshot. The route was popular with stagecoaches. The construction of a railway line caused turnpike revenue to fall rapidly and many turnpike companies were forced to close down, causing the further deterioration of the roads they were supposed to maintain. In 1888, Surrey County Council took responsibility for the main county roads, whilst Bagshot Rural District Council took over responsibility from the parish for local roads.
The main roads around Slough were managed by the Colnbrook Turnpike Trust, established in 1727. Their stretch of road ran from Cranford Bridge (between Harlington and Hounslow, then in Middlesex) to the Buckinghamshire side of the Maidenhead Bridge. Turnpike gates and toll-houses were set up at Salt Hill, near to the Castle Inn, and to the west of Colnbrook, near the road to Poyle.
Born in Birmingham, 1845; no formal education; worked as a newspaper boy at Euston Station then took a job as a porter and collector for a wholesale publishing company; moved to Sunderland and apprenticed to Dawson Brothers, ship owners; served time in the East India trade, visiting Persia, Arabia, Ceylon, India and Abyssinia by sea and earned himself a 'Chief Mate's' certificate.
Bedford left shortly after and established the first teetotal public house in London which was a commercial success; toured the country lecturing on temperance and the business of teetotal public house keeping and published several essays on the subject. Bedford also became a tailor, teaching himself cutting and other skills and established tailor's shops in Bethnal Green Road and Hackney Road. Bedford was also heavily involved with trade-unionism, serving as President of both the General Railway Workers Union and the Society of Firewood Choppers. Died 1904.
Bedford entered the Navy with a cadetship awarded by the Naval School at New Cross. In 1854 he was at the Crimea as a midshipman in the Sampson. However, he went to the Baltic in March 1855, when he was appointed to the Vulture, and he took part in the destruction of the Russian fortress at Sveaborg. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1859, to commander in 1871 and to captain in 1875 into the SERAPIS, which took the Prince of Wales to attend ceremonies proclaiming Queen Victoria Empress of India. Bedford was next appointed to the SHAH, 1876, as Flag-Captain to Rear Admiral de Horsey (1827-1922), Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. In this ship he was engaged in the duel with the Peruvian ironclad HUASCAR. As a consequence of this action, the ironclad TRIUMPH replaced the SHAH and Bedford transferred to her. In 1880, on his return home, he attended the torpedo course at Portsmouth. Bedford then joined the Board of Admiralty, 1889 to 1892. In 1895 he became Second Sea Lord and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indies Station, 1899 to 1903. From 1903 to 1909 he was Governor of Western Australia. See F.G.H. Bedford, The life and letters of Admiral Frederick George Denham Bedford (published privately, 1960).
The Hygiene Course at Bedford College was established in 1896 under the encouragement of Dr Louis Parkes, Medical Officer of Health for Chelsea as he felt there was an opportunity for the training of women as hygiene inspectors. The course was recognised as being very academic and criticised as too academic for the role of hygiene inspector by some members of the medical establishment. In 1918, the Department of Hygiene was closed, but some of the staff transferred to the new Department of Social Studies where a course offering training to Health Visitors was offered. This course was again criticised as too academic and too rigorous as it was a one-year course rather than the six month minimum duration required by the Ministry of Health. However the course survived and had to adapt to meet the increasing requirements from the Ministry of Health.
In 1921, Bedford College partnered with the League of Red Cross Societies and the College of Nursing to offer courses in Public Health to international nursing students. The League of Red Cross Societies offered scholarships to qualified nurses from all over the world to study Public Health for a year in London. The students undertook academic lectures at Bedford College and completed practical work in hospitals around London and later further afield in Britain and mainland Europe. The students also had guest lecturers from other colleges including King's College, University College and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In 1925, a second course was introduced for nurse administrators and teachers in schools of nursing. The nurses lived at a residence owned by the League of Red Cross Societies at 15 Manchester Square.
In 1934, due to financial difficulties the League of Red Cross Societies withdrew from the administration of the courses and the Florence Nightingale International Foundation was established to raise funds and provide scholarships to nurses. In 1938 the courses were merged and allowed students to choose which subjects they wanted to study. 1939 proved to be the last year of the courses as they were cancelled in September due to the beginning of World War Two.
Nursing studies was not reintroduced at Bedford College until 1981. However, since the late 1960s students had been able to take a joint degree in Sociology with a qualification as a registered nurse in conjunction with the Royal Middlesex Hospital. The Nursing Studies course was a four year BSc degree course including a qualification as a State Registered Nurse. The course only had two intakes of students due to the suspension of the course following the merger of Bedford College with Royal Holloway. The possibility of relocating the course to Royal Holloway's Egham site was considered but due to the inability to find a suitable hospital to offer practical placements, the course was permanently discontinued. The final students graduated in 1986.
'The Residence': Mrs Reid's home in Grenville Street housed early boarders attending Bedford College, until the purchase of 48 Bedford Square.
Bedford Square: The College opened at 47 Bedford Square in 1849. In 1860, Mrs Reid created a Trust for the Managers of the Residence to lease 48 Bedford Square for the use of boarders. The leases were given up on the move of the College to York Place.
York Place, Baker Street: Bedford College moved here in 1874. The Managers of the Residence leased Numbers 8 and 9, and though the College were their tenants for Number 8, the two houses acted as one, with the College using the downstairs rooms and the Residence the upstairs. The Managers passed the lease for both houses to the College Council in 1894. In 1889-1890, the Shaen Wing was built behind the York Place houses to create Physics and Chemistry laboratories. In 1896 10 York Place was leased to provide for Botany and Geology laboratories, a Training Department, a gymnasium, a Library extension and a Professors' Common Room. 7 York Place was leased in 1903. All the York Place leases were sold by 1915.
East Street: Running behind York Place, 64, 65 and 66 East Street were leased by the Managers of the Residence and held for Bedford College until the move to Regent's Park.
