History
It was founded in 1887 by William Briggs as tutorial support for students of the University of London (Alan Tait, ‘Reflections on Student Support in Open and Distance Learning’, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, vol. 4, no. 1, April 2003)
H. G. Wells worked as a tutor for it in the 1890s (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography), and Ernest Weekley started his academic career as a tutor for the Cambridge base (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography)
Its advertisements in the Educational Times and Journal of the College of Preceptors throughout 1909 claimed that about 100 students per year for the past 9 years had passed the University of London Matriculation; it also prepared students for the College of Preceptors itself and the City and Guilds Entrance Exam (Educational Times and Journal of the College of Preceptors, 1 January 1909, 1 February 1909, etc)
In 1911 it was still going strong; the 32 Red Lion Square base then had large science laboratories which were used for teaching all year round (Chemical News, 15 September 1911)
It was still advertising its courses in preparation for the University of London and other professional entrance examinations in 1941 (The Times, 13 January 1941)
It was still advertising (and claiming to have been founded only in 1889!) from 103 Great Russell Street in 1985 (The Times, 22 July 1985)
It no longer exists
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What was reforming about it?
It was one of the earliest distance learning institutions (Alan Tait, ‘Reflections on Student Support in Open and Distance Learning’, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, vol. 4, no. 1, April 2003)
It also “provided...support for a crucial opening for women to study for degrees wherever they lived, at a time when they were still excluded from the ancient universities in England” (Alan Tait, ‘Reflections on Student Support in Open and Distance Learning’, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, vol. 4, no. 1, April 2003)
Where in Bloomsbury
It ran face-to-face teaching sessions in London and Cambridge; its London base was at 27 Red Lion Square
It moved briefly to Booksellers’ Row, Strand, but by 1909 was back in Bloomsbury, at 32 Red Lion Square (Educational Times and Journal of the College of Preceptors, 1 January 1909)
It was still at 32 Red Lion Square in 1941 (The Times, 13 January 1941) but moved to 17 Bloomsbury Square soon afterwards (The Times, 17 March 1943)
It operated from the Crowndale Road premises of the Working Men’s College during the latter part of the war (The Times, 9 June 1943) but then moved back to Bloomsbury; by 1956 it was settled at 103 Great Russell Street
Website of current institution
It no longer exists
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Books about it
Anna De Salvo, The Rise and Fall of the University Correspondence College, Pioneer of Distance Learning (2002)
Alan Tait, ‘Reflections on Student Support in Open and Distance Learning’, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, vol. 4, no. 1 (April 2003)
Archives
Papers of William Briggs relating to the College are held at the National Archives, ref. ED 39/398 and ED39/1173; details are available online via Access to Archives (opens in new window)
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