City and Guilds of London Institute

The City and Guilds of London Institute (C&GLI) for the Advancement of Technical Education has its origins in a meeting in 1876, when the livery companies agreed to create a Central Institution in London to improve the training of craftsmen. As it proved difficult to find a site for the planned Central Institution, Finsbury Technical College was established in 1878 in Cowper Street. The Central Institution opened in 1884, in a purpose designed building in South Kensington. It became known as the City and Guilds College after its full incorporation into Imperial College in 1910. An important objective of the C&GLI was to conduct a system of qualifying examinations in technical subjects. This was done in 1879, when the system established by the Society of Arts in 1873 was taken over by the C&GLI. The C&GLI was incorporated in 1880 and received a Royal Charter in 1900.