Goodenough College is a postgraduate residence and educational trust in Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury, central London, England. Other names under which the college has been known are London House, William Goodenough House, and the London Goodenough Trust.
Goodenough College is an educational charity that provides residential accommodation for talented British and international postgraduates and their families studying in London. The College attempts to provide community through a programme of intellectual, cultural, and social activities that aims to provide students with an international network and a global outlook.
Goodenough has residential and study facilities and provides a programme of activities whose goal is to enhance students' personal, social and intellectual development. In a typical year, the College is home to approximately 700 international postgraduate students and their families, from approximately 80 different nations.
The College is located in London and set on Mecklenburgh Square. Director of the College since April 2021 has been Alice Walpole.[1]
Goodenough College was set up in 1930 by a group of prominent Londoners, including the chairman of Barclays Bank and founder of Barclays Bank DCO (Dominion, Colonial, and Overseas) Frederick Craufurd Goodenough. Goodenough and his friends wanted to provide collegiate life along Oxbridge lines to young men coming to London from the British dominions and colonies, who could be seen as prospective leaders of what was then a large empire. The College aimed to serve as a moot hall for its residents, and a place where they could form lasting friendships in a spirit of tolerance and understanding.
The search for a site for the new college was centred on Bloomsbury, to which the University of London was preparing a move from South Kensington. A site for sale as freehold was found between Guilford Street and Mecklenburgh Square, and the College bought it in 1930.
There were plans to design and build a new college, but this would have taken time which the governors did not want to waste. In the traditional manner of Bloomsbury's philanthropic institutions, they made a start in a small way in some of the roomy old houses on the site. London House first opened its doors in October 1931, in Nos. 4–7 Caroline Place (now Mecklenburgh Place) on the west side of the site. The house was soon full, with a long waiting list, and by the start of World War II it occupied all the Caroline Place properties.
A new London House for 300 single students was built between 1935 and 1963 to the designs of the architect Herbert Baker, his partner Alexander Scott, and their successor Vernon Helbing. It was completed in three stages:
Stage 1 (1935–37). The southeast corner includes the Great Hall, Charles Parsons Library, common rooms, and the Guilford Street entrance. This was the only part to be completed in Herbert Baker's lifetime.
Stage 2 (1948–53). The rest of the south wing, the west wing, and the northwest corner. Alexander Scott continued in Baker's style, with some simplification of detail.
Stage 3 (1961–63). The north wing, including the northeast corner. It was built to a lower cost than the other stages, without flint-work. At the same time, architect Vernon Helbing created the college chapel out of former offices.
In the 1940s, at the instigation of the Chairman of the College Governors, William Goodenough, the Lord Mayor of London launched a Thanksgiving Fund to raise money in the U.K., and to thank people of Commonwealth countries and the United States for gifts, including food parcels, during and after World War II. The money raised was used to build William Goodenough House for women and married students from those countries, replacing houses destroyed or badly damaged in the war on the northeast of the Square. At the same time, the bombed houses in adjacent Heathcote Street were rebuilt as an annex, and the House was completed in 1957. Later wings, Julian Crossley Court (1974) and Ashley Ponsonby Court (1991), brought the capacity of the House up to 120 rooms for single students and 60 flats for married couples and families.
The two parallel institutions developed their characters over time – the quiet surroundings of the WGH common rooms appealed to some LH residents, and various "Willie G" girls preferred the noisier atmosphere of the London House bar. Traditions developed, such as the LH rugby team singing lullabies to the inhabitants of WGH after the annual sports dinner, and many LH-WGH romances flourished, and in some cases resulted in marriage and children. The two houses, London House and William Goodenough House eventually became mixed in 1991.
Nos. 22–25 Mecklenburgh Square survived the war and were used as a nurses’ home until 1989 when they were handed back in a dilapidated state. At first, the houses were repaired and used as inexpensive accommodation for short-stay visitors, mostly returning alumni and other academics in London to attend conferences and seminars. By 1997, however, it was apparent that the building required modernisation if they were to meet the standards that would be required in the 21st century.
The houses were closed, and plans were made to add No. 21 and renovate and upgrade for £3.5 million. There were delays because the Georgian houses are listed buildings in a conservation area, and the work required the approval of both English Heritage and the London Borough of Camden planning department. Eventually, the plans were passed, and the Goodenough Club opened in April 2001. The hotel is open to academic and professional visitors as well as conference delegates from around the world and was renamed The Goodenough on Mecklenburgh Square in 2018.[2]
As the name of the College and the Director's equivalent position has changed over time, the title of each appointee is given.
