The University of Westminster was founded as Britain's first Polytechnic in 1838. Since then, it has developed into a university that combines both metropolitan and cosmopolitan dimensions, which is closely involved in the business, professional, and academic life within London and overseas.
The University has always been and continues to be imaginative in recognizing new needs and developing appropriate offerings for its many target markets. The University also has a strong and historical commitment to promoting equality and embracing diversity. As a place to work or study, we strive to strengthen our reputation as a welcoming and inclusive organization. View our Annual reporting page for our Financial Statements, Key Performance Indicator Reports, and Equality, A vibrant learning environment – fostering innovation and creativity, informed by practice, inspired by research, focusing on the globally relevant areas in which we excel.
We are building the next generation of highly employable global citizens to shape the future. As a global university located in a world city, we are home to over 5,000 students and 500 staff overseas. Westminster has a reputation for excellence in professionally relevant teaching and learning and high-quality research. Offering over 300-degree courses, we place particular emphasis on providing international opportunities for Westminster students to ensure that we provide an environment where students can develop skills, competencies, and knowledge required by the global economy.
We are proud of our long history of global relationships and have partnerships worldwide – connections we continually strive to strengthen and deepen. Our world-leading research, produced in partnership with global industry and educational institutions, has a real impact on the world around us. The University of Westminster boasts a rich history and has provided students with academic excellence, cultural engagement, and personal enrichment since its inception as The Polytechnic Institution in 1838. Here you can find out a little bit more about our unique heritage and the traditions of excellence that help to shape the University today.
The Westminster story began in 1838 when Sir George Cayley opened the Polytechnic Institution at 309 Regent Street in London. In 1881, philanthropist Quintin Hogg bought the Royal Polytechnic Institution building and moved his Young Men's Christian Institute into 309 Regent Street, which soon became the publicly funded Regent Street Polytechnic.
Established under the chairmanship of the distinguished scientist Sir George Cayley, The Polytechnic Institution at 309 Regent Street was created in order to demonstrate new technologies and inventions to the public and played a significant role in the popularisation of science.
In 1841, the name changed to The Royal Polytechnic Institution when Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, became Patron. During the 1860s, Quintin Hogg, a young businessman, began to provide primary education for some of London's most impoverished children in the slums of Covent Garden. Hogg developed his vision to provide educational, social, sporting, and social opportunities for young working men in The Young Men's Christian Institute. He purchased 309 Regent Street in 1882.
New day and evening courses in technical and commercial subjects were introduced to support the expanding economy as London became the world's largest city. The Polytechnic became publicly funded in 1891 and was re-named the Regent Street Polytechnic. During the First and Second, World Wars courses were directed towards the war effort, taking the lead in retraining the large numbers of disabled soldiers returning from war.
The 1960s saw a significant new expansion scheme for the Regent Street Polytechnic, transforming it into a multi-site institution. A new site in Marylebone Road was to house a college of architecture and advanced building technologies. A second new site in New Cavendish Street was to house engineering and science.
By the time the new buildings had been completed, the Regent Street Polytechnic had been merged with Holborn College of Law, Languages, and Commerce to form the Polytechnic of Central London (known as PCL). The newly formed Students' Union played host to several leading bands of the era, including Jimi Hendrix and Cream. Pink Floyd also formed at the Polytechnic at this time. PCL was one of 30 new polytechnics formed in 1970, awarding degrees from the Council of National Academic Awards.
Throughout the next 20 years, PCL continued its commitment to part-time and evening education and pioneered an extensive program of short courses for mid-career professionals that attracted more than 20,000 students a year. The University of Westminster Archive has been running an Oral History Project since 2010 recording memories of the Regent Street Polytechnic and Polytechnic of Central London. Oral history is composed of spoken testimony, stories, and experience and is a useful way of capturing individual understandings and perspectives of the recent past. Although official documents provide a vital window into the past, oral history often provides a much richer picture of what life was like and what people thought.
The University of Westminster had undergone many significant changes in its lifetime from the Regent Street Polytechnic days when people took courses in mainly vocational subjects, to the politically charged days of the Polytechnic of Central London when student protests were commonplace. You will find excerpts from some of the many audio interviews we have in our collection on this website. The full interviews are available to listen to my appointment in our archive reading room.
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