| Administrative History | Noble College, Mausilpatam (now Machilipatnam) was founded by CMS missionary, Rev R. T. Noble, as a school for 'Hindu and Mohammedan youths of upper classes' in 1843. Whilst the student population broadened over time, the aim remained to give the boys 'a high education, English and Vernacular, based on Christian principles, including careful study of the Bible'. The school achieved college status in 1864 and began to offer classes at degree level (BA in History) in its jubilee year of 1892. In 1938, the college classes were removed to the Andhra Christian College at Guntur and the remainder of the original institution incorporated into Noble High School, Masulipatam. A 'revived' Noble College was inaugurated in August 1966 and, since 2003-04, has extended its provision to post-graduate level. During the course of its history, the College has been affiliated to three universities: Madras (1864), Andhra (?1926-1985) and Acharya Nagarjuna (since 1985/86).
Sources: the records; G. Hewitt, 'The problems of success: a history of the Church Missionary Society, 1910-1942', vol 2, SCM Press Ltd, 1977 and Noble College website at http://www.noblecollege.co.in/aboutcollege.html. Accessed 21 August 2012. |
| Custodial History | The provenance of these items prior to their being held in the Orchard Learning and Resources Centre of the University of Birmingham is unkown. They were most likely transferred to the OLRC with the Selly Oak Colleges Library collections in 1997. |