Historic university goes full circle

28/07/2006

Richmond & Twickenham Times - Friday, July 21 2006

Built in the 1840s to train missionaries, Richmond College now hosts students from all over the world.

Historic university goes full circle

In the beginning, they were sent out all over the world. Now, in a complete reversal, young people from all over the world are travelling to the teaching establishment on Richmond Hill which used to train missionaries.

It is a beautiful Gothic style building. Its grounds are stunning. Relatively few people are aware of its existence. Yet this historic building in Queens Road has been teaching students for more than 160 years.

Richmond, The American International University in London, is another of Richmond’s hidden gems. And its presence at the top of Richmond Hill for more than 30 years should, perhaps, qualify Richmond as a university town.

Provost of the university, Jos Hackforth-Jones, said: "We would love Richmond to be labelled a university town but the reason we are not known about is partly to do with the fact the university is in a secluded spot."

The building and its grounds, containing rare specimens of plants and trees, has been used for educational purposes since the 1840s when the Methodist Church decided to celebrate the centenary of Wesley’s Ministry by building two theological institutes, one near Manchester and one in Richmond.

The manor house of Squire Williams and the spacious grounds on the brow of Richmond Hill became the site of The Richmond Wesleyan Theological Institute of 1843, which was widely known as Richmond College. It was built in Bath stone with the front much as it is today and when it first opened there were 41 students in residence.

Squire Williams was considered a man of travel and educated tastes and one of his chief pleasures was to collect and plant rare trees.

According to Frank Cumbers in the book Richmond College 1843 to 1943, these trees included deciduous cypress, stone pine and ailanthus. Many of these rare specimens still survive and can be seen today.

Dr James Dixon, speaking at the opening of Richmond College said: "I am thunderstruck to find myself – a Wesleyan minister – located in this beautiful edifice, surrounded by a royal park and near a more than royal river."

The Richmond Herald in 1843 talked about the decision to build two seminaries. The first opened in Didsbury in 1842. The paper said: "In the south a new structure was planned and Richmond College came into being a year later."

In 1868 the Missionary Society purchased the Institute and Richmond College became a missionary training college but it remained so for only 17 years. From 1885 it reverted back to training young men who would serve the Methodist Church either at home or abroad.

In 1902 the college was recognised as a divinity school of London University.
And during the Second World War, the college became a wartime administrative centre of London University. According to the former dean of faculty Peter Leuner it was during this time that the part of the grounds now occupied by the Vineyard School were used to grow vegetables.

In September 1940, more than 30 high-explosive bombs fell within 400 yards of the college. "It is estimated that this did £1,000 worth of damage to the college fabric, loosening pinnacles and turrets, so that they had to be taken down," said Mr Cumbers.

The only other mention of the college after the war and before its closure as a seminary, seems to be in 1953 when the Duchess of Gloucester attended a fete held in the grounds in aid of the Methodist International House.

And in July of 1970 the Richmond Herald reported: "A decline in the number of people training for the Methodist ministry has brought about a decision to close the church’s Richmond College on Richmond Hill." The college had 30 students in its final year from 1971-72 and 60 American women on study abroad programmes.

Dr Hackforth-Jones said the university first acquired American Institute for Foreign Studies study abroad students and it had developed since then into students taking degrees and now it was a fully fledged American international university with 1,000 plus students (with about half at Richmond and half at the university’s Kensington campus) from more than 100 different countries.

And she said it would be wonderful if it was possible for the university to expand by acquiring the Royal Star and Garter Home on Richmond Hill. "It would be everything for us," she said. "Our students want to be accommodated on campus."

The college’s original chapel is now used as the university’s theatre although the Victoria and Albert museum have the original stained glass windows. Students appreciate the environment,” said Deirdre Simpson, director of alumni relations and assistant to the president for external relations.

She said for the American students the Grade II listed building was considered old but for those from other countries the building was not so old. "But they know it’s very English," she said.

When a new library was built on the Richmond campus the external stonework had to be selected to exactly match that of the original Wesleyan college. Mrs Simpson said that was one of the regulations laid down by English Heritage.

The original entrance was in Friars Style Road but when that land was redeveloped to build the Vineyard school, the university entrance was moved to Queens Road.

She suggested another reason for the lack of knowledge about the existence of the university was because it was not a British university for British students.

The university is a private one and the only other private university in Britain is the University of Buckingham.

Mrs Simpson said Richmond University also offered UK-validated degrees since it was accredited by the Open University Validation Services in 1996.

And Dr Leuner in the 2003 edition of Richmond History, the journal of the Richmond Local History Society, said: "It was surmised that at some point, Richmond, the American International University in London would take its place in the spectrum of choice offered to British and European university applicants using the Universities’ and Colleges’ Admissions Service scheme."

Mrs Simpson said: "It would be very nice if people knew what an exciting university this is and what’s happening in their background. There are hundreds of nationalities staying in the UK on this beautiful campus."

Former student Helmut Sone said the architecture of the Richmond university building was impressive as well as being historic.

"I feel like I am not in present-day London but feel like I am
going back hundreds of years," he said.

Student Amina Zouitane said she loved the outside of the building. "The architecture is beautiful and the grounds are very relaxing," she said.

And Ayesha Al-Suwaidi said everyone knew each other at Richmond University.

The university is proud of its graduates, two of whom, Elitsa Baklova and Semer El-Hasani have been accepted for post-graduate computer science studies at Oxford University.

According to another article from the Richmond & Twickenham times in 1970: "The college chapel contains a pulpit used by John Wesley and the building in spacious grounds has a quiet dignity in contrast with the bustle and noise of the shopping district nearby."

Also in 1970 the Richmond Herald reported that a decline in the number of people training for the Methodist Ministry had brought about the decision to close the church’s Richmond College on Richmond Hill.

And the Richmond Herald reported in 1975 that Richmond upon Thames Council was to pay £270,000 for just over four acres of land needed for a school building in the grounds of Richmond College.

Both Vineyard infants and Vineyard junior schools are to be resited at the top of the hill in the near future, the paper reported.
In 1979 the college was authorised to award BA degrees after the American Liberal Arts College spent the first years of its life awarding Associate of Arts degrees which were a two year period of study as opposed to the present four.

The first principal of the re-founded Richmond College, Anthony Lonsdale, described how the American University began. According to former principal lecturer in humanities at the college, Maurice Milne, he said:

"In one sense Richmond College began at a dinner party in the Vineyard, Richmond, at the home of a friend from university days. During the course of the dinner I mentioned that I had problems obtaining sufficient accommodation for my various summer school students. It was suggested I try Richmond College ... for they had ‘lots’ of empty rooms as a result of a decline in their student numbers."

Here was the London campus that AIFS needed and Chairman Sir Cyril Taylor agreed arranging to lease the facilities, said Dr Milne in the booklet Richmond College 1972 - 1992, A Continuing Mission. The Richmond & Twickenham Times in 1976 records that after four years of negotiation the trustees of the Methodist Missionary Society completed to sale of Richmond College to the AIFS.

And Sir Cyril is recorded as saying he was glad the site was not being acquired as a hotel or by property speculators.

"It was built as a Wesleyan seminary to train missionaries to go out into the world and now thousands of dynamic, modern university young men and women are coming to us from all over the world," said Dr Hackforth-Jones. "Things have come full circle."

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