Spotlight on collections: the Cambiaso drawings

The Special Collections in the University of Southampton might not seem the most obvious place for works by the sixteenth-century Italian painter. But the small collection of 17 drawings by Luca Cambiaso, or after his style, were acquired by the Hartley Institution, the predecessor of the University of Southampton, before 1879. The Hartley Institution when it was originally founded had a small fund of £5 a year to purchase old Master drawings and by the 1870s had a number of collections.

Luca Cambiaso (1527–85) was born in Genoa and initially worked with his father, Giovanni (1495–1579), a painter. Luca had a tremendous facility for drawing, which was widely imitated in Genoa — and his work was popular among collectors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Cambiaso was also a print-maker. He probably spent time in Rome in the late 1540s, and he was certainly influenced by Michelangelo. He became known for his frescoes, often taken from small drawings to full-scale work on walls without intervening cartoons. In the 1550s and 1560s his mature work includes some remarkable fresco cycles. In Genoa, these could be found in important palazzi, with subjects including the Rape of the Sabines (Villa Imperiale di Terralba), the Return of Ulysses (Palazzo Meridiana), and the Life of Cleopatra (Palazzo Imperiale, Campetto, now destroyed), and a series of ecclesiastical commissions, ranging from St Benedict enthroned between St John the Baptist and St Luke (Genoa Cathedral) to the Celebration of the Synod (Archbishop’s Palace, Genoa). In the 1570s, he turned increasingly to religious themes, with a keen interest in their theological interpretation. Among the paintings in the English royal collection on the death of Charles I was an Assumption of the Virgin by Cambiaso. Cambiaso went to Spain in 1583 to work for Philip II, particularly on the monastery/palace of the Escorial, and he was appointed Philip’s court painter in 1583. His paintings at the Escorial include a Gloria, on the ceiling of the sacristy, a series of frescoes for the Capilla Mayor, as well as large paintings on canvas of religious themes. The painting of the Battle of Lepanto in the Gallery of Battles is his work, although it was not commissioned for the building. One of Cambiaso’s sons, Orazio, also worked on the Escorial until c.1588.

‘Venus and Adonis’ [MS286/11]

The drawings at Southampton are mainly of the evangelists, prophets or female sibyls sitting on clouds, but with some other subjects, one probably of the Death of Adonis. In the early 1570s, Cambiaso produced a Venus Mourning over the Body of Adonis, now in the Galleria Nazionale dell’Arte Antica (the Palazzo Barberini), in Rome, and it is possible this may be a preliminary study. The cloud designs suggest that these may have been intended as preliminary studies for ceiling paintings. Although it has not now proved possible to locate them, they are indicative of the grand scale on which Cambiaso might conceive his work.

‘St Mark reading his gospel, seated on a lion, his symbol as an evangelist’ [MS286/4]

‘St Matthew, with a winged man’ [MS286/12]

The drawings are on a fine handmade paper and have been attached by paste at the corners to a heavier rag paper. There is evidence that they had been mounted and framed during the nineteenth century using poor quality mount board and an inner lining of the newspaper the Rock, dated 1876. Both mount board and backing papers show wood burn marks from the frame.

For details of another art collection purchased by the Librarian of the Hartley Institution do look at the blog from 2019 detailing the album of sketches of Francis Cleyn the Elder.

And join us next week as the Special Collections blog focuses on Indian architectural drawings as part of the University’s India week.

History at the University of Southampton

This week’s blog post takes a look the development of the History department here at the University. The Special Collections maintains a close relationship with History, as you might imagine, and we’re delighted to be sharing their story.

Hartley Institution

The University started life in 1862 as the Hartley Institution. It had a library, reading room and museum and offered public lectures and evening classes; the first Principal, Francis Bond, produced a plan for classes which included History as well as English, French, German, mathematics, chemistry and mechanics.

Bond enlisted a number of part time teachers. The minimum age for admission was 14 but the classes were mainly intended for people who “having left school and being occupied in business” wanted to take the examinations of the Civil Service or Science and Art Department at South Kensington.

Outside view of the Hartley Institution, High Street, Southampton [MS1/7/291/22/1/3

Day training department

A Day Training department was sanctioned in July 1898: a maximum of 30 men and 30 women were admitted for 2 years training. They were all required to pass an entrance examination. Miss Eva Blaxley came to the College in 1897 as a lecturer in History and English. She also acted as Lady Superintendent for two adjacent houses on Avenue Place provided for the female students.

In October 1900, Professor F.J.C. Hearnshaw was appointed as a lecturer on English History. He stayed in Southampton for 10 years and was key in founding the Southampton Record Series.

The following is taken from the Appointment contracts book:

The Lecturer on English History will be required to undertake the work in English History as detailed in the College prospectuses. He will also be required to lecture to a few classes in English Language and to take charge of a class of beginners Latin. He will be expected to give instruction in both Day and Evening Classes. He will not, however, be expected to lecture on more than two Evenings a week.

The Lecturer will be required to lecture for not less than 20 or more than 25 hours per week.

The Lecturer will be expected to give his whole time to the work of the College, and be responsible to the Principal for the arrangement and efficient working of the Classes in the subjects which he undertakes.

The Salary of the Lecturer on English History will be £140 per annum, rising by yearly increments of £5 to £150 per annum. The engagement shall be terminable by a term’s notice on either side.

Applications giving particulars of age, training, qualifications and experience accompanied by copies of 3 recent testimonials must be sent to the Principal before 10 AM on Saturday Oct 26th 1900.

Appointment contracts book [MS1/MBK7/1]

In 1902 the Hartley Institution became a University College. In the 1904-5 session, History was one of nine departments, staffed by one person. At this point, the University College had a total of 20 full time teaching staff.

History class and tutor, c. 1913/1915 from an album belonging to G. Payme [MS1/Phot/39/ph3178]

In 1911, Edward S. Lyttel was appointed Professor of History on a salary of £300 per annum. He was still teaching here in 1925 and his salary had risen to £650. In 1912, Professor Lyttel was joined by History lecturer J.W. Horrock (£150 pa). A job description comes from the Appointment contracts book:

The Lecturer will be required to deliver lectures to and conduct classes for Day and Evening Students in History and generally to assist the Professor of History in the work of the Department of History. The Lecturer may be expected to give a few lectures in another of the Arts Departments.

Appointment contracts book [MS1/MBK7/1 p. 35]

The department of History, c. 1919. This photographs comes from a series which may have been taken for a promotional prospectus. The caption reads: “a lecture on history which is the data of past human experience, on which we must to a great extent base our theories of social, national and international conduct. The prevention of future wars will depend on the right interpretation of the causes of past war.”