Regent's Park Site: Bedford College bought the lease to the South Villa Estate in 1908, and raised money for a new college through a Building and Endowment Fund. The existing house was maintained until after World War One, and from 1909 housed the Training Department and the Art School, and acted as a Residence for the boarders. Designed by the architect Basil Champneys, the new Bedford College was built 1910-1913, and included Reid and Shaen Halls of Residence, (later [1948-1950] renamed Reid Hall, with Shaen, Bostock and Oliver Wings), Oliver Dining Hall, South and North Science Blocks, the Arts and Administration Block, and the Tate Library. Several extensions were made to the original buildings. The Sargent Laboratory for Botany was opened in 1925, the Tuke Building, designed by Maxwell Ayrton, was completed in 1931 and included Inorganic and Physical Chemistry laboratories, an Observatory, space for the Departments of Philosophy, Psychology, Social Studies, Geography, Italian, French and German, lecture rooms, staff rooms, common rooms, Student Union rooms and a large hall, and the Tate Library was divided into two storeys in 1932. Following severe bombing during World War Two, Oliver Hall, the Arts and Administration Building and the North Science Block were practically destroyed. Rebuilding began immediately, and comprised a rebuilt Oliver Hall (1947-1949) with kitchens, refectory, common rooms and a Mathematics Department; a new arts building called the Herringham Building (1948-1951) housing a Hall, Council Room, and the Departments of Greek, Dutch and Latin; and the Darwin Building (1950-1952) to contain the Departments of Geology, Botany and Zoology. The South Science Block was renamed the Arthur Acland Building. Owing to the growth of the College, further extensions were made, such as additions to the Acland Building in the 1950s; the extension of Reid Hall to house a Common Room and Student's Union (1958-1959); the addition of a new wing and extra storey to the Tuke Building; the building of the Botany Garden Laboratories, 1965-1966; the four-storey extension of the Library known as the Jebb Building, 1962-1964; the rebuilding of the kitchens in 1967-1969; the Tuke-Darwin Infill Building in 1971; and the Wolfson Psychology Library, built over the kitchens in Oliver Hall.
Dorset Square: In 1915, 20 Dorset Square was taken as a hostel for 15 students (it was given up in 1924). Numbers 35 and 36 were acquired in 1918 to provide additional accommodation. In 1925, the buildings were extended further with the purchase of two more adjoining houses and the refurbishment of the premises to hold 60 students. The buildings were then named Notcutt House in memory of the former student and Librarian, Miss Rachel Notcutt. The Hall was damaged beyond repair by the 1941 bombing raids on London. The leases of 10, 11 and 12 Dorset Square were acquired in 1966 after money was received from an anonymous benefactor. Named Tennyson Hall, the building opened in 1968 as a residence for 50 male students.
Bedford College House: Three adjoining houses in Adamson Road and one house in Buckland Crescent were taken in 1919. These housed 37 students and were named Bedford College House in 1925. They formed the nucleus of a residential centre to which more houses were later added. Bedford College House was renamed Lindsell Hall in 1944. Various changes were made over the years so that by 1968 the buildings housed 87 students. During the 1969-1970 session male students were housed in part of the Hall in Buckland Crescent. It therefore became the first mixed Hall of Residence.
Hanover Lodge: The building stood in the Outer Circle of Regent's Park, and was leased in 1947 as a residence for 30 students. It was extended in 1962-1963 so that by the 1966-1967 session it provided accommodation for a total of 231 students. From 1970 the accommodation was made available for men and women.
Broadhurst Gardens: 15-26 Broadhurst Gardens were taken as a residence in 1945 to solve the accommodation problem caused by damage to buildings during World War Two. The six buildings housed 60 students and were kept until 1949.
The Holme: Another property taken as a result of bomb damage to College buildings, the Holme was leased from 1946. Situated in the Inner Circle, it housed the Departments of English, Classics and Italian, while the second floor became an extension of the College Residence. The lease was given up in 1975.
St John's Lodge: This building in the Inner Circle, just beyond The Holme, was leased in 1944-1946 to hold the English and Classics Departments. In 1959 it was leased again. At first it provided residential and Union accommodation and later housed the Departments of History, Greek and Latin. Alterations were made to it in 1962.
Nottingham Place: This building was acquired in 1951 and later renamed Rachel Notcutt Hall. It was reserved for women and accommodated 16-22 students. It was given up in 1984.
During the early existence of Bedford College, the Professors were all part-time, some with second jobs elsewhere. Appointments were made in a haphazard fashion by the Council, giving the staff no period of notice if their services were dispensed with. Various Committees were set up to recommend candidates to the Council. Following the Incorporation of 1869, the staff were accorded the right of appeal to the Members of the College if dismissed, but not until 1892 was a three month period of notice instituted. Assistant members of staff, of which there were a growing number, mainly former students, were also employed by the Council, who received nominations from the Professors concerned. After 1896 the Board of Education had advisory powers relating to staff appointments.
For some time, staff files remained in the keeping of the Principal, though it appears that the day to day organisation of personnel matters resided with the Secretary until recent times.
Student societies began to emerge at Bedford College in the 1880s, and were actively encouraged by the first Principal, Emily Penrose, in order to increase the sense of community felt by the students. Types of society included subject-based academic groups, sporting societies such as the Boating Club, and political clubs. The Bedford College Union Society was created in 1913, and all the student societies except the Athletics Union and restricted societies (such as religious groups) came under its control. The Athletics Union, also formed in 1913, was responsible for sporting groups. Each society had its own set of rules (some even had magazines) and reported regularly in the College news sheet until World War Two. The number of student societies continued to increase, with 32 in 1936, 42 in the 1950s and 51 in 1980-1981. The Athletics Union ceased to exist as a separate body in 1969-1970, when it was replaced by a Sports Committee of the Bedford College Union Society.
Various unofficial records collated by members of Bedford College on an ad-hoc basis.
Throughout its history, the financial records of Bedford College have been created and maintained by a variety of different departments. Financial responsibility and control was always in the hands of the Council. For the first year of its existence, the Chairman, Rev Dr James Booth, kept accounts, until the institution in 1850 of a procedure for the drawing of cheques and a decision to appoint an auditor to check the accounts regularly. The Lady Resident and Lady Superintendent administered the fees and the household of the College and the Residence respectively from 1849-1893, both roles later being taken over by the Principal. The Council instituted a Finance Committee in 1889 (the joint post of Honorary Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee was created in 1899), which reported to the Council upon all the financial affairs of the College. Day-to-day administration of financial matters seems to have been left to the Secretary, with help from the Honorary Treasurer, especially relating to Staff salaries, scholarship trusts and building and extension fundraising. [All expenditure had to be agreed by the Finance Committee and the Council].
