A Short History Of The College#
Goodenough College (as it is now known - the name has changed over the years) was launched in 1930 by a group of prominent British public figures, led by the Chairman of Barclays Bank and founder of Barclays Bank, Frederick Craufurd Goodenough.
Goodenough and his friends wanted to provide able young men, coming from the Dominions and Colonies to study in London, with a collegiate communal life in London. The College was to be a place where they would form lasting friendships in an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding.
A site was acquired in Mecklenburgh Square and the College opened on 4 October 1931 (now celebrated annually by the College as Founders’ Day). The first students to be admitted were an Australian, a Canadian, a South African and a Briton. They lived in a terraced house on Mecklenburgh Place while London House was built: an accommodation block for 300 single students, which included a Great Hall (for all meals), the Charles Parsons Library and three common rooms - all set around a grassed quadrangle.
London House, which took almost thirty years to complete, was built to the designs of the renowned architect Sir Herbert Baker, his partner Alexander T. Scott and their successor Vernon Helbing. It was constructed in three stages:
- Stage 1 (1935-37):
The south-east corner including the Great Hall, Charles Parsons Library, common rooms and the Guilford St entrance. This was the only part to be completed in Sir Herbert Baker’s lifetime. - Stage 2 (1948-53):
The rest of the south wing, the west wing and the north-west corner. Alexander Scott continued in Baker’s style, with some simplification of detail. - Stage 3 (1961-63):
The north wing, including the north-east corner. This was the economy version (for example, there was no flint work). Architect Vernon Helbing also created the College Chapel out of former offices.
Following World War II, at the instigation of the Chairman of the Governors, Sir William Goodenough (son of the founder) the Lord Mayor of London launched a Thanksgiving Fund to raise money across Britain to thank the people of the Commonwealth and the United States for their generous gifts, especially of food parcels, during and after the War. The money raised was used to build William Goodenough House for international women graduate students. It was constructed on the north side of Mecklenburgh Square, replacing terraced houses destroyed or badly damaged in the war. With the addition of further annexes, by 1957 the capacity of William Goodenough House was brought up to 120 rooms for single students and 60 flats for married couples and families - again, furnished with common rooms, a dining hall and extensive library. William Goodenough House has seen a number of further extensions in recent years that increased capacity to the current 170 single rooms and 110 flats.
In turn, London House has also seen refurbishment, and is now home to 303 single students, with five residential suites for visiting academics and three flats for long term visiting academics and other senior university staff.
The two houses, London House and William Goodenough House operated as separate institutions until 1965, when the decision was made to combine under the one name, the Dominion Students’ Hall Trust.
Although initially restricted to post-graduate students from the Dominions and, postindependence, the Commonwealth, following the UK’s admission to the European Common Market in 1973, the decision was made to admit European postgraduate students, too. Finally, in 2001 the newly-named Goodenough College decided to open its doors to students from all countries, although it still focuses particularly on those from the Commonwealth.
Throughout the College’s history, it has benefited from the involvement and guidance of a committed Board of Governors and the interest of the British Royal family. London House was formally opened by Queen Mary, wife of George VI, in 1937. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the College’s Patron and makes regular visits to Mecklenburgh Square, having first shown her interest in the institution when launching the Lord Mayor’s Thanksgiving Fund appeal in March 1950.