Special Collections: University Archive

London Metropolitan University has a rich history with strong educational roots dating back to 1848. 

The University as it is today was created in 2002 with the merging of London Guildhall University and the University of North London, the first merger between two universities in the UK. Its roots, however, lie firmly in the nineteenth century with the establishment of the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men in 1848. 

In 1848 the then Bishop of London called upon the clergy to set up evening classes to improve the "moral, intellectual and spiritual condition of young men in the metropolis". The Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men was thus born and later became the City of London College and then the City of London Polytechnic.

In 1992, the Polytechnic was awarded university status (with degree-awarding powers) by Act of Parliament and adopted the name London Guildhall University. 

In August 2014, London Metropolitan University began the process of constructing, for the first time, a central historic archive of material that relates to all of its precursor institutions and contributes towards the narrative arc of the institution's extensive history. Now fully formed and accessible, this archive holds important information, not only about the evolution of the University, but also about aspects of educational social history that prevailed in these areas of the capital during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The evolution of London Metropolitan University is briefly described Brief Description of LMU Evolution.

The University Archive comprises Committee papers, College prospectuses, Course handbooks, Ceremonial (e.g. awards ceremonies), Photographs, Staff and student magazines (internal publications), Students' Union handbooks and internal communications, Ephemera, Student records, Scientific equipment and Legal documents. 

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