The move to Highfield

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century the University College was located on the High Street in Southampton’s city centre but it was quickly running out of space. A new site was found to the north of the city in an area called Highfield. The buildings were completed by 1914 but relocation didn’t take place until after the First World War.

Miss I Plunket, M.A. joined the History Department in 1921. Her contract makes note of the Superannuation Scheme (pension) and the expectation she should engage in research:

The Council of the College agree to appoint Miss I Plunket, M.A., Lecturer in History and Miss I Plunket agrees to accept the office as from October 1st 1921 upon the following terms: The salary to be at the rate of £250 per annum plus the College contribution of 10% under the Superannuation Scheme. The holder of the office is expected to engage in some definite research or other original work in her spare time, but not to undertake any other paid work unless with the consent of the Council. The tenure of the office to be subject to a full term’s notice on either side, the Summer Vacation reckoned as a term.

Appointment contracts book [MS1/MBK7/1]

As the years passed, so the department grew. There were various new appointments including Mr Vincent T Harlow, BA., B Litt. who was appointed as assistant lectureship in Modern History in 1923; the University and Mr Harlow were required to contribute 105 and 5% respectively to the Superannuation scheme. Five years later, in October 1928, Mr James Rutherford BA (Durham), PhD (Mich) was appointed as assistant lecturer.

The Second World War

The advent of the Second World War brought changes as illustrated by the appointment contract book when on 1 October 1940 Miss A.A. Ruddock, Institute of Historical Research, was appointed as Temporary assistant lecturer in History for the duration of the War at a salary of £270 per annum (without superannuation benefit). Mr Hay had been called for service.

In 1942, Nicolai Rubinstein and Miss M. M. Morgan were both appointed as temporary lecturers in History.

Post-war expansion

The University College expanded significantly in the years following World War Two, and the History department was no exception. In 1945 the department gained a new chair when Dr H. Rothwell was appointed Professor of History. He was joined by Professor J.S.Bromley in the Chair as Professor of Modern History in 1959. Between 1949 and 1968 Arthur Temple Patterson also pursued his academic career in the History Department of Southampton University. He was appointed a Reader in Regional History in 1960 and Professor in 1967. While on the staff of the University he published a three part history of Southampton and a centenary volume of the history of the University. 

History study room in the Library, c. 1950. Can you spot where this space is in the current Hartley Library? [MS1/Phot/39/ph3448]

Although some records relating to the teaching of History date from the early days, for the first half of the twentieth century “the Arts” (in the broad sense of a BA) had been a small part of what was primarily a science, engineering and teacher training college.

In the 1960s, the General Degree was replaced with a new Combined Honours Degree. The decade also saw many new buildings designed by the architect Basil Spence as part of his “master plan” for the Highfield Campus. In 1963, Arts 1 Building was completed as part of the “Nuffield complex” (now Building 4, Law). Up until this point the faculty had been housed in the “main building” (what is now the Hartley Library); the new building meant the faculty was not only united but offered the possibility of expansion. A one-year MA programme was launched in 1966. Arts II building (Building 2, Management and Music since 1996) was built in 1968.

Students who wished to study History at the University of Southampton starting in the 1957-58 session could choose between medieval (400-1500) and modern history (1500-1940). They would have 3 hours of classes in the first year and 4 hours in the second and third. Applicants were expected to have an ‘O’ level in Latin. “Instruction will be primarily by the tutorial method and essay writing” and from time to time visits to sites and institutions of historical interest. The Final Honour examination consisted of 9 papers, each three hours long; candidates were also normally expected to present a prepared thesis.

Special subjects included:

• The Age of Dante, 1265-1321;
• England and France at War, 1422-53;
• the town and port of Southampton in the 16th century; 
• the age of the chartists, 1830-54
• aspects of British Empire and Commonwealth Relations since 1880.

If we look again approximately 10 years later, we learn that entry requirements were now 2 ‘A’ level passes and ‘O’ levels in two languages other than English; one of these should normally be Latin, but exceptions could be made. The Special Subject options had become more varied and now included

• the Third Reich;
• the British Economy, 1919-1939;
• the emancipation of Spanish America, 1808-1830
• rural England in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Latin was still a preferred course requirement for those joining the University for 1979-80. “Acceptable alternatives to Latin” were General Classics; Latin with Classical Studies; CSE Grade 1 in Classical Studies (with Latin). By this point there was also an option to study Modern European and American History.

IBM visit concerning the “HIDES project”, December 1989 [MS1/Phot/3/25/1]

A significant change occurred in 1996 when the Faculty of Humanities, including History, moved to its Avenue Campus location, where it can still be found today.

In 2022 the History Department is ranked 3rd in the UK for the quality of its research (REF 2014). As well as writing new and challenging histories, the University’s staff advise governments, the media, and cultural institutions. Southampton History research happens at the university, but goes far beyond it.

The Hartley Institution and Hartley College, 1862-1902

The University of Southampton wasn’t always the Russell Group Higher Education Institution we know today. It was founded back in 1862 as the Hartley Institution. Due to money shortages and somewhat of an identity crisis, it didn’t start operating until September 1863, nearly a whole year later. And what exactly was it offering? The library and reading room were open to members from 10am to 9pm on weekdays, and the museum from 11am-4pm. The latter was also open free to the general public on three week days and at a charge of 6d on the other days.

Outside view of the Hartley Institution [MS1/7/291/22/1/3]

A course of public lectures was arranged plus some evening classes in chemistry and French. The principal, Francis Bond, taught the chemistry himself, and M. Louis de Briffont was engaged as a part-time teacher for French. The Institution initially had 531 members; this quickly rose to 694. The evening classes, however, were not successful and the public lectures failed to pay their way. Hartley was competing against both the Athenaeum and the Polytechnic Institute which offered lighter lectures and more popular music at a cheaper price. In addition, by 1865 the library still only had 5,000 volumes.

It was clear it was essential to improve the financial situation, but what was to be done? Fortuitously, a significant opportunity came the way of the Institution respecting daytime teaching classes. In India, at this time, the Government was developing the communications network and training was required for young Englishmen as engineers and telegraphists in the Indian Public Works Department. Four years earlier, the Hartley had secured recognition as an approved establishment for instruction in this area and so was perfectly positioned to seize the opportunity. In 1867, the School of Art was taken under the Institution’s wing to save it from extinction; this action had huge significance, as we shall soon discover.

Hartley Institution, Scheme for the management of the Hartley Institution, 1863 [ref: Univ. Coll LF 781.2]

At last we have some progress! Albeit not in the direction originally resolved, as it was the college side which was developing relatively rapidly rather than the cultural centre. The day classes throve: in 1868 there were six students, all telegraphists; this had risen to 17 before the end of the year. And by 1870, there were 70 students, most, but not all, engineers or telegraphists. The Institution received excellent examination results and the staff was expanded to several full time appointments. The day time courses were split into two departments: Science (mainly engineering) and General Literature, in addition to the Department (formerly School) of Art.

