Senate House

I decided during this year’s Open House event to take the opportunity to explore a building which I have not set foot in since my student days in the 1970s! Only this time I was not there in search of some obscure work of German literature, just enjoying the chance to roam freely around one of London’s outstanding Art Deco landmarks. 

The symbolic centre of the University of London, Senate House is an eye-catching Modernist building at the very heart of Bloomsbury. Grade II-listed, it was designed by Charles Holden, the architect who achieved fame for his many underground stations. It consists of 19 floors and stands 210 feet (64 metres) high. 

The Art Deco-style Senate House

Before the building’s inception, London University had      had a number of ‘homes’: Somerset House, Burlington House, and finally the Imperial Institute in Kensington. But there was much support for a new purpose-built structure, notably from the then Vice-Chancellor of the university Sir William Beveridge, who managed to secure significant grants from both the Rockefeller Foundation and the Marks family (of Marks & Spencer fame). 

With this money the government bought 11 acres of land in Bloomsbury from the Duke of Bedford in 1921 and in 1931 Holden was commissioned as architect. Beveridge was adamant that he wanted the new building to be: “[unlike an] imitation of any other University, it must not be a replica of the middle ages. It should be something that could not have been built in any earlier generation than this, and can only be at home in London.” The foundation stone was laid by George V in June 1933. On completion, Senate House dominated the skyline, being the second tallest building in London after St Paul’s Cathedral. 

Due to its central location, Senate House was useful during the two World Wars and in WW2 it became the base for the Ministry of Information, the government department in charge of publicity and propaganda, including production of the Keep Calm and Carry On posters.

The ground floor has three large halls: Macmillan Hall, Beveridge Hall and the Crush Hall – these days used for all kinds of events, not just academic gatherings. The Crush Hall (below right) is a particularly attractive space, made entirely of gleaming travertine.

The Beveridge Hall was named after the great social reformer of that name who was also Vice-Chancellor of the University of London from 1926-8 and a great supporter of Senate House from the outset. It was in this hall that Sir Winston Churchill received his honorary degree – Doctor of Literature - in 1948 (see video link below). 

The Beveridge Hall

The MacMillan Hall was famously used as the press                                                                             

The Macmillan Hall

room for the wartime Ministry of Information, especially for secret briefings on the D-Day Landings. Reporters were locked into the room while the landings were going on. Not all the press coverage produced here was military in character. It was within these four walls that Beveridge outlined his plan for Social Insurance in November 1942 which was to pave the way for the NHS and the welfare state.

One employee at the Ministry of Information was a certain Eileen Blair, wife of the author George Orwell, who used her experience as the model for the Ministry of Truth described in the seminal novel 1984. Winston Smith works as an editor revising history to suit the party line... and Big Brother. And, yes, there is a Room 101 in the Senate House building. Thankfully it is now used to house small exhibitions as part of wider events held at the university.

The upper floors and tower of Senate House are occupied by the library.  

Senate House Library

Senate House underwent a major refurbishment in 2016. 

References: 

https://london.ac.uk/about-us/history-university-london/history-senate-house https://www.britishpathe.com/video/london-varsity-honours-churchill