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Report - - Runnymede Campus, Egham, February 2014 | Other Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Runnymede Campus, Egham, February 2014

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skiptour

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Solo visit. My third visit to the site but first time i've had a) light and b) time for a proper explore.

The demolition work on the newer building is really in full swing now, making a lot more of the access point visible to secca and builders. Still plenty of ground to cover though and a really fun explore. Much of the site is stripped but it's so big that the sheer scale of the explore makes it very worthwhile.

History of the site:

1870 - 1906 : Royal Indian Engineering College
The estate was bought in 1870 for use as the Royal Indian Engineering College. The President of the College, Sir George Chesney, had seen the empty building while boating on the Thames. The property was converted under the direction of Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt who had worked with Sir Gilbert Scott on the India Office, Whitehall
1911 - 1938: The Cheylesmore Family
After the RIEC moved out the buildings remained empty for some years until, on 17 January 1911, the estate was sold to Baron and Baroness Cheylesmore for use as a family home. They lived here until 1925, when the (by then) Lord Cheylesmore was killed in a motor accident - the first peer to suffer such a fate in Britain. He is commemorated by a monument by Edwin Lutyens in the Embankment Gardens. The family was desolated by their loss and the great ballroom, which was being built for the coming of age of their heir, was left unfinished. Later this became Pillar Hall, and was occasionally used as a ballroom for college events
1938 - 1951: London County Council
The house passed back to institutional ownership in 1938, when the London County Council (LCC) bought the estate for use as an emergency HQ building in preparation for war. In 1939 administrative work was transferred from County Hall to the campus, in particular the Records, Comptrollers and Motor Licensing departments were housed there, together with some parts of Education Department including teachers salaries. The statue of Eros was removed from Piccadilly Circus and spent the war under wraps in what is still known as the Eros Room
1951 - 1980: Shoreditch College of Education
Shoreditch Technical College (STC) began at the turn of the century when in 1901 the LCC established a Teacher‑Training Department in Pitfield Street, Hoxton. By 1939 there were 150 students, but numbers rose rapidly to over 300 students following World War Two and the expansion of teacher training.
1980 - 2006: Brunel University
Following the directive of the Secretary of State for Education and Science concerning the reduction in teacher‑training generally, negotiations took place between the Greater London Council (GLC) and the Department of Education and Science (DES) about the future of the college which led to a proposal where the design and technology courses could he preserved by merging the college with Brunel University
2007 - 2010: Oracle Group
In May, 2007 the college site was sold by Brunel for £46.6m to Oracle Group who planned to develop the site for mixed-use containing residential, commercial, community and public-access aspects. These plans were controversial and were subject to a lengthy planning processes involving the local community. Before they could begin their re-development however, the Oracle Group went into liquidation in June 2010
2011 - Present Day: Orchid Runnymede
Most recently, the ownership of the campus appears to have passed to a new entity called 'Orchid Runnymede', and in late 2011 a new planning application was submitted to Runnymede Borough Council for the re-development of the campus. A similar scheme to that proposed by the late Oracle Group, the proposed scheme is comprised of a mix of care facilities for the elderly, new private dwellings, affordable housing and student accommodation

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Gill W

28DL Member
28DL Member
I'm a former student. So sad to see the campus looking this way but still fills me with nostalgia for what was the most beautiful place to live and study.
 
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