Building work was undertaken including a new premises for the School of Art, 3 classrooms, a new museum and art gallery. The old museum was converted to expand the library. The interior decorating, uncompleted in 1862 due to lack of funds, was finally completed in 1871. The expansion could be viewed as piecemeal and shortsighted, and it was criticised as such at the time. But what went unrecognised by the critics was the degree to which Hartley Council was obliged to live in this hand to mouth: the finances permitted nothing else.

Entrance hall of the Hartley Institution [MS1/7/291/22/1/10]

By 1871, the Institution looked to be in a promising position. If you scratched the surface, however, it became apparent it was neither secure financially nor in receipt of public support. Sadly the early successes were short-lived and, as we move into a new decade, problems developed. The number of subscribing members declined; the public lectures got smaller and were stopped in 1871. That same year, a college was built near Winchester to provide technical training for the Indian Public Works service. Engineers and telegraphists formed the core of Hartley’s students and now the Institution had a significant competitor for their recruitment.

A further issue was public support, or more accurately, lack of. The old argument – “college” versus “institution” – resurfaced. Members of the Town Council and other leading citizens felt the main focus of the Institution should be on the library and reading room and most wanted this provision freely available to the townspeople in general. They thought this could be achieved by ceasing spending on new buildings and suspending the classes. In 1869 more than 500 people signed a memorial asking for a free reading and newsroom. One of the key bugbears of the Institution party was that many of the day students came from outside Southampton. Not only this, but they had a reputation for rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour. Having no common room, they congregated in the library and reading room before and after lectures. Commentators describe how they:

Burst unceremoniously into the room like an incursion the barbarians of old-some whistling, others humming, singing, or strumming on the tables, all talking, and knocking their sticks, hats and umbrellas about, so as to make a miniature Babel.

Whiled away the time in indolently lounging about the reading room, lolling on the table with their feet resting on the chairs, and by loud talking and laughter.

Temple Patterson, University of Southampton, p. 43

Relations with the School of Art had been simmering for some time. They came to a head in 1872. The Art master Baker still regarded himself as the head of an independent institution, which happened to be housed under the same roof. Baker and the Principal, Francis Bond, fell out: there was a bitter quarrel between the two men, to the discredit of all involved. The Charity Commissioners were called in to hold an enquiry into the past management and to discover an efficient and harmonious way forward. Hartley’s governing body was replaced with a new Council with full control over the Institution, which, after failing to resolve matters with Baker, dismissed him. The issue was finally settled but at what cost? The Institution’s reputation was in tatters, the influx of “outside” students dried up and the day classes were a shadow of their former selves. Bond resigned in April 1873.

Hartley Institution, The Hartley Institution and its proposed extension as a local university college [Rare Books Univ. Coll LF 782.2]

As we move into the mid-1870s, the number of day students dwindled. As did the number of subscribing members: since the library, reading room and museum had been made free to the general public, the advantages and attractions of subscription were much reduced. Several other members of staff left and the new principal, Blackader, was not happy in his post.

By 1875, however, affairs if not successful, were at least settled. The balance of emphasis had shifted slightly from teaching to the institutional side; expenditure on library increased and the book stock was extended. Efforts were made to improve the museum. With a rise in evening students from 1875 onwards and public lectures again attempted in 1878, the Institution found itself in a much improved financial situation. Feelings of suspicion and hostility still existed in the town but the tide of public opinion was changing.

Prospectus for the Hartley Institution, 1878 [Ref MS1/1/31/9]

Those few students whose homes were at a distance from Southampton were usually taken as boarders by members of staff. One of these, in fact perhaps our most distinguished Old Hartleian, was F.W.Lanchester the mathematician and engineer who worked in automotive engineering and aerodynamics.

In the country generally at this time, there was a growing desire for enlarged scientific and technical education and the development of medical schools. The Hartley Institution, on strength of examination results, could claim to be one of the country’s foremost schools of science. It was refused a government grant due to its lack of adequate teaching staff and representative governing body. As we move into the 1890s, there began a drive to develop the institution primarily as a college for higher technical education with the ultimate aim to secure recognition as a university college. Some problems from the late 1860s/early 1870s repeated themselves: namely inadequate capital and badly situated buildings which made it difficult to expand both the facilities and the staff.

The Hall at Hartley College [MS1/7/291/22/1/10]

In May 1893 Sir Philip Magnus carried out a thorough inspection of the Institution. The time had come to choose between the cultural centre and teaching college, he said, and put forward that it was the path of development as a college “meeting the increasing demands for popular and industrial education” which must be chosen. More purely cultural objects need not be entirely lost sight of and the museum and library should be preserved as valuable aids to higher teaching. Magnus suggested the Institution should aim to supplement and advance the education given in secondary schools; advanced day instruction and evening teaching, chiefly technical and commercial. It should aim to make its daytime instructions serve the whole country while its evening classes should be more local in scope.

It was suggested that the institution only employ full time people with adequate salaries; this would secure qualified people who could devote whole working time to teaching. All candidates for the day courses were required to pass an entrance examination. Despite the founder’s intentions the “college idea” had finally triumphed and the Hartley Institution was presently to become Hartley College. In July 1896 six new appointments were made: this core staff claimed to be adequate for the teaching of university subjects plus a complete scheme of technical education.

Hartley College students at a picnic in the New Forest, 1900 [MS1/7/291/22/1/11]

From the beginning of the session of 1896-7 a new era in the history of “the Hartley” began and it changed its name from “Institution” to “College”. The library and museum, although still open to the public, altered their orientation and became adjuncts to academic work. The first BSc was gained in 1896 followed by two more in 1897 and the first BA in 1898.

Up until now, students from outside Southampton had boarded with members of staff. But in the 1899-1900 session the first hall of residence, Bevois Mount House in Lodge Road, was created for the female day training students. A full time Lady Superintendent, Mrs Bland, was appointed.

Lady Superintendent Mrs Bland photographed outside Bevois Mount House [MS1/7/291/22/1]

In November 1901 the University Colleges’ Grants Commission inspected the institution and in the autumn term 1902, the Hartley was officially made a University College. After a somewhat troubled start, the Hartley had found its place and purpose in the world and these new beginnings saw many years of achievement and success. While still worlds apart, the Hartley has started to resemble something like our present day University. As we move into a new millennia, our next post in this series will look at student life at Southampton in the early twentieth century.

