Queen Elizabeth College (QEC) was a college in London. It had its origins in the Ladies' (later Women's) Department of

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

, England, opened in 1885 but later accepted men as well. The first King's 'extension' lectures for ladies were held at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

in 1871, and from 1878 in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, 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 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.King's College London – ·History of QEC
/ref> 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 for its teaching and research in nutrition, physiology, hygiene and microbiology. It was recognised as a School 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 degr ...

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.

Merger with King's College London

QEC reunited with

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in 1985, and the Kensington campus became associated with

biomedical sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbi ...

. However, the campus was closed and sold in 2000 with the contents being decanted to the Franklin-Wilkins Building. Part of the campus has subsequently been converted into Academy Gardens, apartments which retain some QEC branding.

College newsletter

''Envoy'' is the annual

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

of Queen Elizabeth College. The Queen Elizabeth College alumni/old student association organises a reunion every year.

Academic staff

* Alan Ebringer, immunologist * John Yudkin, physiologist and nutritionist *

Garth Chapman Professor Garth Chapman (8 October 1917 – 1 November 2003) was an academic and author in the field of zoology. He enjoyed a long career in the University of London, culminating in his Professorship of Zoology at Queen Elizabeth College from 1958 ...

, academic, author and zoologist *

William B. Bonnor William Bowen Bonnor (9 September 1920 – 17 August 2015) was a mathematician and gravitation physicist best known for his research into astrophysics, cosmology and general relativity. For most of his academic career he was a professo ...

, mathematician and gravitation physicist * Alice Copping, nutritionist * Christopher Dainty, physicist *

K. Kunaratnam Kanthia Kunaratnam (30 April 1934 – 9 September 2015) was a Sri Lankan Tamil physicist, academic and former vice-chancellor of the University of Jaffna. Early life Kunaratnam joined the University of Ceylon, Colombo in 1954 and graduated in 195 ...

, physicist and academician

Notable alumni

* Radclyffe Hall, poet and author * Nancy Rothwell, physiologist and academician * Devendra Prasad Gupta, botanist and academician * Sheila Rodwell, nutritional epidemiologist * Joel Mandelstam, microbiologist * Qui-Lim Choo, co-discoverer of

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, ...

and of the Hepatitis D

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...

* Pegaret Anthony, artist * Keith Campbell, biologist

References

External links

QEC Alumni Association
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1885 Education in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea History of King's College London Former women's universities and colleges in the United Kingdom Defunct universities and colleges in London Educational institutions disestablished in 1985 Charles Holden buildings Former colleges of the University of London 1885 establishments in England 1985 disestablishments in England