Beaumont Philosophical Institution People's Palace , Mile End Road

The Beaumont Philosophical Institution was founded in Beaumont Square, Mile End Road, Stepney in 1840 by John Thomas Barber Beaumont, "for the mental and moral improvement of the inhabitants of the said Square, and the surrounding neighbourhood...." In 1882 a new scheme for the Beaumont Trust was drawn up by the Charity Commissioners. The trustees spent the next years raising money to build the People's Palace, Mile End Road, Stepney, the main hall of which was opened by Queen Victoria, 14 May 1887. From the provision of elementary education in the original scheme of 1892, developed the East London Technical College which became a school of London University in 1907. In 1909 the administration of the People's Palace and of East London College was put under two separate committees. A new scheme of administration drawn up by the Charity Commissioners in 1933 separated entirely the People's Palace from the college, which in 1934 received a royal charter and was renamed Queen Mary College.