Photographs collected throughout the history of Bedford College.
The Bedford College Magazine was started in 1886, and became in 1894 the organ of the newly formed Bedford College Students' Association. Another early student magazine, The Magazine of Bedford Knowledge, was intended to be a light-hearted alternative. When in 1923 the Association became responsible solely for former students, the title was kept for a magazine for alumni. Present students were catered for with the Bedford College Union Magazine, which began in the same year (1923).
After a break (1941-1946) during World War Two, when the College was evacuated to Cambridge, the Bedford College Union Magazine was revived mainly as a literary magazine and given the title of The Unicorn, which it kept until 1965. Alongside this magazine ran a newssheet relating to events in the College, known successively as the Bedford News (1946-1961), the Inner Circular (1962-1982), and finally The Absorber (1981-1985), the last of which provided the students with details of the merger with Royal Holloway College.
The original management structure of Bedford College was decided upon during 1849 by several provisional committees set up for the purpose, and comprised a Board, a Council with executive powers, a Ladies Committee and a Professors Committee. The College existed as a corporate body from 24 Sep 1849, when the last meeting of the provisional General Committee took place, though the Board never formally adopted the draft constitution. During the years 1863 to 1868, no legal charter for Bedford College existed, and though several drafts were made, the various sections of the College management failed to agree on a final version.
In 1868, Bedford College, on the insistence of the Reid Trustees, came under the control of a Committee of Management that framed a new Constitution, which came into effect in 1869. The College was incorporated as an Association under the Board of Trade, with Articles of Association setting out a new management structure consisting of a body of Members termed 'The College', which replaced The Board, and a new Council elected from amongst the Members of The College. The Articles also provided for a Board of Studies, formed of the Professors of Bedford College, and a Council of Lady Visitors. The Memorandum of Association set out the objects of the College, namely to provide a liberal education for young ladies, and also provided that no person would be ineligible to any office on religious grounds.
In 1891, two Extraordinary Meetings of The College agreed upon changes in the by-laws order to increase the Council from ten to twenty members and raise the membership of The College to two hundred. In 1895 the by-laws were again revised, this time allowing for the greater representation of the Staff in the management of Bedford College, and the creation of a Board of Education possessing wide advisory powers in educational matters. The Articles of Association and the by-laws were further altered in 1902, to allow the Principal and Staff representatives the position of assessors on the Council.
In 1907 it was decided to apply to the Privy Council for a Royal Charter to take the place of the Deed of Incorporation under the Board of Trade. A draft Charter and Statutes was drawn up, providing for a system of management that was the same in outline as that already existing: the Members of The College became the Governors, the composition of the Council was altered to include representatives of the University of London, the London County Council, and the teaching Staff, an Academic Board was instituted, and the title 'Bedford College for Women, University of London' was formally established. The draft was approved by the Council and Staff, and was adopted by a Special Meeting of The College in Oct 1908. Royal Assent for this new chartered body was received in Jan 1909.
Various amendments were made to the charter in the years leading up to 1985, most notably the removal of 'for Women' from the name of the College in 1952, and alterations to allow for the admittance of men in 1965.
Due to financial and accommodation pressures, the decision was made in 1982 to merge with Royal Holloway College at Egham, and the Bedford College Charter was revoked on 1 Aug 1985.
Bedford College for Women was founded in 1849 by Mrs Elizabeth Jesser Reid, a widow who had been left a private income by her late husband, which she used to undertake philanthropic works. Mrs Reid and her circle of well-educated friends had long espoused the need for better education for women, and in 1849, she went ahead with her plans, leasing a house at 47 Bedford Square, London, placing £1,500 with three male trustees, and persuading a number of her friends to serve on the management committees and act as teaching professors. The intention was to provide a liberal and non-sectarian education for women.
In the first few years, the 'Ladies College in Bedford Square' struggled both financially and academically. The latter problem was countered in 1853 by the opening of a school on the premises to provide a better standard of entry to the classes in the College. Some of the students became resident, staying first in 'The Residence' in Grenville St, and later in 48 Bedford Square.
Upon the death of Mrs Reid in 1866, the three Reid Trustees, who controlled a large legacy of her money, insisted upon a new constitution (as the College in fact had no legal charter), which was framed by a Committee of Management and came into effect in 1868. The College was incorporated as an Association under the Board of Trade, with Articles of Association setting out a new management structure.
The College officially became 'Bedford College', though its premises moved to 8 and 9 York Place in 1874. The two houses acted as one, with the College using the downstairs rooms and the Residence the upstairs. As numbers began to rise, the College expanded, with the addition of extensions housing science laboratories. Degree examinations of the University of London were opened to women in 1878, and Bedford students had been gaining BA, BSc and Masters degrees from the early 1880s. Another innovation was the appointment in 1893 of a Lady Principal, Miss Emily Penrose, who became responsible for both the teaching and residential aspects of Bedford College.
The student numbers were still cause for concern, for despite scholarships paid for by benefactors, the College still had no permanent endowment, and financial pressures were putting off prospective students. This changed in 1894-1895 when the London County Council made a grant of £500 to the College. Numbers began to climb, with the beginning of a thriving social and academic life for the female scholars. Bedford College was a success, with a reputation for high academic standards - it boasted the largest number of female students who had graduated with London degrees. The College became one of the constituent Colleges of the newly formed teaching University of London in 1900.
Following extensive discussions, especially relating to the inadequate representation of teachers in the management structure of the College, it was decided to apply to the Privy Council for a Royal Charter to take the place of the Deed of Incorporation. Royal Assent for this new chartered body was received in Jan 1909, and the College became officially recognised as the 'Bedford College for Women'.
The continued growth of the College led to a search for new premises which culminated in the purchase of the lease of the Regent's Park site in 1908. A huge fundraising effort was undertaken to provide the new site with all modern amenities, and the official opening took place in 1913. The College buildings continued to be extended and rebuilt throughout the 70 years the College spent at Regent's Park, especially following extensive damage following wartime bombing, and numbers of students continued to rise.
