Conference Venue
Brief History of the Venue
The Royal Holloway, University of London was founded by two Victorian visionaries, Elizabeth Jesser Reid
and Thomas Holloway. Both played a crucial role in the development of equality in education through the creation of two colleges
for women, Bedford College in central London, and Royal Holloway College in Surrey, 19 miles to the west of London.
Their foresight and philanthropy have ensured opportunities for many generations of students.
Thomas Holloway was a self-made multi-millionaire whose fortune had been made in patent medicines. He founded Royal Holloway College in 1879 after initiating a public debate inviting suggestions as to 'How best to spend a quarter of a million or more'. It was his wife Jane who suggested a college for women as the means by which Holloway's money might effect 'the greatest public good'. Holloway's first great philanthropic enterprise, the Sanatorium at Virginia Water opened in 1885. The second, Royal Holloway College, largely inspired by the Chateau of Chambord in the Loire Valley, was opened by Queen Victoria in 1886. Built around two quadrangles, today it continues to impress as much by its size as by the exuberance of the roofline with its many towers and turrets. As solid as it is extravagant, it epitomises the wealth, optimism and spirit of philanthropy so characteristic of the Victorian age. It continues to provide a home for the Royal Holloway Collection - a picture Gallery of Victorian art that was the final touch to Holloway's generous endowment.
Founders Building, Royal Holloway, University of London
Maps
Royal Holloway's location on the A30 between the village of Englefield Green and the town of Egham is just 19 miles from the centre of London, and adjacent to Windsor Great Park. The campus is minutes from the M25 and M3, M4 and M40. London Heathrow Airport is just 7 miles away, and trains from Egham to Waterloo (and Eurostar at St Pancras) take just 35 minutes.