Higher education postcard: Senate House, University of London

We’ve been to London before – back in September 2021 – so it’s probably time for another quick visit. (And also, that means I’ve being doing this blog for more than three years – thank you so much for reading!)

Here’s Senate House as seen in a postcard from, I think, the 1930s. The view is of an architect’s drawing, looking north-east from the north-west corner of the British Museum. It’s one of the joys of Bloomsbury that there are always things to go and see, things to go and learn, and Senate House is right there in the middle. There’s a good brief history of Senate House on the University of London’s website.

Back in 2021 I mentioned the TV shows and films that Senate House had been in. But there’s another literary connection: it was, apparently, the model for the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. His wife, Eileen, worked for the Ministry of Information during World War Two; this was housed in Senate House, requisitioned for the purpose.

And yes, Senate House does have a room 101. I worked at Senate House from 1990 to 1996 and, if my memory serves me right, room 101 was the room where you waited to see the vice chancellor. Make of that what you will.

As a bonus, here’s a free online jigsaw of this postcard – if that’s your thing, hope you enjoy it!