The decision to admit male undergraduates was made in 1965, following the Robbins Report of 1963, which also recommended an increase in student numbers, no small task for an already overcrowded College. Male residences were created at Tennyson Hall in Dorset Square, and Hanover Lodge in Regent's Park. Other halls became mixed sex. The name of the College was changed back to 'Bedford College'.
Despite a Development Appeal, launched in 1978, financial and accommodation pressures provoked the decision, made in 1982, to merge with Royal Holloway College at Egham, and the Bedford College Charter was revoked on 1 Aug 1985. The resulting establishment was known as the Royal Holloway and Bedford New College.
Under the 1909 Royal Charter of Incorporation, the Bedford College Board of Education was replaced by the Academic Board, which also took over the functions of the Staff Meeting. It was originally composed of the Principal, who was also the ex officio Chairman, Heads of Departments or their representatives, and various other teaching staff as appointed by the Council on the recommendation of the Academic Board. These last were to number no more than five. The Secretary of the Council also acted as Secretary of the Board (until 1978 when this function was taken over by the Registrar. The Secretary of the Council was still to attend meetings). Faculties of Art and Science were created, each led by a Dean and consisting of teachers from those disciplines, the Secretaries of which reported to the Board on a regular basis. Membership was widened in 1920 and 1929 to increase the number of Assistant Staff.
At first its powers were confined to giving advice on educational matters, but the scope was enlarged in 1911 when it was permitted to make representation to the Council on matters concerning the wider management of the College. The Board was also empowered to appoint Committees made up of its members. The Charter of 1909 allowed for the election of two members of the Board to the Council, with this being increased to five by 1930. Staff Councillors held office for 3 years. The composition of the Academic Board changed in the years up to 1982 to include ex officio the Principal, the Vice-Principal, the Deans of Faculties, and the Librarian, as well as Heads of Departments and elected members from the Faculties.
The Bedford College Academic Board was empowered to create Committees made up of its own members by the terms of the Royal Charter granted in 1909.
The Hygiene Diploma, intended as a preparation for women intending to take posts in the Department of Public Health, ran from 1895-1919. Taking over its role in 1916 was the newly formed Social Studies Department, which had been created as the result of an application by the Charity Organisations Society for courses of lectures on Social Economics and Social Ethics as part of the C.O.S. Certificate for Social Workers. In 1918, the Department changed its name to the Department of Sociology, Social Studies and Economics. By 1912 a special course in Public Health had been arranged for international nurses with scholarships from the League of Red Cross Societies, and continued for six years. At this point a Committee comprising College members, representatives of the League and the College of Nursing, was formed to carry on and develop this course. A second course for Nurse Administrators and Teachers in Schools of Nursing was set up in 1925-1926. In 1934 the courses were carried on under the auspices of the Florence Nightingale International Foundation.
The Department for the Professional Training of Teachers was inaugurated in 1892, and a Loan Fund created to help the students (this was extended to the whole College in 1896). It quickly established a reputation as a leading training Centre for Assistant Mistresses in secondary schools, and received grants from the Board of Education. It was closed in 1922 following the demolition of South Villa, where it had been housed since 1913.
Art students had attended Bedford College since its opening in 1849. An Art Studio was provided at Bedford Square, which was the first in England to allow women to paint and draw from the life. A gradual decline in the number of pupils, despite injections of funds from female artists such as Madame Bodichon (Barbara Leigh Smith), led to its closure in 1914.
The early management structure of Bedford College was decided upon in 1849 by several provisional committees set up for the purpose, and comprised a Board, a Council with executive powers, a Ladies Committee and a Professors Committee.
The Board's powers were those of a court of appeal and a body concerned with questions of constitutional change. The name was not generally used after the first few years, with the full body of members being termed the 'General Meeting'. The Board consisted of the three Trustees, the members of the Ladies Committee, three 'other gentlemen', twelve Professors and the Lady Visitors. The Board elected one lady and one gentleman of their number to sit on the Council at the Midsummer meeting, and electing new members to itself. The draft Constitution framed in 1849 had been adhered to, but never formally ratified by the Board, leaving Bedford College without a legal charter.
Following the dismissal of the Council and a period of control by a Committee of Management in 1868-1869, a Constitution was framed which was accepted by the Board and came into force in 1869. The College was incorporated as an Association under the Board of Trade, with a Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the Board was replaced by a body of Members termed 'The College', the membership of which was not to exceed one hundred, of which at least a third should be women. A new Council was to be created of nine elected Members and the Honorary Secretary. No Staff members were eligible to sit on either body. Changes in the Constitution remained the affair of the Members of the College, as did appeals from the Staff concerning dismissal. Membership of the College was increased to two hundred at two Extraordinary Meetings in 1891.
Following the incorporation of Bedford College by Royal Charter in 1909, the body of the Members of the College became known as the Governors, though there was little change in the powers accorded them. The Governors numbered two hundred in total, with the constitution stating that one-fifth should have attended Bedford College in the past. In 1965 the Charter was altered to allow for up to three hundred Governors.
General Meetings were held annually until 1869, three times a year from 1870-1896, and annually after 1897, with elections being held at the autumn meeting. In 1949 these meetings became known as Governors' Meetings. Special General Meetings were held from 1941-1951 to deal with wartime and post-war problems. From 1909 onwards, all Annual General Meetings were presided over by the Visitor, who was appointed by the Governors for a term of three years. New Governors were appointed in General Meeting following nomination by the Visitor or by any two present Governors. To the Governors also fell the task of deciding the strength and composition of the Council, and, at the Annual General Meeting, choosing several of their number to sit on that body. They were also responsible for the annual appointment of a professional auditor to oversee and report on the finances of Bedford College. In 1973, the Governors were empowered to change the Charter at Annual General Meetings.
The Fellows Sub-Committee was set up to recommend three eminent personages with connections to Bedford College as Fellows. The three became ex officio Governors. Nominations were invited annually from members of the College and submitted to the Committee through the Secretary of the Council. The Fellows Committee comprised two Governors (not Councillors), three Councillors (one of whom was a Staff member), the Deans of the Faculties and the ex officio Committee members (Chairman of Council, Vice-Chairman, Principal, Vice-Principal, and Honorary Treasurer).
