On November 5th, 2025, a very lucky group of Alumni were treated to a morning visit to 11 Bedford Square and Senate House.
In Bedford Square, after a welcome coffee, we enjoyed a short talk on the Bedford College archive, and we met the archivist Dr Alexander Sessa who will be working on the archive over the next two years. We learned that the archive has over 2000 boxes and covers the years from 1849-1985. The archive includes details of Bedford’s charters, deeds, statutes, minutes of meetings, the Reid Trust, academic departments, the registry, records of the Principal and Secretary’s department, and many photographs. We also learned that Bedford was at the forefront of learning opportunities for women not only in the arts but also in medicine and the sciences.
At Senate House, we learned that Bedford College was also a key founding member of the new federal University of London in 1900 and that Bedford students took an active part in cross-university activities, such as sport, music, journalism and politics. We met the Principal Librarian of Senate House, Catriona, who talked to us about the project to transform the library to become a next generation, high quality research library accessible to all. We then had a most interesting talk from Angharad Eyre (Researcher for the Library’s Anniversaries Project) on the history of women’s education in our country. She explained how hard it was for women to have the same opportunities as their male counterparts in the past. We then were divided into two groups to have a tour of the library and to have a hands-on session where we could look at some of the Bedford archives firsthand. On our tour we saw the recent portrait of Lilian Penson, Professor of Modern History at Bedford College 1930-62, who was the first woman to be Vice Chancellor of the University of London from 1948 to 1951.
The tour was extremely interesting and nostalgic as I had personally spent many hours reading books and articles in the History library there and listening to History lectures in the large halls on the ground floor on Monday mornings. Angharad showed us parts of the library that I had not seen before, such as the ceremonial staircase, the stone recording the opening of the building by George V and Queen Mary, and the architect Charles Holden’s model of the building. We also learned that the original design included a ceremonial hall for graduation.
Remarkably, I found the library to have only changed a little bit since my time there in the early 1980s. Current students were working very hard, and everything was in such good order. After our tour, my group had our hands-on session looking at how Bedford students featured in some records from the University of London archive. Items on display included university newspapers and photographs, which showed graduation, netball teams, and hockey teams. I learned that there once was a Bedford Choral Society and saw programmes of the works that they used to perform. At the end of the session, we were all presented with a set of lovely cards depicting Senate House as a souvenir.
It was very inspiring to see the legacy of Bedford College being preserved and celebrated in such a meaningful way. The camaraderie among alumni and the enthusiasm of the staff made for a memorable morning, reminding us of the enduring impact our experiences at Bedford College and London University have had on our lives. The visit not only rekindled fond memories but also strengthened our connection to the ongoing story of the University.
Sarah Rushton (History 1983)
