| Description | Minutes of the committee initially known as 'Men's Hall of Residence House committee' and later Chancellor's Hall committee, established as the main policy-making committee of the men's hall of residence which opened in 1922 in a house on Augustus Road, Edgbaston. It reported to University Council, and operated in the same way as University House committee, which managed the women's hall of residence [see UB/HUH/A/1/4 for these records which were kept by the hall of residence rather than being stored as part of the sequence of University committee records]. Other records of Chancellor's Hall are described at UB/HCH
Membership of the committee at its first meeting consisted of the Vice-Chancellor, Principal, Sydney Walker, Edith Barling, Mr Haslam, Alderman Ellaway, and George Morley, the University Secretary. It was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. Minutes of this first meeting record the resolution of University Council to appoint a committee of the men's hall of residence 'as the work of the Men's Hostel Arrangements and Equipment committee was now drawing to a close'. There are no surviving records of this predecessor committee.
It was decided that, in addition to those in attendance, membership of the committee would include the Warden of the hall. E. P. Beale was appointed a member of the committee form 1924, and Professor Tillyard attended from the late 1920s. Additional members of academic staff attended meetings of the committees from the 1930s onwards, as well as additional members of University Council. There was no student representation on the committee, despited requests from the Guild of Undergraduates in 1928 and again in 1938.
Business discussed by the committee at the first meeting in June 1922 centred on the appointment of a Warden and a Matron, and the minutes include a list of shortlisted candidates. Minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 1922 include estimated income and expenditure accounts for the hall, based on seventy students in residence, and record the appointment of the Warden and Matron or 'Lady Housekeeper', responsible to the Warden but in charge of all the other domestic and catering staff at the hall, which included cook, linen maid, kitchen maid, scullery maid, 'vegetable woman', boot and knife boy, porter, and men servers.
Meetings were held on a monthly basis from September 1922, though there were usually no meetings over the summer vacations. No meetings are recorded for the period between July 1931 and March 1932, and by the early 1930s meetings were held every other month during term time. The committee continued to meet on this basis until 1945, and by the early 1950s it only met three or four times a year.
Minutes of meetings held in September and October 1922 contain discussion of the admission of non-European students 'after reference to the committee', arrangements for the formal opening of the hall of residence, the authorisation of the purchase and donation of additional equipment and furniture for the hall, the appointment of catering staff and payments to suppliers, and the use of rooms in the hall.
Routine business of the committee included authorisation of alterations and repairs to the hall and grounds, the provision of additional equipment, the use of the hall of residence during vacations for conferences and other events, and the management of expenditure on insurance and rates and dealing with accounts, and the minutes contain annual income and expenditure accounts and balance sheets. The committee also dealt with the appointment and resignation of staff and managed staff duties, and reviewed the scale of student fees and authorised the remission of fees in certain circumstances. There are occasional references to the financial or other problems of individual students, and to reports of serious illnesses suffered by students, or serious incidents of student indiscipline. From 1929, the minutes also contain copies of Warden's reports, which contain information about the recruitment and retention of students, and the health and behaviour of residents, as well as to the maintenance of the hall and its grounds, and to staffing. Minutes of some meetings also contain copies of the Matron's report which focuses on the supply of food and on other issues relating to domestic management.
Minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 1923 refer to the appointment of a House sub-committee, consisting of Alderman Ellaway, Sydney Walker, Edith Barling, and the Warden and Matron when required. The first task of the sub-committee was to go through the audited accounts and to gather information to make recommendations as to ways to reduce expenditure, given the deficiency in the income and expenditure account. Reports of the House sub-committee are included in the minutes of Chancellor's Hall committee [minutes of this sub-committee are described at UB/HCH/A/2/4]. These reports contain information about the number of students resident in hall, heating and lighting costs, staff and their duties, requests for replacement furniture and appliances, and repairs and maintenance of the hall and its grounds.
