The H B Allen Centre is the graduate centre of

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

, one of the constituent colleges of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Background

The H B Allen Centre is named for Heather Barbara "Mickie" Allen, founder of the H B Allen Charitable Trust. Ms. Allen was a descendant of the founder of

Beefeater Gin Beefeater Gin is a brand of gin owned by Pernod Ricard and bottled and distributed in the United Kingdom. Beefeater remained in the Burrough's family control until 1987. It is a 47% or 44% alcohol product (94 proof) in the US, and a 40% alcoh ...

, James Burrough, and also donated to

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

for lifeboats in

Padstow Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

. The trust contributed a £25 million capital grant to assist with construction and fitting out of the new site.

Construction

The centre was built on the site of the former

Acland Hospital The Acland Hospital (also previously known as the Acland Nursing Home, Acland Home and the Sarah Acland Home for Nurses) was a private nursing home and hospital in central North Oxford, England, located in a prominent position at the southern end ...

. Part of the old hospital, the Sarah Acland House, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and a significant challenge in construction was preserving this structure. The H B Allen Centre was officially opened on 3 October 2019 (a year behind schedule) by

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

Facilities

The centre includes accommodation for 230 full-time graduates, as well as common area including two multipurpose rooms, laundry facilities, a gym, a café, and lecture theatre.

References

{{Reflist 2019 establishments in England Residential buildings completed in 2019 Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Grade II listed buildings in Oxford Grade II listed residential buildings Halls of residence in the United Kingdom Residential buildings in England Keble College, Oxford