Henry Robinson Hartley, the “Hartley bequest” and the opening of the Hartley Institution

Have you ever heard of Henry Robinson Hartley? We think it’s likely that many of you will never have come across this individual. He was, however, rather significant for Southampton: the bequest in his will provided the funds to found the Hartley Institution, an establishment which many years later evolved into the University we know and love today.

Portrait of Henry Robinson Hartley as a child, c. 1780 [MS1/Phot/39/ph3000]

One of Highfield’s most well-used buildings (the Library) was named in his honour. See our 2019 blog post Happy Birthday Henry Robinson Hartley for the full details of his eccentric life.

Three slips of paper with pencil manuscript notes by Henry Robinson Hartley, relating to Noris’s book, 1813, 1817 [MS1/2/6/3]

We pick up our story after Hartley’s death in 1850. His will left upwards of £103,000 – nearly the whole of his estate – to the Corporation of Southampton on condition that it employed:

The interest, dividends and annual proceeds [thereof] in such manner as [might] best promote the study and advancement of the sciences of Natural History, Astronomy, Antiquities, Classical and Oriental Literature in the town, such as by forming a Public Library, Botanic Gardens, Observatory, and collections of objects in connection with the above sciences. [Professor A.Temple Patterson, The University of Southampton (Southampton, 1962)].

The Hartley Institution: bequest to the Corporation of Southampton by H.R.Hartley, deceased

At this time, Southampton had a mid-century population of 35,000 to 40,000. The Borough Council set up the Hartley Bequest Committee. The project was beset by problems from the outset. A significant proportion of the funds had already been swallowed up in a contest over the will but, unfortunately, people over-estimated the revenue that would be available. There was disagreement over Hartley’s real intentions. The suitability of the High Street was disputed with some suggesting that, due to the town’s expansion, a more central and accessible location should be chosen. In this case, Hartley’s wishes were partly carried out: while it was not possible to adapt the existing house, the new institution was to be built on the same site. Just over 50 years later, at the time of the First World War, the University College (as it had become) was required to relocate to the current Highfield site due to space constraints.

The second major debate was over the nature of the institution. There developed two main parties: those who advocated a teaching college and others who favoured an institution or cultural centre. A few characters were particularly vocal in this debate, with the leading voices being Reverend Kell of the “college” party and Joseph Stebbing, for the “institution”. Revd Edmund Kell, the principal figure of the first, was a scholar, champion of liberal and progressive causes, Unitarian minister and archaeologist. Kell argued that Hartley had given precedence to the study of science and literature over the creation of a library or museum and that, since no “scientific public” as Hartley had referred to existed in the town, it must be created: for this a college must be established.

Mr Hartley’s intentions respecting the application of his munificent bequest: a letter by Rev Edmund Kell [MS1/1/31/2]

Joseph Stebbing, a leading businessman and Conservative, was President of the Chamber of Commerce almost continuously from 1851 to 1867. As leader of the “institution” faction his proposal was to create a library, reading room, museum and public lectures which were to be made as widely available as possible.

At a public meeting in July 1858, the motion that the Hartley Bequest Committee of the Town Council should take Stebbing’s proposals as a basis for their scheme, with amendments, was carried without dissent. And so Stebbing and the “institution” party won the day. The Hartley Council was formed to administer the project. One of its first actions was to hold an open competition for the design of the building. You may not be surprised to hear that they were required to choose the cheapest option, which had to be modified further to be achievable.

Design for the Hartley Institution competition: printed report of the Council of the Hartley Institution to the town council [MS1/1/31/5]

Another victim of constrained finances was the staffing budget. A grand total of two people were appointed by the Council in July 1862! A Librarian-cum-Curator who was later given the title of principal. With a salary of £300 a year, without residence, Dr. Francis Bond was a 28 year old Professor of Chemistry and Dean of Faculty in Queen’s College Birmingham as well as Professor of Clinical Medical at Queen’s Hospital. The only other appointment was a porter, Robins, a married man without children: salary of £60 per year with uniform, coal and candles supplied. Later a library assistant-cum-secretary was appointed.

Despite early – and by no means insignificant – challenges, the Hartley Institution had been built, it’s purpose decided and staff appointed. And so we move onto a celebration: the grand opening which was attended by the Prime Minister, no less! And the opening was indeed very grand: no expense was spared on the event and anyone attending would find it hard to believe the financial and other challenges the institution had faced thus far. See our blog post Opening of the Hartley Institution, Wednesday 15 October 1862 for all the details.

The Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston at the opening of the Hartley Institution

Although Lord Palmerston had declared the Institution open, it did not in fact begin to function for nearly a year afterwards. While the shell of the building was ready, it wasn’t equipped for work and the expense of the ceremony caused yet further delays. The bill for the opening came to over £600 which was not paid for for some time and several tradesmen were obliged to sue the corporation before they could get any money.

Report on the organisation and management of the Hartley Institution by Francis T.Bond, November 1862 [Rare books Univ. Collection LF781.4]

The newly appointed Principal, Francis Bond, visited literary and scientific institutions in other UK towns and drew up the report “Organisation and Management of the Hartley Institution”. A small laboratory was fitted up with a grant from the Borough Council. In addition, donations of books for the library and specimens for the museum were received. A whole eleven months passed after the ceremony before the real opening of the Institution on 4 September 1863. Our next University-themed post will explore the early years of the Institution in detail; do join us then.

Hampshire’s Local History Champions

May is the Historical Association’s ‘Local and Community History Month’ which we will be marking with a series of blog posts. This week we take a look at two people whose interest in local studies has proved of immense value to generations of Hampshire’s local historians – Thomas Shore and Sir William Cope.

Thomas Shore (1840-1905) from Shore Memorial Volume (1911) Cope 06

Appointed in 1873 as the Secretary and Executive Officer of the Hartley Institution (the forerunner of the University), Thomas Shore effectively became its principal in 1875. He lectured on scientific and technical subjects in addition to his administrative duties and spent so much of his free time exploring the local area, that he described himself as the ‘Hampshire Tramp’. It was this passion for local studies that led to the formation of the Hampshire Field Club – which remains the most important local studies organisation in Hampshire to this day. 

The Hartley Institution’s entrance hall with the door to Shore’s office on the right. Rare Books Univ. Coll. LF 781.15 pc1082

On 20th March 1885, Shore convened a meeting in his office at the Hartley Institution with Rev. Thomas Woodhouse, Vicar of Ropley, Rev. William Eyre, Rector of Swarraton, William Whitaker of the Geological Survey and Ernest Westlake, a geologist from Fordingbridge. They agreed that a Society to be called the Hampshire Field Club should be formed, its purpose being to study the natural history and antiquities of the county, or, as Shore later described it to fellow member, G.W. Colenutt, ‘a few of us went into my room to talk this over and we came out of the room as The Hampshire Field Club’.