Following deliberations in 1849 by various provisional committees, the management structure of Bedford College was arranged into a Board, a Council, a Ladies Committee and a Professors Committee, coming into effect as a corporate body in Sep 1849.
The Council was the most important of these bodies, being the holder of the executive functions and responsible for the general and educational management of Bedford College. It comprised nine members: one Trustee, two representatives of the Board, three Lady Visitors, and three Professors, the women on the Council being the final authority for 'all matters in which female propriety and comfort is concerned'. The Ladies Committee and the Professors Committee were intended to report to the Council, which would mediate between and unite the opinions of the two advisory bodies. Other powers included appointment and remuneration of staff and overseeing of College finances. Various decisions made by the Council included new plans for the conduct of finances, 1850, including a rigorous procedure for the drawing of cheques and the appointment of an auditor to oversee the accounts; the drawing up in 1856 of a systematic four year course of study for pupils, including a terminal examination; and the creation of a Committee of Education to assess and advise students.
The draft constitution of Bedford College, however, had never been formally adopted by the Board, and lacked any legal power. Despite numerous attempts, no formal charter could be agreed upon by all sections of the management structure, and the College was also suffering under financial pressures and suspicions of inadequate teaching methods. Following the death of Mrs Reid, her Trustees instigated the replacement of the College government by a Committee of Management chaired by Mark Pattison and containing several members of the old Council. After a period of autocratic rule, the Committee of Management framed a Constitution that was accepted by the Board and came into force in 1869. The College was incorporated as an Association under the Board of Trade, and the Articles of Association placed the government of Bedford College in the hands of a body of Members named 'The College', who took the place of the previous Board. The Council remained the main executive body, though it was no longer made up of representatives from different sections of the College, but was consist of ten Members, nine elected by 'The College' in General Meeting (with one third being women) and the Honorary Secretary. This Council had full executive powers and was also empowered to create Committees: a Committee of Education was instituted immediately.
The membership of the Council was changed from ten to twenty in 1892 to allow for the presence of representatives of the Residence, and a need for closer communication between Staff and the College government led to Staff representatives being awarded the position of assessors on the Council in 1902.
Following the grant of a Royal Charter in 1909, the Council was restructured to include representatives of the University of London, the London County Council, the teaching Staff, and the Governors, with the Principal becoming an ex officio member. One-third of the Councillors were still to be women. Meetings were held at least once a term, with the annual election of a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Honorary Treasurer at the first Council meeting after the Annual General Meeting. One-fifth of the elected Councillors (those chosen from among the Governors) was to resign at every AGM.
The Council conducted the general business of College, with powers to appoint and dismiss the Principal, Secretary, teaching staff and other employees, to appoint Standing or Special Committees (the Chairman of Council being an ex officio member of all committees), and supervise the overall revenue and expenditure of the College. They also maintained the Common Seal of the College, the affixing of which had to be attested by two Councillors and the Secretary of Council.
The size and makeup of the Bedford College Council has varied over the years, the final total being fixed at 32 by the Governors in 1982. Student Councillors were admitted to the Council in 1973 - elected by whole student body in secret ballot - and had to include the President and former President of Bedford College Union Society.
The power to create Standing and Special Committees was given to the Council of Bedford College when the Articles of Association were drawn up in 1869. This power remained with the Council following the Incorporation by Royal Charter in 1909, with the Chairman of Council, the Honorary Treasurer, the Vice-Chairman, the Principal and the Vice-Principal all becoming ex officio members of every Committee. All appointments to Committees were made annually by the Council at its first meeting after the AGM, with the term of office usually being three years. All Committees were required to appoint a Chairman, and the Secretary of the Council also acted as Secretary to all its Committees.
Standing Committees comprise:
The Finance Committee, formed by the Council in 1889, with the Honorary Treasurer being automatically created its Chair after administrative reforms in 1899. The Charter of 1909 allowed for its four members to be elected by the Council, though revisions to the by-laws in 1972, 1977, 1979 and 1983 meant it became much larger and made up of the ex officio members plus the Deans of the Faculties, the President and Vice-President of the Union Society, and 8-10 Governors. The Committee is responsible for reporting to the Council on all financial affairs of the College.
The Policy and Estimates Committee, instituted by the Council in 1972, and revoked in 1979. It consisted of the Chairman of the Council, the Honorary Treasurer, the Principal, the Deans of the Faculties, 2 lay members of the Council, and 4 members elected by the Academic Board. Its role was to advise the Council on development policy in its inter-related academic, physical and financial aspects, and to exercise scrutiny over quinquennial and annual estimates of expenditure. Reports were sent to the Council and the Academic Board.
Standing Committee on Laboratory Expenditure.
The Committee of Education, constituted by the Committee of Management in 1868, and intended to address all educational questions. The original members were Pattison, Bostock, Bryce and Eleanor Smith, and one of their number met with all students entering the College to advise them in their choice of subjects. The Committee had the main responsibility for the administration of educational matters, such as timetables and examinations. (A Sub-Committee was formed in 1882 for the purpose of advising students on courses of study, but seems to have only functioned at the beginning of term.) In 1881 the Council passed a resolution allowing Professors to elect three of their number onto the Committee of Education, with Staff representation increasing to six in 1892. The Committee was replaced by the Board of Education in 1896. The Board consisted of three ex officio members (Chairman and Honorary Secretary of the Council, and the Principal) and five representatives each from the Council and the teaching staff. This incarnation possessed wide advisory powers in educational matters, including staff appointments. In the 1909 Royal Charter of Incorporation the Board of Education was replaced by the Academic Board.
Physical Education Committee.
In 1871 the Professors were requested by the Council to form themselves into Board of Studies, though there appear to have been no regular meetings for ten years. At their occasional meetings they gave general advice on educational matters, and in 1881 were allowed by the Council to elect three representatives to the Education Committee. At the meeting to elect these representatives, the staff also resolved to meet twice a term and appointed a Chairman and Secretary. From then on the Staff Meeting met regularly, at least once a term, with duties including the nomination of students for scholarships and other minor educational matters referred to it by the Council. The membership of the Staff Meeting was officially laid down in 1882, and was initially confined to Professors, though Assistant staff were invited to attend and take part. In the by-laws of 1902, membership was widened to include Lecturers, Assistant Lecturers, and the Principal. By 1892, the representation of the Staff Meeting on the Education Committee had increased to six. Following agitation by the Staff Meeting for official representation in the government of Bedford College, the new Board of Education was set up in 1896, the composition of which included five members of the staff. The duties of the Staff Meeting were taken over by the Academic Board in 1909.
