University of Hull

University College Hull was founded in 1927 through the support of local benefactors, such as Thomas Robinson Ferens (who gave the land and £250,000), G F Grant and the City Council.

Duke of York (George VI) laid the foundation stone in 1928 and the College opened in October with 39 students and 14 ‘one-man’ departments. There were 100 students in 1931.

Located on Cottingham Road in Hull, with just one building (now the Venn Building), the new University College Hull was an outpost of the University of London and offered courses in the arts and pure sciences.

During its early years, the College faced the changing economic trends of the 1930s and then the outbreak of war, which led to falling student numbers, buildings being commandeered and books being evacuated for safe-keeping.