Rules of the Hampshire Field Club from H.F.C. Press Cuttings, Programmes etc. 1885-1890 Rare Books H.F.C. q DA 670.H2

As its name suggests, visits to sites of interest were to be a key activity of the group. Arranging and leading these were amongst Shore’s responsibilities – he had become Organising Secretary in 1885 – and the visits allowed him to share his enthusiasm for all aspects of local studies. In Colenutt’s view ‘to his personality was largely due the early and continued increase in the Club’s membership and to the position it attained as a County organisation of importance and influence’.  

The H.F.C.’s early importance and influence was seen in the lobbying role it undertook particularly in relation to the preservation of local antiquities. With its headquarters in Southampton it was well-placed to object to the various proposals of the Corporation which in its view involved the ‘wilful obliteration of antiquities’. The H.F.C. voted to donate £10 towards cleaning and making accessible an undercroft in Simnel Street ‘if it were to be preserved’, objected to plans to build near West Quay, which would destroy part of the town walls and in 1899 the Club’s officers brought their influence to bear in the campaign against the Corporation’s proposal to demolish or move the Bargate, which was proving an obstacle to the new electric tram scheme. 

The problem caused by the electric trams was solved by lowering the road through the arch, rather than demolishing the Bargate. Cook postcard pc1622

As part of Shore’s wide-ranging role at the Hartley Institution he developed both its Museum and its Library.  On the Library side, his standing in local history circles secured for the Institution the bequest, by Sir William Cope of Bramshill, of his Hampshire Collection. Shore’s role is confirmed in a letter from George Minns, editor of the Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, printed in the Southampton Herald of 23 April 1892. This stated that ‘we are greatly, if not entirely, indebted to the influence and promptitude of Mr Shore’ for the bequest containing many ‘priceless treasures of great local interest’. Cope had apparently conferred with Shore about the disposal of his collection and obtained his advice in the form of words to be used in the bequest.

Sir William Cope (1811-1892) Rare Books Cope fph BRAMI 96 COP

Like Shore, Sir William Cope was an incomer to Hampshire, being a distant relative of Sir John Cope, whom he succeeded as baronet in 1851. He had previously been a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade and after being ordained as a priest, was appointed as minor canon and librarian at Westminster Abbey. Cope’s Hampshire Collection combined his passion for books with his interest in his adoptive county and by 1879 it amounted to over 700 publications, a figure which had doubled by the time of his death. Described in an obituary as ‘earnest, genial, pious and high-minded’, Cope was also said to have been a good friend of Charles Kingsley, the Rector of Eversley, the parish in which Bramshill stood. Later writers have cast some doubt on this, given Cope’s refusal to carry out any improvements at Kingsley’s damp and unhealthy rectory.

View of Bramshill from George Prosser Select Illustrations of Hampshire (1834-39) Rare Books Cope quarto 91.5

When the Hartley Institution officially accepted the collection, it stood at some 1,427 books (112 fewer than those listed in the catalogue), fifty bound volumes of pamphlets, seven massive albums of engravings, and a further collection of individual prints. Then, as now, Library staff were keen to display the material and amongst the first visitors were members of the Hampshire Field Club. The April 1893 programme for their annual ‘conversazione’ at the Hartley Institution included the opportunity to view ‘books and prints from a recently arrived special collection’.

Invitation to the Conversazione at the Hartley Institution, 12 April 1893, from H.F.C. Press Cuttings, Programmes, etc. 1885-1890 Rare Books H.F.C. q DA 670.H2

Thanks to Cope’s breadth of vision as a collector, the Cope Collection, as it is now known, is a remarkable resource for the study of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The county histories and lavishly illustrated topographical works sit alongside well-used local directories. There are learned papers on geology, archaeology and natural history, pamphlets and local acts relate the development of canals and railways and there are many examples of locally printed items of which few copies survive. The University has continued to add to the collection and and it now amounts to over 13,000 books with additional collections of postcards and photographs.

The latter years of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth brought many developments in local studies still of benefit today. In 1886, a year after the foundation of the Hampshire Field Club, the Hampshire Record Society was set up to preserve and publish ancient records and documents relating to the county, the Southampton Record Society following in 1905. Local booksellers and publishers also played a significant part – H.M. Gilbert in Southampton was in regular correspondence with Cope, published some of Shore’s papers and also compiled the county bibliography Bibliotheca Hantoniensis (1872). Through their differing interests in local studies both Shore and Cope made valuable contributions to these important foundations for local studies in Hampshire.

Happy Birthday Henry Robinson Hartley

Today we mark the birthday of Henry Robinson Hartley (1777-1850) whose bequest to the town of Southampton led (eventually) to the creation of its University.

Henry Robinson Hartley’s birth recorded in his father’s Prayer Book (1750) [Rare Books Hartley Coll. BX 5145]

Born to Henry and Susannah Hartley, a prosperous wine merchant and his wife, Henry might well have been expected to join the family business and to take an active part in local affairs – as had his father and his great-uncle, George Robinson. This would have been a fitting life for a man who bequeathed the bulk of his fortune to his home town to “promote the study and advancement of the sciences of Natural History, Astronomy, Antiquities, Classical and Oriental Literature” and for the “formation of a public library, garden, observatory and collection of objects connected with the sciences mentioned”. But in Henry Robinson Hartley, the University has a founder whose life followed a very different pattern.

Photograph of the portrait of Henry Robinson Hartley, aged nine [MS1/Phot/39/ph 3000]

After an unremarkable childhood, during which he attended Southampton’s Grammar School – where his friend, John Bullar recalled him as “studious, pleasant and gentlemanly”, Henry Robinson Hartley’s life went somewhat off the rails.

Grammar School at Southampton, late 18th century in: Views in Hampshire, v.4 no.182 [Rare Books Cope ff 91.5]

At the age of twenty-one he made an unfortunate marriage, causing him to become estranged from his father and therefore not to inherit the fortune he had anticipated on Henry senior’s death in 1800. Within four years his marriage was annulled – his wife Celia, giving birth to a daughter who was almost certainly not his child, and there followed a period of “systematic licentiousness” before Henry returned to Southampton to live with his mother. Best described as an eccentric recluse, Henry appears to have passed his time in pursuing his studies of natural history and languages, making travel plans which never came to fruition and using his diary and other writings to record his thoughts on the rigid and complacent nature of English society.

On his mother’s death in 1821, Henry finally inherited his fortune and a few years later, disapproving of the increasingly commercial character of the High Street which disturbed his peaceful, tree-lined garden, he left Southampton for good. For the last twenty-six years of his life he lived in Calais and London, making only brief visits to Southampton.