The minutes make it clear that the hall of residence experienced significant financial difficulties during the 1920s. Minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 1924 include a copy of the report of the Chancellor's Hall committee to the Finance committee which cites concern about financial losses and sets out some of the changes that have been made, including reducing staff wages, comparing prices for suppliers, and investigating ways of raising income. The minutes mention that the 'absence of single study bedrooms is a great source of weakness and loss to the hall...the present arrangement of large dormitories was decided upon after obtaining the views of leading students of the University before the hall was purchased but unfortunately those views have not been borne out by experience'. The committee expressed the need to increase the average income per student resident or the hall would continue to make a loss. Minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 1924 reveal that the committee had agreed that a local kitchen catering company should run the kitchen administration for a trial period, and include a report from the Assistant Matron on household matters which sets out ways to save costs on staff, laundry and linen, fuel, heat, and lighting. Minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 1925 record that a substantial donation was made by Sir Charles Hyde to clear the deficit on Chancellor's Hall. Minutes of meetings held between 1925 and 1927 contain references to the building of an extension to the hall of residence, including the appointment of a Building sub-committee, information about the costs of the extension, and to disruption caused by the building work. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 1927 include a copy of a petition signed by members of the Chancellor's Hall Junior Common Room protesting against the cost of accommodation, and the poor food offered, comparing costs with examples of individual lodgings in Harborne, Edgbaston, and the Pershore Road. The minutes state that the committee agreed to set up a system of communication between the 'common room' and the committee through the Warden.
Minutes of committee meetings dating from the late 1920s and 1930s indicate that numbers had increased, but minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 1934 mention the 'disconcerting feature' of a reduction in the number of residents, caused by competition from 'fairly cheap lodgings' which made it difficult to keep residents in hall, especially self-paying students. Further criticism is reported in minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 1935 which include a copy of a report of the sub-committee appointed to enquire into reasons for students leaving the hall at short notice, and the decline in the number of residents applying for places. Evidence reported by the President and Vice-President of the Guild of Undergraduate suggests that the fees were too high, the hall was too far from University buildings, especially those at Edgbaston, and that it was difficult to study in hall. The minutes refer to a memorandum which Chancellor's Hall committee sent to the Finance and General Purposes committee setting out the major criticisms, but it appears that no action was taken at this point. Minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 1938 contain responses to complaints in a Guild of Undergraduates questionnaire about Chancellor's Hall, unfavourably comparing the fees charged with those at other universities, addressing complaints about the food, the location of the hall, restrictions on the use of cars by residents, and on visitors to residents' rooms. The issue of the lack of student representation on Chancellor's Hall committee is also mentioned as a criticism.
The minutes contain scattered references to social activities in the hall of residence, and to facilities provided for the students, including tennis courts, an open air swimming pool which was cleared out and deepened in 1929 to make it suitable for swimming, the installation of a telephone for use by students in December 1927, and to the organisation of 'dances to wireless music in conjunction with University House'. The minutes also contain references to the presence of international students living in the hall of residence, including individuals form Thailand, Germany, France and 'Persia'. These students often appeared to have been connected with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which had links with the University's Oil Engineering department. Minutes of the meeting held on 27 May 1935 include a copy of a memorandum on the admission of 'foreign students' and note that under existing regulations there were only five places in hall for international students, though the rule was amended in response to applications from eleven 'Persian' students and two other 'foreign' students.
The first reference to Air Raid Precautions is contained in minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 1939, which acknowledge that the hall would be requisitioned in the events of war, and so the University authorities should deal with preparations. Minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 1939 report that parts of the hall had been taken over by the military authorities as a reception unit, but that most of the sleeping accommodation and some of the public rooms were still available for student use, and that it seemed likely that 80-90 students could be accommodated in hall 'with a certain amount of difficulty'. Air raid shelters were available, and catering could be carried out under emergency conditions. The hall was to be re-opened for the start of the 1939-1940 academic session, and students were asked to let the Warden know if they intended to return. By the time of the meeting held on 16 November 1939 it was reported that the hall had been vacated by the military authorities and so there were more student places to fill