| Directors of the College | |||
| Name | Job title and tenure | Career background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brigadier Ernest Cecil Pepper CMG, CBE, DSO, DL (1899–1981) [3] | Controller of London House, 1945–1949; Warden, London House, 1950–1969 | former Commandant of the School of Infantry | |
| Sir Francis "Frank" A. Loyd KCMG, OBE, MA (Oxon) (1916–2006) | Director, London House for Overseas Graduates, 1969–1979 | former Queen's Commissioner (i.e. Governor) of Swaziland | |
| Sir A. John Wilton KCMG, KCVO, MC, MA (Oxon) (1921–2011) | Director, London House for Overseas Graduates, 1979–1986 | former Ambassador to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia | |
| David A. Emms OBE, MA (Oxon) (b. 1925) | Director, The London Goodenough Trust, 1987–1995 | former Headmaster of Cranleigh School, Sherborne School and Dulwich College | |
| Major-General Timothy P. Toyne Sewell DL (b. 1941) | Director, The London Goodenough Trust, 1995–2001; Director of Goodenough College, 2001–2006 | former Commandant of Sandhurst | |
| Major-General Andrew S. Ritchie CBE, BA (Dunelm) (b. 1955) | Director of Goodenough College, 2006–2018 | former Commandant of Sandhurst | |
| Rebecca L. Matthews (Knight of the Order of Dannebrog), MA (Cantab), MA (Lond) (b. 1968) | Director of Goodenough College, 2018-2021 | Former Managing Director of the European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017 | |
| The Hon Alice Walpole OBE (b. 1963) | Director of Goodenough College, 2021- | Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General | |
Up until the 1970s, London House was a single-sex men-only building. The position of London House warden was abolished in 2008.
| Wardens of London House | ||
| Name | Job title and tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| Philip Crofton | ||
| Reggie Gaskell | ||
| Peter Pepper | ||
| Lieutenant Colonel George L. Sprunt | Controller of London House, 1947–1965 | |
| Lieutenant Colonel Eric C.T. Wilson VC | Controller of London House, 1966–1977 | |
| Colonel W.C.J. Naylor DSC | Warden of London House, 1977–1983 | |
| John D. Pepper | Warden of London House, 1983–1993 | |
| Commander Christopher J.S. Craig | Warden of London House, 1993–1995 | |
| Rosemary Wilson OBE | Warden of London House, 1995–1997 | |
| Andrew H. Mellows | Warden of London House, 1997–1999 | |
| Chris Wright | Warden of London House, 1999–2008 | |
From the instigation of William Goodenough House in 1950, it was run by a separate warden. Up until the 1970s, William Goodenough House was a single-sex women-only building, while London House was a men-only building. The position of William Goodenough House warden was abolished in 2007.
| Wardens of William Goodenough House | |||
| Name | Job title and tenure | Career background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dame Jocelyn May Woollcombe DBE (1898–1986) | Controller of William Goodenough House, 1950–1956 | former Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service | |
| Air Commodore Dame Felicity Peake DBE (1913–2002) | Controller of William Goodenough House, 1956–1961 | former founding Director of the Women's Royal Air Force | |
| Joanna Sybil Macdonald Dannatt MBE, MA (Cantab) (1913–2010) | Controller and Warden of William Goodenough House, 1961–1982 | former ATS cipher clerk and translator | |
| Jill C. Morrogh | Warden of William Goodenough House, 1982–1989 | ||
| Sandra E. Lello MA (Oxon) | Warden of William Goodenough House, 1989–1992 | former Fellow of Hughes Hall, Cambridge | |
| Mary M. Lomas | Warden of William Goodenough House, 1992–1994 | ||
| Noelle Vickers | Warden of William Goodenough House, 1995–2001 | ||
| Annie Thomas | Warden of William Goodenough House, 2001–2007 | ||
| Chairmen of the board of governors | |||
| Name | Tenure | Career background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Crauford Goodenough DCL, BA (Zurich) (1866–1934) | 1931–1934 | Chairman of Barclays Bank | |
| Sir William Macnamara Goodenough LLD, DL, JP, MA (Oxon) (1899–1951) | 1934–1951 | Director of Barclays Bank | |
| Sir David M. Evans-Bevan Bt (1902–1973) | 1951–1965 | Director of Barclays Bank | |
| Sir Julian S. Crossley Kt, MA (Oxon) (1899–1971) | 1965–1971 | Chairman of Barclays Bank | |
| Lieutenant-Colonel Frederic Seebohm, Baron Seebohm Kt, TD, MA (Cantab) (1909–1990) | 1971–1983 | Chairman of Barclays Bank | |
| Sir Ashley Charles Gibbs Ponsonby Bt, KCVO, LL, MC, MA (Oxon) (1921–2010) | 1982–1989 | Managing Director of J. Henry Schroder Wagg | |
| Colonel Graham Stephen Paul Carden CBE, TD, DL (1935–1992) | 1990–1991 | Chairman of Greenfriar Investment Co. | |
| Rosina "Wendy" Philippa Price French, Lady French, MA (Cantab) (1927–2000) | 1992–1997 | Barrister and former Editor of the All England Law Reports | |
| Sir Christopher Wates, MA (Oxon) (b. 1941) | 1997–2006 | Chairman and CEO of Wates Group | |
| Dr Tidu Maini, BSc (Lond), PhD (Lond) | 2006–2009 | Pro-Rector for Development and Corporate Affairs, Imperial College London | |
| Jonathan Hirst QC, MA (Cantab) (b. 1954) | 2009–2016 | Head of Brick Court Chambers | |
| Eric Tracey | 2016-2020 | Chartered Accountant and Life Member of the Council of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) | |
| Stuart Shilson LVO DL | 2020- | Director with management consultants McKinsey in London | |
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