Gresham College Explained

Gresham College
Motto:For the Love of Learning since 1597
Endowment:£1,617,929 (2022) [1]
Head Label:Chair of Council
Head:Loyd Grossman[2]
Academic Staff:10 professorships
City:Holborn, London
Country:United Kingdom
Campus:Urban
Colours:
Free Label:Scarf

Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts over 140 free public lectures every year. Since 2001, all lectures have been made available online. the Provost is Professor Martin Elliott.[3]

History

First four centuries

Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange, left his estate jointly to the City of London Corporation and the Mercers' Company, which today support the college through the Joint Grand Gresham Committee under the presidency of the Lord Mayor of London. Gresham's will provided for the setting up of the college – in Gresham's mansion in Bishopsgate, on the site now occupied by Tower 42, the former NatWest Tower – and endowed it with the rental income from shops sited around the Royal Exchange.

The early success of the college led to the incorporation of the Royal Society in 1660,[4] which pursued its activities at the college in Bishopsgate before moving to its own premises in Crane Court in 1710. Gresham College was mentioned "particularly and academically" alongside the Inns of Court and other colleges in London as part of a figurative University of London in Sir George Buck's tract, The Third Universitie of England: Or a Treatise of the Foundations of all the Colledges, Auncient Schooles of Priviledge, and of Houses of Learning, and Liberall Arts, within and about the Most Famous Cittie of London, published in 1615 as an appendix to John Stow's Annales. The 17th century saw various proposals for a third university in England, including one in London, taking in Gresham College.[5] The college remained in Gresham's mansion in Bishopsgate until 1768, and moved about London thereafter until the construction in 1842 of its own buildings in Gresham Street EC2. Gresham College did not become part of the University of London on the founding of the university in the 19th century, although a close association between the college and the university persisted for many years. In 1892 the foundation of a 'Gresham University' in London was proposed in Parliament, intended to be a "Teaching University worthy of this Metropolis."[6] This was opposed by the Victoria University on the grounds that its medical faculty would dominate medical teaching in the country to the detriment of Manchester.[7] The proposed university may just have borrowed the name from the college.

21st century

Since 1991, the college has operated at Barnard's Inn Hall, Holborn EC1. Since 2000, the college regularly invites visiting speakers to deliver lectures on topics outside its usual range, and it also hosts occasional seminars and conferences. The college provides over 140 lectures a year, all open to the public free of charge.

Since 2001, the college has been recording its lectures and releasing them online in what is now an archive[8] [9] of over 2,000 lectures. Since 2007, lectures have also been available through YouTube, with 54 million views of 3,000 videos and 282,000 subscribers .[10] [11]

Annual lectures series of particular note hosted by the college include: the Gresham Special Lecture, the Annual Lord Mayor's Event, and the Gray's Inn Reading.

The college is a registered charity under English law.

Professors

The seven original Gresham College professorships that date back to the origins of the college are:

These original endowed chairs reflect the curriculum of the medieval university (the trivium and quadrivium); but as a place for the public and frequent voicing of new ideas, the college played an important role in the Enlightenment and in the formation of the Royal Society. Early distinguished Gresham College professors included Christopher Wren, who lectured on astronomy in the 17th century, and Robert Hooke, who was Professor of Geometry from 1665 until 1704.[12] The professors received £50 a year, and the duties of their positions were specified tightly.

Today three further professorships have been added:

The professors generally hold their positions for three years,[16] extendable for a fourth year, and give six lectures a year. There are also regular visiting professors appointed to give series of lectures at the College, and a many single-lecture speakers.