The High Street houses and tree-lined gardens belonging to Henry Robinson Hartley can be seen in the copy of the 1846 map of Southampton [Rare Books Cope cf SOU 90.5 1846]

The ‘Hartley Bequest’ revealed on Henry’s death in 1850 was something of a shock to all concerned, given his long absence from the town. After minor bequests to family and servants, the Corporation was to receive the residue of the estate, valued at just over £100,000. Unsurprisingly, Henry’s relatives contested the will and the costs of the subsequent legal proceedings and the settlement agreed by Henry’s supposed daughter swallowed up a large proportion of the estate. The Corporation was left with £42,525 and a dilemma as to how best to carry out Henry’s wishes.

Henry’s Letter of Instruction was quite clear on the point that he wished the “select scientific public” to benefit from his generosity rather than the whole population of the town. Of the different proposals aired in the local press, the establishment of a college along the lines of Owens College, Manchester seemed the most appropriate, but the reduced size of the bequest made the scheme for an institution providing popular adult education more achievable and the Hartley Institution opened on 15 October 1862.

The opening of the Hartley Institution 15 October 1862, photograph of an engraving of Lord Palmerston arriving. [MS1/Phot/39/ph 3026]

Would Henry Robinson Hartley have approved of the outcome of his bequest? According to his biographer, Alexander Anderson, the traditional concept of a University as a place where knowledge is pursued for its own sake would have been more likely to meet with his approval than the Hartley Institution, but in his primary aim of preserving his High Street houses and possessions, he would have been disappointed. The houses and gardens were demolished to make way for the Hartley Institution, his papers were destroyed by his trustees who judged them obscene and blasphemous and his other belongings dispersed. All that remained were his books – the first of the Library’s printed Special Collections.

Henry Robinson Hartley’s copy of The First Book of the Fables of Phaedrus (1775) Rare Books Hartley Coll. PA 6563

Henry Robinson Hartley’s copy of John Latham’s A General Synopsis of Birds v.1 (1781) Rare Books Hartley Coll. QL 673

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry’s diary and writings were quoted extensively by both sides in the legal proceedings relating to his bequest and these form the basis of Hartleyana: being some account of the life and opinions of Henry Robinson Hartley, scholar, naturalist, eccentric and founder of the University of Southampton by Alexander Anderson (1987).

University Developments Through Time: the Hartley Institution Museum collections

When the University finally moved to the Highfield site in 1919, there was a real sense of loss by residents of Southampton as they were no longer able to enjoy the Library and Museum of the “old Hartley”.

Site of the Hartley Institution [MS1/Phot/39 ph3005b]

Henry Robinson Hartley had expressed a wish in his will that all the effects in his house be preserved as a museum – an idea that was not considered with particular approbation by those who had to run the Institution. The scientist Lyon Playfair, appointed by the Hartley Bequest Committee to inspect Hartley’s house in Southampton and consider the possibilities for development, looked askance at the suggestion. He was to note that a local museum “is likely to be a sink for all the collected rubbish of the neighbourhood and soon becomes an incongruous assemblage of tattooed heads, shrivelled crocodiles, moth-eaten birds and the like”.  The assessment of T.W.Shore, Executive Officer of the Institution 1875-95, was of the Museum as an accumulation of “miscellaneous objects from all quarters and all climates, illustrative of anything in general and no special branch of knowledge in particular”.

Two council minute books of the Hartley Institution [MS1/MBK/1/3-4]

An examination of the council minute books and reports of the Hartley Institution, which are held in the Special Collections, provide a fascinating insight into the array of material accumulated by the Museum from its start to the early part of the 20th century. The donations reflect something of the trends for collecting in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

The Hartley Institution Report from 1871 gives a flavour of the range of items offered.  As well as a number of  Natural History specimens, including a collection of snakes from Central America, the skull of a tiger presented by Captain Sharp of SS Wales, and a flamingo from the Cape of Good Hope, there were a collection of Chinese and Japanese objects, specimens of crystallised arsenious acid and of Gorgonian coral, and a number of specimens “chiefly of a geological nature”.

Hartley Institution Report to 30 June 1871 [MS1/MBK/1/1]

Natural History specimens – in particular birds – geological specimens and archaeological finds were to feature notably in the donations received over the decades. From the late 1880s onwards, the twice yearly reports of the Hartley Institution note the donations of considerable numbers of local geological specimens from the Hampshire chalk unearthed during the New Dock Evacuation at Southampton. With the turn of the century the Museum was still acquiring sizeable collections, including a collection of local fossils made by the late Revd Compton given by his son in January 1902.

Many of these archaeological finds were from the local area and quite a number came from the collections of clergymen collectors. One of the first offered to the Museum, which was declined due to lack of space, was that of Charles Stewart Montgomerie Lockhart of St Mary Bourne, Andover, which included  many Roman, Saxon and other finds from sites near his home. Amongst other archaeological items to find their way to the Museum was a collection of Palaeolithic weapons found on Southampton Common donated in 1883, and further Palaeolithic weapons donated by Mr Wateford of Nursling in 1885; a collection of coins and other “relics” found at Longstock Church donated by Revd W.Drewe in 1885; flint flakes struck off a flint core by prehistoric man and the tooth of a rhinoceros from beneath the brick earth of the Lower Thames, Crayford in Kent donated in 1888.

Interior of Museum, c.1910 [MS1/Phot/39 ph3039]

Other items accepted for the Museum represented a more esoteric and far ranging selection: there was a Peruvian mummy donated by Captain Revett, RMC, in September 1876; a Chinese bow and arrow donated by Mr Derrick in 1878;  a crocodile reputedly brought from Egypt by General Gordon, donated by W.E.Darwin in 1888; and several boomerangs donated by Mr J.I.Peet of Perth, Western Australia, in July 1902.

Detail of floor plan of Hartley Institution building including Museum

The Museum’s collection in all its array was not to make the move to the Highfield campus, although a geological museum was formed on the new site.

Look out for our last University Through Time blog which will feature Kelly the skeleton, a much loved mascot for the College and an object that probably would not have felt too out of place with the other objects of the Hartley Institution Museum.

Celebrating 70 years of the National Health Service

On 5 July 1948 the Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan, launched the National Health Service.  2018 marks 70 years since its establishment and during this time it has become the world’s largest publicly-funded health service.

The NHS was created out of the ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth, and at its heart remain the same 3 core principles:

• that it meet the needs of everyone
• that it be free at the point of delivery
• that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay.

The Hartley Institution, the first incarnation of the University, long pre-dates the founding of the NHS but not, of course, the provision of healthcare.  In 1894, the Institution was recognised by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons as a place of instruction for students preparing for their first medical examination.