Minutes of the committee for the 1939-1945 in general contain information about the impact of the Second World War on the functions of the hall of residence. Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 1940 include a copy of a memorandum submitted by the Chancellor's Hall committee to the Finance and General Purposes committee concerning financial and general difficulties including the deficit the hall was operating under, the difficulty in filling places, the effects of food rationing, the shortage of staff, increasing wages, and the loss of income from conferences. It includes a suggestion that the hall should be closed at the end of the 1940-1941 academic session unless the War Office continued to offer courses for Royal Engineer students and needed accommodation for them. The Warden's report for the meeting held on 28 January 1941 states that there were over 100 students in hall, and that it was operating over its capacity, but that it was becoming more difficult to recruit staff. The hall of residence evidently remained open into the 1941-1942 academic session, as there are minutes for a meeting held on 20 November 1941, though there were then no more meetings recorded until 25 August 1942. The minutes record that the Royal Engineers were still in residence in 1943 and that there were continued and urgent problems connected with the lack of domestic staff in 1944 and 1945
Minutes of meetings held during the first few years after the end of the Second World War in 1945 contain further references to food shortages and rationing, the urgent need for repairs or replacements to furniture and fittings, and continued difficulties in recruiting staff. The Warden's report for the meeting held on 27 June 1946 states that over 100 students were resident in the hall, and that additional accommodation was provided by using a room in the men servants' flat as a dormitory. The increased demand for lodgings in Birmingham, presumably partly because of bomb damage, is cited as a reason for the higher numbers of students in residence. The minutes mention the possibility of erecting temporary buildings in the grounds of Chancellor's Hall, and minutes of meetings held in 1947 and 1948 contain information about the construction of temporary accommodation, delays caused by the shortage of labour, and the purchase of 1 Augustus Road to serve as an annexe to Chancellor's Hall. The Warden's report for 19 May 1948 mentions overcrowded accommodation, and the discrepancy between different standards of accommodation offered in hall, citing the availability of bed-sitting rooms for some residents, and cramped dormitory accommodation for the remainder. The Warden also refers to the increased presence of academic staff in hall, and his desire to create more of a 'Senior Common Room' atmosphere.
Minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 1955 mention that committees of halls of residence were being reorganised, and a new Halls of Residence committee was to be established [see UB/COM/24], of which there would be a Chancellor's Hall sub-committee. Membership was to be made up of a representative appointed by University Council, a representative appointed by Senate, and a representative appointed by non-professorial staff, together with the Lodgings Ward, the University Medical Officer, and co-opted members. The Warden, staff members, and a representative of the Junior Common Room were also asked to attend meetings. The terms of reference of this new sub-committee were similar to those of the dissolved Chancellor's Hall committee, to manage the day to day affairs of the hall of residence, including staff appointments and wages, building maintenance, and discussing estimates for income and expenditure, though it had to refer some matters relating to wages and maintenance to the Halls of Residence committee for authorisation. This new sub-committee first met on 11 May 1955, and a new minute numbering sequence was started, though minutes were kept in the same volume used to record minutes of Chancellor's Hall committee meetings.
Minutes of meetings held in the early 1960s contain references to problems with car parking facilities for students, and difficulties enforcing student discipline, as well as discussion of a review of rules and discipline regulations by the Halls of Residence committee. Minutes of the meeting held on 25 September 1963 discuss proposed changes in the administration of the hall following the resignation of the Warden, P. C. Hordern. It was agreed that the committee should remain in operation for at least another academic session, but minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 1963 suggest an amended management structure for Chancellor's Hall whereby administration came under the direct responsibility of the University. It was proposed that a Hall Council should be appointed, consisting of three members, one of whom would be appointed President of the Senior Common Room and of Hall Council. All members were to be academic staff of the University. Other academic staff were to be resident in hall to form a Senior Common Room, together with other academic staff who did not live in the hall. It was hoped that all members should be interested in the development of the hall and in fostering a sense of community, and the President and others should have the use of rooms in hall and an allowance for entertainment. Domestic and catering arrangements would now be organised by the University Halls Administrator. It is clear from minutes of meetings held during this period that recruitment to Chancellor's Hall was suffering because of its distance from the University, and that accommodation for academic staff and students compared unfavourably with the new halls of residence being built on the Vale site. Changes in the governance structure of the hall of residence in 1963 were clearly intended to lessen the contrast between Chancellor's Hall and the new student accommodation. Minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 1963 include a report by the resigning Warden, P. C. Hordern, which forms a retrospective account of his time in office from 1945 to 1963 which emphasises the changes in expectations for residential accommodation for students, and comments on the changes he perceives in student attitudes and activities, as well as including references to the subsequent careers of former student residents
Minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 1964 refer to decisions made in 1963 to change the management structure of the hall of residence, and recommend that the committee in its existing form should be dissolved. Administration of Chancellor's Hall was to be handed over to the Senate Halls of Residence committee [UB/COM/25], subject to a suitable method of communication being devised between the Junior Common Room and the committee |