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  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. About us
  3. For East London
  4. Civic University Agreement
  5. Queen Mary's civic heritage

Queen Mary's civic heritage

Queen Mary University of London holds a rich and distinguished history rooted in four pioneering institutions dating back to 1785. This legacy is interwoven with a commitment to serve communities, particularly those traditionally excluded from higher education and healthcare.

Queen Mary has been witness and a part of East London's changing landscape for decades. Below you can see how the panorama landscape of East London has changed and developed over the years, with industrial landmarks disappearing, the City and Stratford's Olympic skylines rising in the horizon and QM's own campus remaining a constant. 

 

Our founding institutions—St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, The London Hospital Medical College, Westfield College, and Queen Mary College—each arose from a civic mission to improve lives and expand access.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College and The London Hospital Medical College, both established to address urgent healthcare needs, were instrumental in elevating public health in the City and East London communities.

Westfield College and Queen Mary College emerged with a radical focus on inclusion: Westfield opened doors to women, and Queen Mary College championed educational access for East End working-class communities at a time when opportunities were deeply limited.

From these origins, Queen Mary has grown into a university that remains dedicated to serving its communities and empowering people through education, healthcare, and social advancement.

Timeline of Queen Mary in the local community

 

London Hospital Medical College was founded as England’s first official medical school.

1785

St Bartholomew’s Hospital governors approved the provision of medical education within the hospital. The Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital was subsequently incorporated by a charter granted by King George V in 1921.

1822

Westfield College was founded to provide residence and instruction for women students preparing for the examinations of the University of London. In 1902 it was admitted as a School of the University of London, later merging with Queen Mary College.

1882

The People’s Palace Technical Schools were founded in Mile End, as part of the People’s Palace project. They later became East London College.

1887

East London College was admitted as a School of the University of London, and in 1934 became Queen Mary College by charter of incorporation granted by King George V, named after his wife, Mary of Teck.

1913

Queen Mary College and Westfield College merged, becoming Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London.

1989

The Medical College of St. Bartholomew’s and the London Hospital Medical College are dissolved and are merged with Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. In 2000, this officially becomes Queen Mary University of London.

1995

Provide Volunteering, the Students’ Union extra-curricular student volunteering service is established to support students to volunteer their time with local projects, community groups and charities.

2002

Queen Mary’s community Legal Advice Service is established. It provides free legal advice to members of the public, staff and students at Queen Mary, as well as running community outreach projects public legal education initiatives.

2006

Queen Mary became the first university to become an accredited Living Wage Employer.

2008

The Centre of the Cell opens in Queen Mary’s Blizard Institute. The first science education centre in the world to be located within working biomedical science laboratories, the Centre inspires the next generation of scientists with workshops, educational shows and online resources.

2009

Queen Mary pledges to develop a Civic University Agreement in response to the UPP Foundation’s Civic University Commission.

2019

Queen Mary becomes a founding partner of the Civic University Network, contributing to national conversations around universities’ place-based role and responsibility.

2020

Queen Mary is ranked as the country’s top university for social mobility, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in partnership with the Sutton Trust and the Department for Education. The University becomes the first to receive the Platinum Engage Watermark for public engagement from the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

2021

Queen Mary launches our Civic University Agreement, a series of commitments that helps demonstrate how place-based civic engagement remains a core part of our mission as a University.

2022

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