Revd John Pincher Faunthorpe

in 1874, the Revd John Pincher Faunthorpe was appointed Principal of Whitelands College and enlisted the interest of John Ruskin, the great Victorian art critic and political economist, who gave numerous gifts of books and pictures to the College. Ruskin also introduced William Morris, leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the eminent Pre-Raphaelite artist, to the College. Together they designed artefacts for the newly erected College Chapel, the most notable being the Burne Jones stained glass windows and the William Morris reredos. These remain treasured possessions of the College.

Whitelands College relocates

Whitelands College flourished and came to be regarded as one of the foremost women’s teacher training colleges in the country. After the end of the First World War it was decided that Whitelands needed a new home more conducive to study than the King’s Road, Chelsea and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, architect of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and other prestigious public buildings, was appointed to design a new college. In 1930 Whitelands moved to West Hill in Putney. The truly impressive Giles Gilbert Scott Building was officially opened by Queen Mary in June 1931.

The outbreak of World War Two and the consequent threat of air raids over London led to the College being evacuated first to Cambridge and Halifax and then from 1941 to 1945 to Bede College, Durham.

From 1962 graduate students were able to join the College to study for the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and from 1965 there was opportunity for three year trained students to stay on for an additional year to gain the newly validated Bachelor of Education (Bed) degree. The College became fully co-educational in 1966.

Roehampton Institute of Higher Education

In 1975, in response to government cuts in the number of students training to be teachers, the College entered into an academic federation with three other South-West London teacher training colleges – Digby Stuart, Froebel and Southlands– to form the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education. 

Independent University

On 1st August 2004 the university was awarded independent status by the Privy Council and became Roehampton University. A year later Whitelands College moved to its current home within walking distance of the other 3 Colleges.

If you require further information please contact the College archivist, Gilly King at: Gilly.King@roehampton.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)20 8392 3514.