Collection CAR - REGISTRY: Chelsea College administrative records

Key Information

Reference code

CAR

Title

REGISTRY: Chelsea College administrative records

Date(s)

  • 1895-1985 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent

84 boxes and 21 folders

Scope and content

Chelsea College Registry records, 1895-1985, contain a wide variety of committee, Senate and other governing and administrative material illustrative of the strategic direction, financial status and academic organisation of the institution. They notably include Senate committee membership and overview, 1971-1984 (Ref: CAR/RI, CAR/RS); minutes of the BSc Sub-Boards of Examiners meetings, 1967-1985 (ref: CAR/1986); Committee, Working Party and Faculty Board minutes and papers including of the Fees Committee, Academic Board Planning Committee and Higher Degrees Committee, 1965-1985; staff files, 1967-1985 (Ref: CAR/S); papers concerned with course and academic planning and, in particular, postgraduate degrees, modular courses, 1967-1985, KQC Planning Group for Academic Affairs, 1983-1984, data privacy, 1981-1984, University of London regulations, 1967-1980, strategic planning including the Swinnerton-Dyer report, 1979-1981; Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC), 1976-1985; University Grants Committee, 1973-1984; examinations procedure, 1976-1985; Student Union and services, 1968-1983; overseas and exchange students, 1968-1984; student ratios and statistics, 1972-1982; departmental correspondence and memoranda, 1970-1985 (CAR/AR1-24, CAR/1990); information and reports covering attempted relocation of College and the merger with King's College, 1968-1984 (Ref: 1987/CAR); student correspondence with the Registrar, 1939-1948 (Ref: 1995/CAR) ); volumes of statistics describing teaching, student numbers and class structure, 1934-1979 (Ref: CAR/STATS).

System of arrangement

The records are arranged into the main series as described in the Scope and Content section, and are broadly chronological within each series.

General Information

Name of creator

(1972-1985)

Biographical history

The South-Western Polytechnic was opened at Manresa Road, Chelsea, in 1895, to provide scientific and technical education to Londoners. Day and evening classes for men and women comprised study in domestic economy, mathematics, engineering, natural science, art and music. It changed its name to Chelsea Polytechnic in 1922 and taught a growing number of registered students of the University of London, and this relationship was later formally recognised when the Polytechnic, now reconstituted as Chelsea College of Science and Technology, was admitted as a School of the University in 1966. The renamed Chelsea College was formally incorporated into the University of London in 1971. Chelsea merged with King's and Queen Elizabeth College in 1985. The Registry was responsible for the organisation and audit of academic and educational provision throughout the College, most notably in overseeing examinations and academic assessment, and by way of organising ceremonies and graduations.

Custodial history

A majority of the records were received from the Chelsea Registry in 1985.

Conditions governing access

Administrative records are generally closed for 20 years except for published material and some committee and other minutes.

Files containing personal data are closed for 80 years and sensitive personal data for 100 years from the date of the most recent document in the file.

Where open, access is subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only.

Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archives.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Finding aids

Detailed list is available for consultation in hard-copy in the King's College London Archives Reading Room.

Existence and location of originals

Off-campus collection

Please note: We require 7 days notice to retrieve this collection as part, or all of it, is held off-campus. Read more ›

Related materials

Chelsea Registry material overlaps with the Secretary's Office and Minute Books series (Ref: CAS, CA/M). The majority of personnel records for Chelsea College comprise a distinct series (Ref: CA/FP). See also King's College Secretarial, Principal's Office and Registry records that describe the merger in 1985 and the subsequent history of the Chelsea campus (Ref: KAS, KAP, KAR).

Related descriptions

Alternative identifier(s)

Place access points

Genre access points

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000.

Script(s)

Archivist's note

Sources: H Silver and S J Teague eds, Chelsea College - A History (London, 1977). Entry compiled by Geoff Browell as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Accession area