The Loan Fund Committee for the Training of Teachers came into being following the inauguration at Bedford College of the Department for Professional Training of Teachers. A Loan Fund was set up for students in the Department in 1892, though this was extended to all students of the College in 1896 (see Principal's Loan Fund).
Building Committees were founded on an ad hoc basis in response to a particular need until 1978. Therefore there are Committees relating to different building projects undertaken by the College, such as the Premises Committee, 1908-1915, which oversaw the purchase and alteration of the Regent's Park site and worked hand-in-hand with the Building Fund Committee that raised funds for the venture. The Regent's Park site was subject to constant extension and building work, especially following severe bombing in World War Two, and several Committees were set up to control planning, expenditure, and contracts. The House Committee, created in 1876, was a different matter. Its role was to superintend the maintenance of the College premises and residences, regulate the housekeeping expenses and submit reports to the Council and Finance Committee every term. It consisted of five Governors appointed by the Council, one member of the teaching staff nominated annually by the Academic Board, and the Principal, who was to act as ex officio Secretary. In 1978 overall responsibility for building and maintenance was put into the hands of the Estates Management Committee, which took on domestic concerns as well as building and maintenance. It consisted of the ex officio Committee members, three Councillors, three teaching staff, one member of the Space Committee, two undergraduate students appointed by the Bedford College Union Society, one post-graduate student, and the Wardens of the Halls of Residence. Its brief was to monitor negotiations for the purchase, sale, lease or planning permission of sites and premises; to supervise the planning, costing, drawing up of contracts and progress of building, improvement and maintenance work; to control and supervise the management and routine maintenance of College's grounds, premises and household services; to present accounts and estimates for building work; to report expenditure on maintenance of the household, Refectory, Halls of Residence, sports facilities and parking; and present recommendations for fees and charges.
Special Committees were formed as required, mainly to deal with constitutional matters. For example, the Acland Committee, formed in 1899 and chaired by the Rt Hon Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland, was appointed 'to consider steps for the setting of the College on a sound financial basis' and 'to recommend to the Council any changes in the constitution or organisation of the College...' Its report resulted in the increase of College revenue and the increased representation of the staff in the government of the College. Other Special Committees have been set up to scrutinise the implications of the admission of men to Bedford College, and the possibility of merging with various other colleges of the University of London, including Westfield, King's College, and Royal Holloway. Joint Planning Committees of Bedford College and Royal Holloway College oversaw the mechanics of the merger in 1982-1985.
The Faculties of Arts and Science were first organised in 1909, following the reorganisation of the constitution of Bedford College when it was granted a Royal Charter. Each was presided over by a Dean, who reported directly to the Academic Board, and included Heads of Departments, Lecturers and Recognised Teachers of London University. The Deans gradually came to play an important role within the College, sitting on the Academic Board and later on the Finance Committee (1972) and the Policy and Estimates Committee (1972).
The early management structure of Bedford College was decided upon in 1849 by several provisional committees set up for the purpose, and, despite the original wish of Mrs Reid and her friends to keep the management of the College in the hands of women, relegated the executive authority over the propriety and comfort of the pupils to the four women who sat on the Council. Owing to the lack of Committee experience of the women involved in the venture, made clear in the provisional stages of the project, a decision was made that the Ladies Committee should retain no executive function, but merely be an advisory body.
The Ladies Committee was active as an advisory force, giving the Council its opinion on developments in the College and educational questions, but it faced a constant struggle to maintain adequate Committee procedures, only drawing up the requested by-laws in 1850-1851. These provided for the title of President for the Chairman of the Committee, but the office of Chair was not appointed systematically, and the meetings were often disorderly. Revised by-laws and Rules were drawn up in 1855, in which systems for electing representatives to the Council were outlined. The Committee also undertook yearly appointment of a salaried Lady Resident who was responsible for fees, household supervision and discipline in the College, until tenure of the office became permanent in 1854.
A group of Lady Visitors was formed from the original members of the Ladies Committee (which was often known as the 'Committee of Lady Visitors'), mainly for the purpose of chaperonage and discipline of the young ladies attending lectures. At a meeting of the provisional Ladies Committee in Aug 1849, rules for the conduct of students were drawn up, as was a timetable of supervision. No Professor's wife was permitted to be a Lady Visitor, and no Professor could reprimand a pupil except in the presence of a Lady Visitor. Twenty-one Lady Visitors were appointed in Oct 1849, though the draft constitution allowed for a maximum of forty, and numbers soon increased to thirty-nine. A locked book was kept for the Lady Visitors to enter remarks and suggestions. As the years went on, numbers became more and more difficult to maintain due to the expenditure of time required from the role. Despite the introduction of auxiliaries and chaperonage fees, numbers continued to decline until chaperonage was dispensed with in 1893.
Already on the wane due to the emergence of the Reid Trustees and the prominence of the ladies on the Council, the powers of the Ladies Committee were further reduced upon the Incorporation of the College in 1869, when it failed to be given an important place in the constitution and had its numbers limited to 14. The last meeting was held in April 1893, though it had ceased to exert any real power for the preceding twenty-four years.
Until the grant of a Royal Charter in 1909, Bedford College had no modern administration system, relying instead on the good offices of several volunteers. With the move to Regent's Park in 1911-1913, the burden on the Secretary became too great, and the salaried offices of Bursar and Registrar were created in 1913. The Registrar's Department was concerned with all matters affecting the students and their studies, such as registration, academic development and student administration. From 1913 to 1945 and 1981-1985 the post of Registrar was combined with that of the Principal's Secretary.
Previous to this, files relating to individual students and the classes attended were kept in the Principal's Office. Before the appointment of a Principal in 1892, the Lady Resident kept details of fees and pupils. In 1888, student registers dating back to 1849 were compiled by Henrietta Busk.
