Hughes Parry Hall was one of eight intercollegiate halls of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. The Hall was part of the Garden Halls grouping administered by the

bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (f ...

ial team also responsible for

Canterbury Hall Canterbury College, Oxford (1311–1540), was a University of Oxford college, owned and run by Christ Church Priory, Canterbury. Shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries, the college's hall, chapel and other buildings were surrendered ...

and Commonwealth Hall. At the time of writing Hughes Parry Hall is closed as part of the University of London's redevelopment of its student accommodation on Cartwright Gardens. In August 2013 the University received planning permission to redevelop the Garden Halls site. The hall's last residents moved out on 14 June 2014, after which the hall was closed. The redevelopment is in progress and includes the demolition of a four storey wing of the original 1960s building. The 13 storey tower which forms the bulk of the building is being refurbished and will return as part of the redevelopment.

Facilities

Prior to its closure in 2014 the hall accommodated just over 300 residents. The hall was open to students from all colleges, but because of its proximity to the colleges concerned students from UCL, King's and the LSE tended to dominate the student body. The hall was opened in 1969 and its design and facilities bore witness to the exigencies of that time: the thirteen-story tower block had shared bathroom facilities and there was little by way of communal kitchen arrangements (although the hall provided both breakfast and evening meals). There were squash courts, TV and games rooms, and an active student society, run by a committee drawn from the students. The hall also benefited from its location overlooking

Cartwright Gardens Cartwright Gardens is a crescent shaped park and street located in Bloomsbury, London. The gardens were originally built between 1809 and 1811 as part of the Skinners' Company Estate and were known as Burton Crescent after the developer James Bu ...

in WC1 where tennis courts were available to residents. In the early days of the Hall, at Christmas the students were accustomed to wrap decorative paper around the life-size statue of John Cartwright in the Gardens that are named after him, though this tradition ceased in the 1970s.

History

Although Hughes Parry Hall was affectionately known by some students as "Huge Party Hall", it is in fact named after the distinguished lawyer and Vice-Chancellor of the University, Sir

David Hughes Parry Sir David Hughes Parry (3 January 1893 – 8 January 1973) was a university administrator, Professor of Law and Vice-Chancellor of the University of London from 1945 to 1948. He was also founder of the university's Institute of Advanced Legal Studi ...

(1893–1973). The hall was originally for male students only; it became a mixed residence in 1971. The adjacent Canterbury (female) and Commonwealth (male) halls remained single-sex well into the 80s;

Wardens

The first warden, Dr Jeffery David Lewins, was appointed in December 1968. The first students were admitted in 1969 and the Hall was officially opened by the Chancellor of the university, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in February 1970. Dr Lewins spent ten years in the hall with his family. For most of the 1980s the warden was Dr P Throsby, famed among students for his lavish invitation-only dinner parties. From 1995 to 2009, the Warden of Hughes Parry Hall was Professor

Martyn Rady Martyn Rady (born 1955) is Masaryk Professor Emeritus of Central European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London. He was from 1995 to 2009 Warden of Hughes Parry Hall, an intercollegiate ha ...

. In 2009, Professor Rady was succeeded as Warden by his hitherto deputy, Dr Paul Stock. Fiona Elder retained responsibility as Bursar for Hughes Parry, for the other two halls in Cartwright Gardens and also for Connaught Hall and College Hall.

External links

Official website

References

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