The Hartley Institution in the High Street, Southampton, below the Bargate

Prior to this, Albert Temple Patterson, author of The University of Southampton, reports that local medical students attended lectures at the infirmary or in the “private residence of our medical men.”  A few students received instruction at the Institution with some winning scholarships to London hospitals.

The Hartley Institution became the Hartley College in 1896; Hartley University College in 1902 and the University College of Southampton in 1914.  The College calendars give details of the instruction offered for those students wishing to prepare for the medical profession.

Timetable from the Hartley University College Southampton Prospectus of day classes suitable for medical and dental students, session 1905-1905 [Univ. Coll. per LF783.5]

Courses for training health visitors were instituted in 1948-9 with Miss P.E.O’Connell appointed tutor-in-charge.  The venture was a  successful piece of co-operation between the University College and local authorities who were finding it difficult to secure qualified individuals for the new health service.

The establishment of a medical school was considered in 1950 but the University Grants Committee considered the current provision for medical education to be adequate.  However, two appointment were made for lecturers in medically related biological studies in the later 1950s, once the institution had received University status.

In 1967, the Royal Commission on Medical Education advised the Government that there was a strong case for establishing a new medical school in Southampton.  The previous year it had established that there needed to be an immediate and substantial increase in the number of doctors.

Professor Donald Acheson, Foundation Dean of the new Medical School, University of Southampton, 1968-78

Sir Kenneth Mather, (Vice Chancellor 1965-71) whose specialism was genetics, had been an enthusiastic supporter of the project.  Professor Donald Acheson arrived in October 1968 to be the foundation Dean and the first intake of students arrived two years later, in 1971.  Acheson was later appointed Chief Medical Officer under the Thatcher administration.

The nursing degree course was launched in 1982 with some 20 students.  This was greatly increased in 1995, the result of the Government’s recognition that most nurses should have degrees, and its decision to hand over training of the nurses from the NHS to the universities.

Planting a tree in honour of the first nursing graduates, October 1986 [MS 1/Phot/1/26/1]

A new school of Nursing and Midwifery was formed in 1995 by the amalgamation of the NHS College of Nursing and Midwifery with the exiting nursing group in the Faculty of Medicine.

The university maintains a presence at Southampton General in partnership with the NHS trust operating the hospital. It is home to some operations of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Health Sciences, although these two faculties have bases on Highfield campus. As a teaching hospital, it is used by a range of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, research academics and clinicians.

Aeriel view of Southampton General Hospital, 1996 [MS 1/Phot/13/1]

The General Hospital is the biggest site of the University Hospital Southampton which also manages the Princess Anne, Southampton Children’s Hospital, Countess Mountbatten House, Royal South Hants and the New Forest Birth Centre.

In 2007, the University chose to venerate Professor Dame Sally Claire Davies, DBE, FMedSci, FRS with an honorary degree.  She is the current Chief Medical Officer for England (appointed in 2010); the first woman to be appointed to the post which has substantial de facto influence over NHS policy.

Professor Sally Davies with the Chancellor, Sir John Parker in 2007 [MS 1/GR1/18/21]

From humble beginnings, the University is today a national leader in medical education.  Working in collaboration with the NHS, the Faculty of Medicine has trained thousands of doctors and scientists.  Nursing at the University is ranked ninth in the world and the Faculty of Health Sciences also provides a first-class environment for cutting edge research to prepare tomorrow’s physiotherapists, midwives, occupational therapists, clinical phycologists and podiatrists.

Development of the University Library

This summer will see further refurbishment taking place in the Hartley Library, the University’s main library and home to its Archives and Special Collections. Further information regarding its impact on the Special Collections Division can be found on our website.

While the University Library today has a presence on all seven campuses of the University, for this week’s blog post we will be taking a look back at the development of the University’s main Library on the Highfield Campus.

The “old Hartley” Library (1860s-1910s)
The University of Southampton has its genesis in a bequest left by Henry Robinson Hartley, a studious and reclusive character and heir to a family of Southampton wine merchants. In his will Hartley bequeathed a large proportion of his estate to the Corporation of Southampton and called for “a small building to be erected…to serve as a repository for my Household Furniture, Books, Manuscripts, and other moveables”. Out of this the Hartley Institution was formed.

Hartley University College Library, c.1910

The original Hartley Institution building, located on the High Street, below the Bargate, was declared open by Lord Palmerston on 15 October 1862. It comprised of a library, museum, and reading room, together with a lecture hall and classrooms. While the Library was initially only accessible to members of the Institution, it was made freely open to the public in 1873. As a result, it acted as both the Institution’s academic library and the town’s public library.

Over the subsequent decades the institution increasingly focused on meeting the demands for popular and industrial education. This resulted in its transition to a university college in 1902, when it became Hartley University College. By 1910, further developments in this direction emphasised the need for premises more fitting to the institution’s ambitions. This prompted a move from the cramped accommodation on the High Street to the Highfield Court Estate on the outskirts of town. However, the move was not welcomed by everyone. Some of the townspeople resented the loss of the privilege of access to the Library, which “they had continued to value in spite of the existence of a free Borough Library since 1889.”

Moving to Highfield (1910s-20s)
The grand opening of the renamed University College of Southampton by Lord Haldane took place in June 1914. The new buildings at Highfield consisted of two separate wings housing an arts block and a range of single story laboratories for biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. However, a lack of funding meant that the construction of the administration and library building, which should have filled the gap between the two wings, was postponed.

Early photograph of the University’s Highfield site. The building in the foreground is now the south wing of the Hartley Library.

Six weeks after the official opening the country declared war on Germany. As a result, the move to Highfield was indefinitely postponed with the College offering the buildings to the War Office for use as a hospital. As the war progressed, the main building proved too small to accommodate the increasing number of wounded soldiers and extra wards were constructed in temporary wooden huts to the rear.

Aerial photograph of the Highfield campus with the wooden huts at the rear of the main buildings, c.1932

The War Office eventually gave up the buildings in May 1919 and University College of Southampton began the session of 1919-1920 in its new home, continuing to make use of the wooden huts. Since it had originally been intended to form part of the central block between the two wings, none of the existing buildings had room specifically set aside for a library. A large room on the first floor in the northern wing of the main building served as a reading room and also housed a selection of the books most in use. However, these were only a fraction of the 35,000 volumes which the Library now possessed, with the majority of the books dispersed through the corridors and huts.

The Turner Sims Library and Gurney-Dixon Building (1930s-50s)
The completion of the central block had to wait until the 1930s when the construction of the Turner Sims Library was made possible by the donation of £24,250 by the daughters of Edward Turner Sims, a former member of Council. The Turner Sims Library, which now forms the front of the present Hartley Library, was opened by H.R.H. the Duke of York (later King George VI) in October 1935. The new building filled most of the gap between the two parts of the original building (which now make up the north and south wings of the Hartley Library).