The Council set up the Library Committee in 1886, though Rachel Notcutt had been Librarian since 1872. The original Committee included six former students, a representative of the present students, the Secretary of Council, and the Librarian. A member of the Council and a further two present students were added in 1890, but staff were not represented until 1895, when two were allowed to sit on the Committee. At the same time, the former students were removed from the Library Committee and replaced by the Chairman and seven members of the Council. The Principal became an ex officio member, and a fourth present student was added. The 1909 Charter removed student representation altogether. The composition altered once more in 1937, and the Committee comprised all Heads of Departments, a member of Assistant staff from each Faculty, four Council representatives and the ex officio Committee members. The Librarian has throughout acted as Secretary to the Committee. After the resignation of Rachel Notcutt in 1896, volunteers held the post until 1902, when a full time Librarian was appointed. The Library staff slowly increased, and in 1926 the Librarian was assigned the status of Head of an academic department. The scope of the Committee was to draw up rules for the use of the Library, and to arrange the books.
In 1860, Mrs Reid gave £2,000 to her friends Elizabeth Ann Bostock, Jane Martineau and Eleanor Elizabeth Smith, to purchase the lease of 48 Bedford Square as a boarding house for pupils of Bedford College, administering the money as Managers of the Residence. There was no formal trust agreement, even following Jane Martineau's death in 1882, until 1885, when the relevant documentation was created and a further three women became Trustees (Ethel Glazebrook, Sophia Margaretta Pilcher and Madeline Shaw Lefevre).
The three Managers agreed to rent part of Number 48 to the College, retaining the remainder of the rooms for the boarding house. This meant that although in close proximity, the management of the College and the Residence were entirely separate. The Managers were directly responsible for everything to do with the boarders, including discipline and propriety. A Lady Superintendent was employed to watch over the young women staying there. On Mrs Reid's death in 1866, the lease of 47 Bedford Square also became the property of the Managers (the three women were also Reid Trustees), giving them a great deal of say in the future of the College, and allowing them to demand a new Constitution (created by a Committee of Management in 1868-1869).
In 1874, due to serious overcrowding and lack of facilities at Bedford Square, the Managers of the Residence leased 8 and 9 York Place, to which Bedford College transferred in the same year, and used the income from the capital of the Trust to help in the maintenance of various buildings and the lease of further accommodation in the surrounding area. Buildings leased included 64, 65 and 66 East Street in 1886, directly behind the College, and work was undertaken to build the Shaen Wing in 1889. Once again, as with the houses at Bedford Square, the Managers leased the College part of all the new premises.
Despite their opposition to the merging of the College and the Residence, which they saw as undermining the independence of the latter, the Managers agreed in 1893 to the merging of the offices of Lady Resident (responsible for the College) and Lady Superintendent (responsible for the Residence) in the person of a Lady Principal. The successful candidate, Miss Emily Penrose, was therefore to report to both the College and the Managers separately, a complicated situation which was remedied by an offer by the Managers in 1894 to hand over to the College Council entire responsibility for the management of the Residence, together with the leases of 8 and 9 York Place and the East Street Residences. The offer was accepted.
The Managers of the Residence retained the capital of Mrs Reid's Residence Trust, together with savings accumulated. The income was used for various maintenance projects, such as the acquisition of 7 York Place, and the possible redemption of the leases of York Place and East Street. In 1927 the sole surviving Manager, Mrs Pilcher, handed over the Trust to the College.
During the early history of Bedford College, the office of Principal did not exist, the relevant tasks being undertaken by a Lady Resident (for care of the College) and a Lady Superintendent (for care of the Residence). In 1893, the Managers of the Residence finally agreed to the merging of these two offices in the person of a Lady Principal, who had taken over the full management of the Residence by 1894. The successful candidate was Emily Penrose, who was appointed on the understanding that she was an 'educational head' only, her role being that of an advisor of students regarding their studies. The Principal only became an official attendee of Council meetings in 1897 (previously her attendance had been by invitation only) but was still unable to participate in the proceedings. Emily Penrose was from the first a member of the Committee of Education and, after two years, of the Library Committee, but was excluded from the Finance Committee and the House Committee. She became a member of the Staff Meeting upon her appointment as Professor of Ancient History in 1894. Her special duties, besides giving educational advice, included receiving fees and keeping the petty cash account. The office of Vice-Principal was created in 1894, but discontinued in 1897.
In 1898, with the appointment of Ethel Hurlbatt as Principal, the position improved. The Principal became an ex officio member of the teaching staff and the Staff Meeting, and from 1900 onwards was usually the Chairman of the latter. The Principal remained a permanent member when the duties of the Staff Meeting were transferred to the Academic Board in 1909. The Charter of Incorporation of 1909 also made the Principal an ex officio member of the Council, allowing direct participation in the government of the College, a process begun by her appointment as an assessor on the Council in 1902. The 1909 Charter also created the Principal an ex officio member of all Council Committees. Thus the Principal became deeply involved in all aspects of College government, especially relating to educational, financial and building matters.
The role of the Principal later extended to sitting occasionally on the Senate of the University of London, though direct representation was not extended to the various Schools of the University until the constitution was revised in 1929, when the Bedford College Principal had a permanent seat.
The duties of the Principal were never clearly defined, though the office retained responsibility for the welfare and conduct of the students. The office of Senior Student was instituted in 1894 (followed by that of Senior Resident in 1897) to act as a link between the Principal and students. The title remained until 1922, though the method of appointment by the Principal was changed on the creation of the Students' Union in 1913. Staff and Student files were traditionally held by the Principal's Office, though few other records survive as decisions made involving the Principal were chiefly made in Council and Committee meetings.
Various Professors originally filled the unpaid post of Honorary Secretary to the Council, until Jane Martineau took over the role in 1855. She was followed by Henrietta Le Breton, Frances Kennington, Blanche Shadwell and Lucy Russell, who retired in 1898. The decision was then made to appoint a salaried Lady Secretary who would undertake clerical duties for the College and the Residence. The growth of the College, however, meant an increase in the volume of administrative work, leading to the appointment of an Assistant Secretary and an Honorary Treasurer in 1899. In 1913, with the move to Regent's Park, this ad hoc administrative system was put onto a more modern footing, with the employment of a salaried Bursar and Registrar to share the workload. This led to the creation of structured office procedures.
