Chelsea College Department of Chemistry Student Records

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0100 KCLCA CDC
Held at	: King's College London College Archives   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/archivespec/ ›
Full title	: Chelsea College Department of Chemistry Student Records
Date(s)	: [1940-1980]
Level of description	: Series level descriptions of King's College London Archives
Extent	: 13 archive boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Chelsea Polytechnic | Department of Chemistry Chelsea College of Science and Technology | Department of Chemistry Chelsea College | Department of Chemistry.

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Department of Chemistry traces its origin back to the opening of the South-Western Polytechnic in 1895. Chemistry was initially taught in day classes within the School of Science for Boys and Girls, the Technical Day College for Men and in evening classes. Known as the Chemical Department, it included a metallurgical and pharmaceutical section. In 1927 the Chemical Department was re-named the Department of Chemistry within what was then Chelsea Polytechnic. The work of the department was very diversified and in 1933 the School of Pharmacy became a separate department and in 1939 Metallurgy was transferred to Battersea Polytechnic. Work was seriously disrupted during World War Two and, as in World War One, some of the laboratories were given over for emergency use. In subsequent years, the numbers of full-time students increased rapidly as grant-holding servicemen enrolled and the numbers of full-time research workers also increased. The Polytechnic was designated a College of Advanced Technology in 1957. Changes were made to the constitution of the Board of Governors to provide greater representation to industrial and professional activities. Work below the standard of University degrees including Intermediate teaching was discontinued and the College was renamed Chelsea College of Science and Technology. The Department of Chemistry introduced a sandwich course leading to graduate membership of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, which was discontinued in 1961. In 1966 the College was admitted as a School of the University of London and was renamed Chelsea College. It merged with King's College London and Queen Elizabeth College in 1985 to create King's College London (KQC).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Chelsea Polytechnic/College Chemical Department 'locker forms', 1943-1968 (Ref: CDC/FP), Department of Chemistry student record cards, [1940-1980] (Ref: CDC/FPC). Locker forms for early years contain a greater quantity of biographical data. Information typically includes name, date of entry, examination date, course proposed, subjects, occupation, employer's name, address and business, exams passed, number of years in Chemistry, proposed career and country of origin. Occasionally they include a timetable of subjects taken, giving day and time, whether in the evening or part-time during the day. Information contained on record cards typically includes name, country of origin, session dates, field of study, course units and values, address, details on previous education, and some also include a photograph.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

CDC/FP (locker forms), CDC FPC (record cards): Locker forms are arranged by year of entry, and then alphabetically, excepting the earliest volume, which is arranged by date of examination, then alphabetically. Record cards are arranged in an alphabetical sequence.

Conditions governing access:

Subject to an eighty year closure period from date of leaving, but may be consulted by Departmental and other appropriate College staff with permission from the Head of Department.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, can be supplied to Departmental staff. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Director of Archive Services, King's College London.

Finding aids:

Copies of lists are available for consultation in the King's College London Archives Reading Room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

King's College London Chemistry Department Student Records (Ref: KDCH).

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Sources: King's College London catalogues; Chelsea College Annual Reports; Chelsea College of Science and Technology Historical Pamphlet (1963); H Silver and S J Teague eds, Chelsea College - A History (London, 1977). Compiled by Beverley Ager as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions:
National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997; ISAD(G), Second edition, 2000.

Date(s) of descriptions:
January 2002