Queen Elizabeth College (QEC) had its origins in the Ladies' (later Women's) Department of King's College London, England, opened in 1885. The first King's 'extension' lectures for ladies were held at Richmond in 1871, and from 1878 in Kensington, with chaperones in attendance.
In 1881, the Council resolved 'to establish a department of King's College London, for the higher education of women, to be conducted on the same principles as the existing departments of education at this college'. By 1886, the King's College London Ladies' Department at 13 Kensington Square had 500 students. In 1902 it became the King's College London Women's Department and in 1908 King's College for Women. In 1907 lectures were given in subjects then thought to be specially relevant to women, such as 'the economics of health' and 'women and the land', and in 1908 systematic instruction in household and social sciences began.
In 1915, the Household and Social Science Department of King's College for Women opened at Campden Hill Road, Kensington, while other departments were transferred to the Strand site. In 1928 the Department became completely independent as King's College of Household and Social Science, and in 1953 it received a royal charter, its name was changed to Queen Elizabeth College and men were admitted for the first time. The College became distinguished in particular for its teaching and research in nutrition, physiology, hygiene and microbiology. It was recognised as a School of the University of London in 1956.
The original Campden Hill Road buildings combined both the lecture theatres, laboratories and library but also included the only Hall of residence - Queen Mary Hall. By the late 1960s the expansion of student numbers and the need for additional laboratory capacity necessitated the construction of a new Building - the Atkins building located on Campden Hill, behind the main college
Alumni of the Women's college, its predecessors and of QEC include the lesbian writer Radclyffe Hall.
Read more about Queen Elizabeth College: King's Merger
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