| Description | Minutes of the committee established by University Council to manage Chad Hall residence for postgraduate students. The committee was probably established around the time of its first meeting, on 14 July 1950, as implied in the minutes which state that its terms of reference were to 'deal with the minimum essential requirements to make the residence suitable for admitting men students next session'.
Membership of the committee at its first meeting consisted of H. B. Yates, chairman, Professor Garner, Professor Medawar, and Miss M. Priestley (possibly Raymond Priestley's daughter, Margaret). Also in attendance were G. H. Wicks, the architect, L. G. Wigan, the Warden of Chad Hill, and the Secretary. The Pro-Chancellor, Sydney Vernon, also usually attended meetings. Minutes of the meeting held on 22 April 1955 state that all University committees had been re-organised, and that the constitution of the Chad Hill committee now consisted of a chairman appointed by Council, a member of academic staff appointed by Senate, a member of staff appointed by the non-professorial staff, the Lodgings Warden, the University Medical Officer, and up to three co-opted members. It was also attended by the Warden of Chad Hill. The committee usually met once a term, and minutes are numbered from the meeting held on 22 November 1955 onwards. The committee is sometimes referred to as a sub-committee, presumably reflecting the fact that it reported to University Council.
Chad Hill was a building owned by the Calthorpe Estate which was leased to the University and which opened to residents in September 1950, and had capacity for around thirty postgraduate students. The Warden's reports submitted to the committee indicate that several of the students were married, and there was often a high proportion of international students living at Chad Hill, as well as occasional mature undergraduate residents. There is some evidence that the Warden made efforts to recruit students studying different disciplines, but the majority of residents seem to have studied science subjects, though there were also some students studying commerce, education, and social study programmes.
Minutes of early meetings of the committee are largely concerned with minor alterations to the building, redecoration, and the provision of furniture and kitchen equipment. Minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 1951 include a copy of the first report by the Warden on the running of the hall of residence, student welfare and discipline, staffing arrangements and absences, costs, and the number of students in residence including figures for numbers from each department and the number of international students living in the hall of residence. There is also information about social activities organised by the Students Common Room, attempts to increase social interaction through serving coffee in the evenings, sports matches between other halls of residence, particularly Manor House, and the election of student officials. Wardens' Reports are included with minutes of all subsequent meetings of the committee. Minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 1960 include a copy of the rules and regulations for residents which contain information abotu meal times, visitors, laundry, and other domestic services provided
Accounts are included with minutes of the meeting held on 22 April 1955. These consist of a list of wages, and estimated income and expenditure accounts for 1955-1956. Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 1956 include estimates for decoration and estimated income and expenditure. Regular accounts appear with the minutes after this date. The final accounts are included with minutes of the final meeting of the committee, on 16 November 1965
The minutes record that L. G. Wigan retired as Warden in the summer of 1958 and that R. J. Gibson was appointed as Warden from August 1958 for a period of three years or for however long Chad Hill remained as a functioning student residence. It is clear from the minutes that the hall of residence was seen as a short term solution to the problem of providing accommodation for postgraduate students. R. J. Gibson was appointed Warden of Chancellor's Hall in 1964, according to minutes of the meeting held on 2 March, and Dr J. P. G. Farr was appointed Warden for the last academic session that the hall of residence was in operation.
From 1959 onwards, the committee minutes contain regular references to the repeated extension of the date of the closure of Chad Hill as a hall of residence. Minutes of the meeting held on 1 June 1959 mention a question by the President of the Junior Common Room about whether a definite statement could be made about the closing of Chad Hill, and about keeping the Old Chad Hillian Association in existence. Plans stated at the time were to close Chad Hill in August 1960, though it was suggested that the name Chad Hill might be associated in some way with one of the wings of a new postgraduate hall of residence. Minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 1959 mention plans to accommodate the remaining residents after the closure of Chad Hill, with references to suggestions by the Junior Common Room President that they might be absorbed into either Manor House or Chancellor's Hall, and the committee's view that it was thought likely that pressure on these halls to take undergraduate students would mean this would not be possible, though it might be possible to delay closure until postgraduate residents had completed their courses at the end of September 1960. Minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 1960 state that the Calthorpe Estate had agreed to the University's continued occupation of Chad Hill until the end of September 1961, though minutes of subsequent meetings record further extensions of the lease
Minutes of the meeting held on 16 February 1965 state that University Council had decided to close Chad Hill on 31 July 1965 for financial reasons, but would allow students in residence time to complete their Masters courses and so the building would remain open until the end of September 1965. Staff were offered employment in the new halls of residence being built on the Vale site or in other University buildings, and student residents staying on at the University were offered alternative accommodation in furnished flats in Selly Oak |