Gresham Special Lecture series

The Gresham Special Lecture – now called The Sir Thomas Gresham Annual Lecture – originated in 1983 as a free public lecture delivered by a prominent speaker. It was devised as a focus-point among the many free public lectures offered every year.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: GRESHAM COLLEGE - Charity 1039962. register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. 24 December 2023. 9 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809180101/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_regId=1039962&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_subId=0. live.
  2. Web site: Governance | Gresham College. www.gresham.ac.uk. 10 February 2023. 4 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230604000252/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/about-us/organisation/governance. live.
  3. Web site: Governance. Gresham College. 2024-08-09. 4 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230604000252/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/about-us/organisation/governance. live.
  4. Web site: Gresham College and Arundel House. Royal Society.
  5. Book: A Social History of Education in England. 155. John Lawson. Harold Silver. Routledge. 28 October 2013. 9781134531950.
  6. Web site: Gresham University Charter - Hansard - UK Parliament. 4 October 2023. 9 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809180109/https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1892-03-10/debates/cf4a9631-0437-492b-b0a6-561b686ba366/GreshamUniversityCharter. live.
  7. Web site: Bundle: Albert/Gresham University petitions - Administrative documents - Victoria University Archive - Archives Hub. archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. 24 December 2023. 9 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809180114/https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/a1ab7d14-5640-3568-b434-01ab0fedb876?component=7c9a1858-4515-3112-bbb4-13a51f1a9916. live.
  8. Web site: Watch Now. Gresham College. 8 August 2024.
  9. Web site: Past Lectures. Gresham College . June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140702004938/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/past . 2 July 2014 . dead.
  10. Web site: Gresham College. YouTube. 9 August 2024.
  11. Web site: GreshamCollege#s YouTube Stats. 7 February 2021.
  12. Web site: Gresham Professor of Geometry. gresham.ac.uk. 20 June 2011. 26 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110526130956/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/gresham-professor-of-geometry. live.
  13. Web site: Gresham College. mercers.co.uk. 27 July 2015. 8 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150908035253/http://www.mercers.co.uk/gresham-college. live.
  14. http://www.gresham.ac.uk/gresham-college-press-release-25062014 "Gresham Professor of the Environment: Carolyn Roberts appointed to only the second new Professorship in 400 years"
  15. http://www.gresham.ac.uk/gresham-college-press-release-260615 "Elizabethan "University" Appoints Professor of IT"
  16. Web site: Profile of Gresham College . uk-universities.net . 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20231004104416/http://www.uk-universities.net/Universities/Gresham-College.html . 4 October 2023 . dead .
  17. Web site: Populism, Aristotle and Hope. gresham.ac.uk.
  18. Web site: The Journey from Black-Hole Singularities to a Cyclic Cosmology. gresham.ac.uk. 28 June 2023. 17 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220217085908/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/thomas-gresham-22. live.
  19. Web site: The Barbican Centre at 40 – Past, Present and Future . gresham.ac.uk . 12 September 2022 . 9 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240809180548/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/thomas-gresham-21 . live .
  20. Web site: Sir Thomas Gresham 1519–2019. gresham.ac.uk. 11 February 2021. 9 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809180550/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/thomas-gresham-1519-2019. live.
  21. Web site: Climate Change: A Defining Challenge for the 21st Century. gresham.ac.uk. 11 February 2021. 20 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420045131/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/climate-change-a-defining-challenge-for-the-21st-century. live.
  22. Web site: A World Without News?. gresham.ac.uk. 11 February 2021. 23 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210423025756/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/a-world-without-news. live.
  23. Web site: Universities: Some Policy Dilemmas. gresham.ac.uk.
  24. Web site: Women's Careers: From Oxfam to a Cambridge College. gresham.ac.uk. 24 April 2017. 25 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170425025222/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/womens-careers-from-oxfam-to-a-cambridge-college. live.
  25. Web site: Continuity and Development in Architecture. gresham.ac.uk. 24 April 2017. 25 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170425030709/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/continuity-and-development-in-architecture. live.
  26. Web site: The UK and the New Face of Europe. gresham.ac.uk. 24 April 2017. 25 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170425025618/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-uk-and-the-new-face-of-europe. live.
  27. Web site: Parliament and the Public: Strangers or Friends?. gresham.ac.uk. 19 June 2012. 15 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120615204151/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/parliament-and-the-public-strangers-or-friends. live.
  28. Web site: Reinventing the Wheel: The cost of neglecting international history. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 1 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110701012930/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-gresham-special-lecture-reinventing-the-wheel-the-cost-of-neglecting. live.
  29. Web site: The Challenges of the New Supreme Court. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 2 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110702153534/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-gresham-special-lecture-the-challenges-of-the-new-supreme-court. live.
  30. Web site: The Ascent of Money: An evolutionary approach to financial history. gresham.ac.uk. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110702155133/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-gresham-special-lecture-the-ascent-of-money-an-evolutionary-approach-to. 2 July 2011. dmy-all.
  31. Web site: Early Christianity & Today: some shared questions. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 2 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110702125421/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/early-christianity-today-some-shared-questions. live.
  32. Web site: The Beauty of Holiness and its Perils (or what is to happen to 10,000 parish churches?). gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 6 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110806050327/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-beauty-of-holiness-and-its-perils-or-what-is-to-happen-to-10000-parish. live.
  33. Web site: Walking the Line: Preserving liberty in times of insecurity. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 2 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110702151911/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/walking-the-line-preserving-liberty-in-times-of-insecurity. live.
  34. Web site: Should We Trust The Scientists?. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 6 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110806050254/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/should-we-trust-the-scientists. live.
  35. Web site: Science in a Complex World: Wonders, Prospects and Threats. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 2 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110702155203/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/science-in-a-complex-world-wonders-prospects-and-threats. live.
  36. Web site: Towards Freedom from Hunger. gresham.ac.uk. 18 July 2011. 6 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110806050628/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/special-lecture-2002-towards-freedom-from-hunger. live.
  37. Web site: Commerce and Culture in the Late Twentieth Century. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 1 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120901224643/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/commerce-and-culture-in-the-late-twentieth-century. live.
  38. Web site: A Global Ethic – A Challenge for the New Millennium. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 1 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120901225629/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/a-global-ethic-a-challenge-for-the-new-millennium. live.
  39. Web site: The Future for Governance: The Rules of the Game. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 25 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150925084902/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-future-for-governance-the-rules-of-the-game. live.
  40. Web site: Sir Thomas Gresham's London. gresham.ac.uk.
  41. Web site: Banking Today. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 3 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140303061417/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/banking-today. live.
  42. Web site: VE Day: Fifty Years After. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 25 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150925091423/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/ve-day-fifty-years-after. live.
  43. Web site: Science and Theology: Traffic Across the Frontier. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 9 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809180658/https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/science-and-theology-traffic-across-frontier. live.
  44. Web site: The Decline of Socialism. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 6 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150406012238/http://gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-decline-of-socialism. live.
  45. Web site: Russian Orthodox Church Life Today: The Second Millennium. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 25 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150925090556/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/russian-orthodox-church-life-today-the-second-millennium. live.
  46. Web site: Popular and Unpopular Science. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 3 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403062541/http://gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/popular-and-unpopular-science. live.
  47. Web site: The Rise and Fall of the Entrepreneur. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 4 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120804150155/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-entrepreneur. live.
  48. Web site: Monarchy. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 3 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403043738/http://gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/monarchy. live.
  49. Web site: Human Rights and the Democratic Process. gresham.ac.uk. 19 October 2012. 30 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121130045211/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/human-rights-and-the-democratic-process. live.

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