Ramsay Hall is a building located in London used primarily as a
hall of residence for students of University College London.
History
The building was designed by
Maxwell Fry. It opened for Autumn term, 1964.[1] It is situated on Maple Street in
central London, on the border of
Fitzrovia and
Bloomsbury and around one hundred metres from
Tottenham Court Road.[2] The building is located within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area.[2] It occupies the same block as, and forms a single unified building with, the YMCA Indian Student Hostel designed by
Ralph Tubbs and was constructed at the same time.[1] The building contains around 450 bedrooms, a dining hall and a number of common rooms and surrounds a central courtyard.[2] In 2008 the building received a major refurbishment and an 8-storey extension containing 91 rooms was added, at a total cost of £8 million.[3] The architects for the project were
Levitt Bernstein and it won a Camden Building Excellence Award in 2009.[3][4] The new extension was subsequently awarded a
BREEAM 'very good' rating.[3] In 2010 a further 10 bedrooms were added to the building.[5] In 2018 further renovation work occurred, focusing particularly on upgrading the common lounge.
Notable former residents include all four members of the British band
Coldplay, who met whilst living at the hall.[7][8]
Another famous resident of Ramsay hall is filmmaker and director Christopher Nolan. He studied English literature at UCL and was a member of the film society there.
Hostel
Outside of UCL term time the building serves as a hostel.[9][10][11] There are numerous images of the building within the
Courtauld Institute of Art's Conway Collection.[12]
James Lighthill House
James Lighthill House is located on Penton Rise near the
Pentonville Road intersection. It contains 209[13] single en suite rooms across a large main block and a smaller 'lodge' in the courtyard. All flats are self-catered[14] and share a communal kitchen cleaned once a week by staff. There is a
laundrette on site and a large common room with an air-hockey table. The closest London Underground stations to the halls are
King's Cross St Pancras and
Angel.
History
James Lighthill House and
Paul Robeson House, another hall of residence for the
School of Oriental and African Studies, are both on the site of a former steel-stockbroking depot, owned and operated by Macready's Metal Co. Ltd.[15] The original warehouse, built in 1935, was designed by M. Stanley Blanchfield of
Raynes Park.
The current building was designed by the British architectural design firm
Levitt Bernstein on the site of an existing hall of residence.[16] It has a wave-shaped façade to allow light inside more easily, while maintaining privacy.[17] The building was opened in 2007.
Sir Michael
James Lighthill, FRS (1924–1998) was an applied mathematician who is known for his pioneering work in the field of
aeroacoustics. He was the
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a chair he held until 1979, when he was succeeded by
Stephen Hawking. Lighthill then became
Provost of University College London, a post he held until 1989. James Lighthill House is named in his honour.
Nutford House
Nutford House in
Marble Arch was built in 1916 and was acquired by the
University of London in 1949, after which it was expanded to take in five
terraced houses in Brown Street, known as the Annexe and one house in Seymour Place. Accommodation is provided for 199 men and women students in 157 single and 21 twin rooms. No smoking is permitted in the hall.
Nutford House has a total of 156 single rooms, and 21 shared rooms across the main hall, annexe and
Seymour Place. The warden for many years was the sole surviving relative of
Howard Carter (archaeologist), the discoverer of Tutankhamun's tomb and signed the death certificate (last seen on display at the 1992 British Museum's exhibit of Howard Carter's career before Tutankhamun).
The Hall has a TV room, a
common room, a games room, a music room, a study room, a bicycle shed and a small private garden usually open from 9a.m. till 10:30 p.m. The Hall also has a two
laundry rooms (one in the Main House, one in the Annexe) and a number of small tea kitchens.
Others
Arthur Tattersall House (115–131 Gower Street)[18]
There is limited UCL accommodation available for married students and those with children at Bernard Johnson House, Hawkridge, Neil Sharp House and the University of London's Lilian Penson Hall.[37]
^"Hours of Idleness". The Guardian. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2011. Coldplay came together in Ramsay Hall, a dour student barracks, lodged primly among Fitzrovia's numerous knocking shops, with canteen food of legendary awfulness.
^"On a Budget; How to Hold Onto Pounds in London". Los Angeles Times. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 15 March 2011. ... such as the modern Ramsay Hall at 20 Maple St. .... This modern, 462-room complex is positioned ideally for the West End theater district, Oxford and Regent streets and the British Museum. There are no baths in the rooms, but the price is right: $36 to $39 per person, with breakfast