Photograph of Quintin Hogg used
in a memorial card, 1903
Quintin Hogg's vision The
Polytechnic was to educate "mind, body and spirit". He expanded the
Polytechnic's established role in science to encompass arts and
humanities in a full social mission. As a result, the Polytechnic
developed an international reputation and became a model for
applied education across London.
When Quintin Hogg acquired the
building at 309 Regent Street in 1881, he had been working amongst
the poor and working people of London for almost 20 years and
running his Young Men's Christian Institute in Covent Garden since
1871. When The Polytechnic reopened in 1882, it was designed
as a place where the thousands of young people living in lodgings
could engage in wholesome recreation and relevant education. In
1886, a day school was also established, and continues today
as the Quintin Kynaston secondary school in St John's Wood. A
former pupil, Harold Beck, has recently posted wartime issues of
the school's magazine, The
Quintinian, on the web.
The Regent Street model was
replicated as a network of polytechnics across London, and was a
resounding success because it appealed to so many sections of the
community. The Polytechnic responded to the needs of its locality
and to the development of London. Its success lay in its appeal to
the reforming lobby pressing for improvements in technical
education and to the public and private providers of funds to
support that reform, to employers and trade organisations and to
the young men (and from 1888 young women) who queued to become
members. By 1900, membership had reached 15,000.
Pioneering work in emerging
professional and commercial disciplines, alongside general interest
subjects, public lectures and a thriving social programme, was the
hallmark of the institution. Some distinguished names were
associated with the Polytechnic's new courses. Alfred Waterhouse,
who designed the Natural History Museum, was president of the
School of Architecture and Sir Charles Parsons of the School of
Engineering.
In 1923 the Industrial League and Council presented a series of
lectures on management and industry and a new school of management
opened the following year. Courses in journalism began as
early as 1922 and the teaching of planning started in 1934. Courses
leading to recognition by professional bodies supported and
contributed to the growth of the professions in London. Quintin
Hogg died in 1903 but the institution continued to flourish under
the direction of his friends and colleagues Robert Mitchell and
Kynaston Studd.
Facade of The Polytechnic, 309
Regent Street, c.1912
The building at 309 Regent Street
was rebuilt in 1910-12 to reflect the needs of a growing
institution with a major focus on education rather than exhibition.
After the first world war, the Polytechnic offered degrees
conferred by the University of London and it remained largely
unchanged as the vibrant focus of social and educational life for
working people in London until the second world war.
The Polytechnic was a club open to those who neither studied nor
taught there. With its public lectures and performances and a
strong commitment to sport, it reached out into the life of London.
By 1929, there were 5,000 members participating in the wide range
of sports and social clubs.
In 1928 Sir Kynaston Studd, president of The Polytechnic, was Lord
Mayor of London. The Polytechnic floats dominated the procession
that year, reinforcing the historic association with the
city. The Poly Parliament, a debating society whose members
examined many of the key issues of the day, was reported not only
in the press but, on occasion, in the House of Commons, the seat of
British government.
With everything from rambling to
amateur dramatics, the Polytechnic achieved a real community
identity which continued in the popular memory of the people of
London right through the 1950s and 1960s.
Back to Introduction
Next Chapter