Photographs of the Turner Sims Library, opened in 1935

While this was welcomed as a long overdue improvement, space remained an issue. Planning began for a much larger extension in 1947 but it wasn’t until 1959 that the Gurney-Dixon Building at the rear of the Turner Sims Library was finally declared open. The extension was named after Sir Samuel Gurney-Dixon who was chair of Council for 21 years. To mark the occasion he presented to the Library six rare editions of Divina Commedia, including a copy of the Brescia edition of 1487.

Photographs of the interior and exterior of the Gurney-Dixon Building, 1959

Developments in collections and services (1960s-80s)
In addition to its main stock, the Library had by now acquired a number of valuable printed special collections. These included the agricultural library of W. Frank Perkins, acquired in 1945. This trend continued with the transfer of the private library of Reverend Dr James Parkes to the University in 1964. Focusing on Jewish/non-Jewish relations, the Parkes Library originally consisted of 4,500 books, 2,000 pamphlets and sets of periodicals. Since that time the collection has expanded significantly and has led to the development the University’s special interest in Anglo-Jewish archives.

Opening of the Parkes Library, 1964

By 1969 the Library already housed over a quarter of a million books leading to a critical space problem. An extension to the first floor, for the Special Collections, was completed the same year and was followed by an extension to the north wing and mezzanine in 1970, with an ‘attractive and welcoming entrance’ ready by the end of the session. However, the Library’s stock continued to grow. The decade saw the arrival of the Ford Collection of British Official Publications. Originally brought to the University by Professor Percy Ford and his wife Dr Grace Ford, the collection formed the basis of the Parliamentary Papers Library which opened in 1971. Further efforts were undertaken to alleviate space issues in 1978, including the addition of a mezzanine floor to the Turner Sims part of the Library, creating a new area of 500 square metres.

During the same period, the Library was modernising its services. Between 1966 and 1968 the Library was one of the first in the country to introduce a computer-based issue system, employing punched cards. A decade later, this was replaced by a Telepen-based circulation system in 1979-80, making possible a complete up-to-date loan file at all times. An online circulating system was introduced in 1984, eventually replacing the off-line system entirely.

Opening of the Wellington Suite, 1983

A new chapter in the development of the Library’s Special Collections commenced with the arrival of the Wellington Papers in 1983, when the papers of the first Duke of Wellington were allocated to the University under the national heritage legislation. This led to the conversion of a part of the Library to provide an archives reading room and storage area, with the Wellington Suite being officially opened on 14 May 1983. The arrival of the Wellington Papers was to stimulate the acquisition of further significant manuscript collections which continues to this day.

The creation of the Hartley Library (1980s-2000s)
In the autumn of 1987 the University celebrate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Hartley Institution. A special event of this jubilee was the opening of a remodelled Library, renamed the Hartley Library, by Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

Opening of the Hartley Library, 1987

The Hartley Library was in effect a new Library. It included new strongrooms and reading room for the Special Collections, which was now ready to accept the papers of Earl Mountbatten of Burman from the archives of the Broadlands estate in Romsey. As a result of such major acquisitions the Library developed an additional role, becoming an important centre for primary historical research. Further collections followed, including additional material from the Broadlands archives (notably the papers of third Viscount Palmerston) and the Anglo-Jewish Archives in 1990.

The Hartley Library as it appears on a map of the Highfield campus. The Turner Sims Library is listed as building 12, the Gurney-Dixon Building as building 36, and the wings of the original University building as buildings 10 and 14.

Prior to the 1990s extensions largely focused on accommodation for stock and improving the range of seating available, but from this period increasing attention was being paid to developing workstation and IT provisions in the Library. A small refurbishment project in 1998 saw workstation provisions doubled and a new IT training suite created. The same project saw the south wing of the original 1914 building integrated into the Library.

Further refurbishment projects (2000s-2010s)
Printed collections grew steadily throughout the 1990s and by 2001 the Library was effectively full in terms of stock. By now, the University had grown considerably, as had student numbers, resulting in the need for a major increase in accommodation. Patterns of learning and teaching had also begun to shift with electronic resources growing in importance.

Extension at the rear of the Hartley Library’s Gurney-Dixon Building

The aim of the 2002-4 extension project was to create a research-oriented library that provided a high quality, flexible, study environment, with good quality seating, small study rooms and access to networking. The project saw the largest addition to Library space since the University moved to Highfield. The main elements included new reception, security and help desks; a student-centred foyer; improved access to all floors; increased and improved shelving; and an expansion of space for Special Collections, including a new exhibition gallery. Externally the extensions were a mixture of brickwork, steel framing elements, curtain walling, general glazing and rendered walls.

Since 2004 the Library has undergone further refurbishment, as it continues to develop its services and learning environment.  Details on the current Hartley Library Phase 2 refurbishment can be found on the Library website at: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/library/news/2017/03/30-hl-phase2-refurbishment.page

A new university for a new reign

Today, 9 September 2015, Queen Elizabeth II overtakes her great-great grandmother Victoria to become the longest reigning British monarch. The 63 years that Queen Elizabeth has reigned have been ones of immense change and there have been 12 Prime Ministers, the same number of American presidents and 7 popes during this time.

Part of the royal charter of the University

The University of Southampton has the distinction of being the first higher education institution to be granted university status in this reign, receiving its royal charter on 29 April 1952.

The arrival of Lord Palmerston at the Hartley Institution for the inauguration of the Institution, 1862

The foundation institute of the University was the Hartley Institution, based in High Street, Southampton, which was opened on 15 October 1862 by the then Prime Minister, Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston. From modest beginnings, offering a mixture of public lectures on a range of subjects and evening classes in French and chemistry to residents of Southampton, as well as a reading room and a library, the Hartley Institution — and the University of Southampton — have grown into a multi-disciplinary, internationally renowned university of the twenty-first century.

Letter of congratulation from Exeter University College, 20 April 1953

On being granted its royal charter a number of letters of congratulation were received, including the above letter from Exeter University College, which reads:

“Greetings from Exeter University College to the University of Southampton.

We recently received your letter, Gentlemen, in which you announced that, having now obtained a Royal Charter, you were about to install in this most auspicious year a Chancellor of most illustrious name, and you signified your wish that we should share in your joyful celebration. We thank you greatly for your goodwill and send you triple and threefold congratulations. For we are your neighbours, your rivals, and also your friends; the sun in his daily course reaches us immediately after you. May this be an omen favourable to us, and we be second to you. May your new University, which now so to speak assumes the toga of manhood, flourish—such is our prayer to Almighty God—and may it have youth and vigour everlasting. May friendly rivalry flourish, not only among neighbours and colleagues, but also among all men of every country and profession.”