Goodenough College

Goodenough College is a postgraduate residence and educational trust in Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury, central London, England. Other names under which the college has been known are London House, William Goodenough House, and the London Goodenough Trust.

Profile

Goodenough College is an educational charity that provides residential accommodation for British and international postgraduates and their families studying in London. T
Goodenough has residential and study facilities and provides a programme of activities whose goal is to enhance students' personal, social and intellectual development. In a typical year, the College is home to approximately 700 international postgraduate students and their families, from approximately 80 different nations.
The College is located in London and set on Mecklenburgh Square. Director of the College since April 2021 has been Alice Walpole.

History

Foundation

Goodenough College, originally known as the Dominion Students’ Hall Trust, was set up in 1930 by a group of prominent Londoners, including the chairman of Barclays Bank and founder of Barclays Bank DCO Frederick Craufurd Goodenough, and his wife Maeve Goodenough. Goodenough and his friends wanted to provide collegiate life along Oxbridge lines to young men coming to London from the British dominions and colonies, who could be seen as prospective leaders of what was then a large empire. The College aimed to serve as a moot hall for its residents, and a place where they could form lasting friendships in a spirit of tolerance and understanding.
The search for a site for the new college was centred on Bloomsbury, to which the University of London was preparing a move from South Kensington. A site for sale as freehold was found between Guilford Street and Mecklenburgh Square, and the College bought it in 1930.

London House

The Dominion Students’ Hall Trust was established on 25 March 1930 to provide a hall of residence, to be known as London House, for students from the Dominions.
London House first opened its doors in October 1931, in Nos. 4–7 Caroline Place on the west side of the site. The accommodation was soon full, with a long waiting list, and by the start of World War II the Trust occupied all the properties in Caroline Place.
A new London House for 300 single students was built between 1935 and 1963 to the designs of the architect Herbert Baker, his partner Alexander Scott, and their successor Vernon Helbing. It was completed in three stages:
Stage 1. The southeast corner includes the Great Hall, Charles Parsons Library, common rooms, and the Guilford Street entrance. This was the only part to be completed in Herbert Baker's lifetime.
Stage 2. The rest of the south wing, the west wing, and the northwest corner. Alexander Scott continued in Baker's style, with some simplification of detail.
Stage 3. The north wing, including the northeast corner. It was built to a lower cost than the other stages, without flint-work. At the same time, architect Vernon Helbing created the college chapel out of former offices.

William Goodenough House

In the 1940s, at the instigation of the Chairman of the College Governors, William Goodenough, the Lord Mayor of London launched a Thanksgiving Fund to raise money in the U.K. in gratitude to the people of Commonwealth countries and the United States for their gifts, including food parcels, during and after World War II. The money raised was made available, through the ‘Sister Trust’, to build William Goodenough House, a residence for female Commonwealth and US postgraduates and married students with families, replacing houses destroyed or badly damaged in the war on the northeast of the Mecklenburgh Square. At the same time, the bombed houses in adjacent Heathcote Street were rebuilt as an annex, and the House was completed in 1957. Later wings, Julian Crossley Court and Ashley Ponsonby Court, brought the capacity of the House up to 120 rooms for single students and 60 flats for married couples and families.The ground floor of Jubilee Wing was later repurposed as a range of accessible accommodation for residents with physical disabilities.

The renaming as Goodenough College

In 1965, the Dominion Students’ Hall Trust and the Sister Trust merged to form London House for Overseas Graduates. Although initially accommodation had been reserved for students from the Commonwealth, students from the United States were admitted from 1950 and from mainland Europe in 1974, following the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Community. In 1991, both London House and William Goodenough House started to offer mixed accommodation. The two merged in 2001 to form Goodenough College, a community open to students of any nationality.

The Goodenough Hotel, London

Nos. 22–25 Mecklenburgh Square survived the Blitz and were used as a nursing home until 1989 when they were handed back in a dilapidated state. Initially, the houses were repaired and used as inexpensive accommodation for short-stay visitors, mostly returning alumni and other academics in London to attend conferences and seminars. By 1997, however, it was apparent that the building required modernisation if they were to meet the standards that would be required in the 21st century.
The houses were closed, and plans were made to add No. 21 and renovate and upgrade as an income generating hotel. There were delays because the Georgian houses are listed buildings in a conservation area, and the work required the approval of both English Heritage and the London Borough of Camden planning department. Eventually, the plans were passed, and the Goodenough Club opened in April 2001. The hotel is open to academic and professional visitors as well as conference delegates from around the world and was renamed The Goodenough on Mecklenburgh Square in 2018.
In 2022, the hotel went through a refurbishment of all 65 bedrooms, maintaining the property’s historic features and the name was changed to The Goodenough Hotel, London. All profits generated by The Goodenough Hotel are directed toward supporting Goodenough College’s charitable mission, including funding scholarships and providing support services for postgraduate students, particularly those from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds.

Royal Patronage

The British monarchy’s association with Goodenough College began with Queen Mary’s visit in 1937. In March 1950, the 23-year-old Princess Elizabeth spoke at the launch of the Lord Mayor’s Thanksgiving Fund appeal, which raised funds for the construction of William Goodenough House. Queen Elizabeth II served as the College’s Patron until her death in 2022. King Charles III became the College’s second royal Patron in 2024.

List of heads of Goodenough College

Directors of the College, 1945–present

As the name of the College and the Director's equivalent position has changed over time, the title of each appointee is given.

Wardens of London House, 1947–2008

Up until the 1970s, London House was a single-sex men-only building. The position of London House warden was abolished in 2008.

Controllers and wardens of William Goodenough House, 1950-–2007

From the instigation of William Goodenough House in 1950, it was run by a separate warden. Up until the 1970s, William Goodenough House was a single-sex women-only building, while London House was a men-only building. The position of William Goodenough House warden was abolished in 2007.