As the College developed, the role of the Secretary became ever more important, with an increase in scope and responsibility, especially on the financial side. From the outset the Honorary Secretaries had dealt with the general College accounts, and this duty expanded to include the calculation of salaries for the teaching staff, the administration of moneys for gifts and bequests, communication with the University of London, London County Council and other grant making bodies, and the recording and organisation of Council meetings and procedures. The Secretary sat on every Council Standing Committee, initially acting as Secretary for them all.
The Bedford College Staff Association was founded in 1917, and brought together (on an irregular basis) all members of staff, both academic and administrative, to deliberate on matters of common interest. Later it became responsible for organising the Senior Common Room and a varying programme of social events, such as Christmas celebrations and the end of session Summer party. The Bedford College Assistant Staff Association was formed in 1918 to ensure that the Assistant Staff had a voice in various issues affecting the government of the College and their own status. Its meetings were few, however, due to the creation of the Association of University Teachers in the following year (1919), which had the same preoccupations. The AUT was founded for the 'advancement of University education and research, and the promotion of common action among University teachers and the safeguarding of the interests of its members'. The first Annual Meeting of the AUT was held at Bedford College in Jun 1920.
Bedford College Student's Association was founded in 1894 to represent both past and present students. The post of Senior Student was created by the Principal in 1894 to act as liaison between the Principal and the pupils, though the latter had no role in choosing their representative. By 1908, the workload of the Senior Student was so heavy that three aide de camps (one each for Arts, Science and the Training Department) were added, and to this group fell the responsibility for the good conduct of the students and the general organisation of student affairs. Following the creation in 1913 of the Bedford College Union Society, the office of Senior Student was retained and supplemented by a Treasurer, Secretary and a Committee of four members. The Senior Student was then elected by the whole body of members, with the Principal having a veto and the ability to put forward nominees. In 1922 the Senior Student assumed the title of President of the BCUS. By 1923 the present students were adequately represented by the Union, so the Bedford College Students' Association became responsible for former students only, becoming the Bedford College Old Students' Association. In 1963, its name was again changed, to the Bedford College Association. The Union, meanwhile, was responsible for all College Societies (except the Athletic Union and religious societies). Initially, not all students became members of the Union, until the problem of Union fees was solved by merging them with the fees for tuition, at which point membership became compulsory. By 1973, there was student representation on Bedford College Council.
No information available at present.
Nathaniel Bedford was born in 1757. In 1776 he served a years apprenticeship under John Gunning at St George's hospital. He qualified under the auspices of the Company of Surgeons as Second Mate, First Rate, March 5 1778 and as Surgeon, 5th Rate on April 19 1781. In December 1781 Bedford, joined the 'Formidable' as Surgeon. It was docked at Portsmouth and left in January 1782 sailing for the West Indies. Bedford was appointed Surgeon to the 'Ardent' in June 1782, soon after that he joined the 'Conqueror' in Barbados and sailed with it to New York and Boston and then back to Barbados. In December 1782 the ship sailed to Antigua and Guadeloupe and then to English Harbour returning to England in July 1783. The rest of Bedford's life and career is not known.
The Bedfordshire Pension Fund is managed by the County Council.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
George Dawe, 1781-1829, was a portrait painter and mezzotint engraver. Dawe was noticed by Alexander I and invited to go to St Petersburg to paint, on very profitable terms, more than 300 portraits of Russian generals who had distinguished themselves in the war against the emperor Napoleon I. Dawe stayed in Russia for about ten years (from spring 1819 to May 1828, and again briefly in spring 1829) and founded a 'portrait factory', confirming his reputation as an international painter who was prolific and rapid in production. For five years, until the completion of most of the Military Gallery (opened in the Winter Palace in December 1826 and now part of the Hermitage collection), Dawe's studio, including his brother Henry and brother-in-law Thomas Wright (who married Mary Margaret Dawe in St Petersburg in 1825), issued many engravings after the originals which were painted by Dawe himself with the assistance of two Russian apprentices, A. Polyakov and V.-A. Golicke. The engravings were protected by copyright, granted to Dawe by the emperor. The artist had an unparalleled success in Russia: in the winter of 1826 he held a solo exhibition in Moscow; Nicholas I chose him as court painter for the coronation ceremony of the same year; in 1820 Dawe was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg, where in 1827 he was allowed to exhibit 150 portraits. The next year he was appointed the first portrait painter at court and in 1829 accompanied Grand Duke Constantine to Warsaw.
Source: G. Andreeva, 'Dawe, George (1781-1829)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008.
Esmond Samuel de Beer was born in Dunedin, New Zealand. He came to Britain in 1910 to attend Mill Hill School and subsequently studied at New College, Oxford, (interrupted by war service) and University College London. A private income from his family's clothing business enabled him to spend most of his life researching as a private scholar, living in London with his elder sisters Mary and Dora. De Beer was particularly interested in the late 17th century and produced editions of John Evelyn's correspondence and of John Locke's diaries. He was a member of several learned societies and became associated with the University of London's Institute of Historical Research and Warburg Institute. He was appointed CBE in 1969.
Sir Frederick Tidbury-Beer was born in 1892. He attended Temple Grove, Mercers' and King's College Schools before beginning work aged 13 as an office-boy. He entered the Stock Exchange as a clerk in 1911, then served in the First World War in the French Army Medical Service and with the Royal Air Force. After the war he resumed his business activities, and in 1922 became a member of the Stock Exchange. He was knighted in 1947.
Sir Frederick was an active participant in the local government of the City of London. He was Master of the Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers and of the Company of Parish Clerks. He sat on the Court of Common Council, 1940-1954, sitting on various Corporation committees particularly relating to post Second World War planning and reconstruction. He was Sheriff, 1945-1946, an Alderman of Cheap Ward, and one of the Lieutenants of the City of London. He was a trustee or governor of various schools and hospitals, and a churchwarden of St Botolph Without Bishopsgate, 1944-1953.
Sir Frederick gave his recreations as the history and topography of Old London, and was the vice-president of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, and the Roman and Medieval London Excavation Council. He was also an Honorary Associate of the Town Planning Institute. He died in February 1959.
Information from: 'TIDBURY-BEER, Sir Frederick (Tidbury)', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920-2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 [ http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U243743, accessed 17 June 2011].