Royal Holloway, University of London

University Details

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway College, originally a women-only college, was founded by the Victorian entrepreneur Thomas Holloway in 1879 on the Mount Lee Estate in Egham. The founding of the college was brought about after Holloway, seeking to fulfill a philanthropic gesture, began a public debate through The Builder regarding 'How best to spend a quarter of a million or more', at which point his wife proposed to build a college especially for women. Holloway later increased his original sum of money to half a million, and today, the campus is still best known for its original 600-bed building, known as the Founder's Building, designed by William Henry Crossland and inspired by the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley, France. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner called the original college building "the most ebullient Victorian building in the Home Counties", and noted that together with its sister building the Holloway Sanatorium, it represents "the summit of High Victorian design". The Founder's Building, which is now Grade I listed, was officially opened in 1886 by Queen Victoria, who allowed the use of "Royal" in the college's name. Founders have been described by The Times as "one of Britain’s most remarkable university buildings", largely for its elaborate architecture, and according to The Sunday Times it "makes the college instantly recognizable". The college also has a Chapel, completed in 1886 as one of the last parts of the university to be finished. October 1887 saw the arrival of the first 28 students at Royal Holloway College. It later became a constituent of the University of London in 1900, as did Bedford College, which eventually merged with Royal Holloway College. 

Important Facts

IMPORTANT FACTS

Facts Details

Important Facts Outstanding campus with a brilliant location Our campus is one of the world’s most beautiful with everything you need right on your doorstep. Our teaching spaces, high-quality accommodation, sports center, cafés, and bars are all set in 135 acres of parkland and forest. World-class facilities Our range of facilities includes the spectacular Founder's Building, a modern lecture theatre complex called the Windsor Building, the Students' Union, academic spaces, halls of residence as well as all the amenities you expect from a top-class university. We also have a new Library and Student Services Centre, which opened in September 2017. Hear what our students think of the Davison Builiding. Active community People from more than 130 countries live and study here, with over 100 student societies to take part in. Research excellence underpins a personalized education We have an international reputation for research. In the Research Excellence Framework, published on Thursday 18 December 2014, it was confirmed that we sit within the top 25 percent of UK universities for research which is rated as ‘world-leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’. Watch our Talking Teaching video to find out more.

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