{"id":3461,"date":"2022-01-05T12:36:54","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T12:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/recordsandarchives\/?page_id=3461"},"modified":"2026-04-15T08:21:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:21:25","slug":"archive-blog","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/recordsandarchives\/archive-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Archive Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this blog you will find posts about the University\u2019s collections, its history and the work we do in the University Records and Archives team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UNESCO World Art Day: A look back at the Polytechnic School of Art<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNESCO World Art Day offers the perfect moment to reflect on the creative heritage of the University of Westminster\u2014particularly the long and vibrant history of the Polytechnic School of Art.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Thames Waterman’s Uniform<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Westminster Menswear Archive recently acquired uniform of a 19th century Thames Waterman. Explore more about the history of Thames Waterman and their uniform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Gordon Cullen: a Docklands story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mark 10 years since we received the Gordon Cullen Archive, we’ve looked into his work in the Docklands of London, in particular Swedish Quays.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My Time as an Intern at the University of Westminster Archive<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student intern Alex reflects on his experience working in the University Archive for 3 months<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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80th Anniversary of VE Day<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about the end of the Second World War through items in our University Archive and Menswear Archive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Polytechnic Marathon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The London Marathon was established in 1981 but did you know the Polytechnic Marathon, 1909-1996, was the first annual marathon event in Europe? Learn more in this post<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Domestic Science Education at the Regent Street Polytechnic<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For International Women\u2019s Day 2025 we\u2019ve looked into the history of Domestic Science teaching at the Polytechnic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Poly in Paris<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024 sees the start of the Olympic Games in Paris.  We\u2019ve gone back 100 years in the archives to uncover the Poly athletes that took part in Paris 1924.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Jo Spence – International Women’s Day<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we have taken a look at the career of Jo Spence, influential photographer and writer who studied at PCL in the late 1970s-early 1980s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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UK STEM Day<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For National STEM Day we’ve taken a look at young women studying science, engineering and mathematics during WW1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Six Months at Westminster<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayley, our Digital Archives and Records Officer and Charlie, our Assistant Curator give an insight into their first six months in their posts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The End of a Journey<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francesco reflects on the conclusion of his three months in the University Archive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Disability History Month<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Disability History Month, we have explored two initiatives the University has been involved with during its history<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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First Half of an Archives Assistant’s Journey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francesco reflects on the first half of his time spent working as Archives Assistant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My First Two Weeks as Archives Assistant<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archives Assistant, Francesco describes his first two weeks working in the University Records and Archives team. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Quintin Hogg<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We take a brief look at the life of the founder of the Regent Street Polytechnic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The New Year’s F\u00eate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1876 the Polytechnic held annual exhibitions, f\u00eates and social events in the New Year. Learn more here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A Warm Welcome to  Academic Year 2021\/22<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at the services we have on offer this academic year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Polytechnic Olympians<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that the Polytechnic\u2019s sports clubs produced 118 Olympians. We have showcased some of their achievements here. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Polytechnic Football Club<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the delayed Euro 2020 grips the nation\u2019s attention, we have taken a look at the history of one of the Poly\u2019s first sport clubs that still exists today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Web Archiving at Westminster<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our websites are an important record of the University\u2019s teaching and research. We take a look at how we archive websites at Westminster, preserving these important sources for the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018See the Best of Britain\u2019: staycations with the PTA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the UK starts to open up for UK-based holidays once more, we look at some of the British holidays offered by the Polytechnic Touring Association.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Celebrating the 1921 Women\u2019s Olympiad<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s 100 years since the first international women\u2019s sporting event, and athletes from the Polytechnic played a key role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Polytechnic Secondary School<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that Quintin Hogg established a Secondary School for boys in 1886?  Learn more about the School in our latest blogpost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Christmas Dinner Fund<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1888, the Polytechnic established a Christmas Dinner Fund to provide those in need with parcels of the necessary provisions for a Christmas Dinner.  During its 52 year existence, the Fund fed over 1 million people and raised over \u00a373,259 (nearly \u00a34 million today). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Digital Sources in the University Archive<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Institute of Historical Research\u2019s History Day 2020 we take a look at some of the digitised and born-digital material available in the university archive. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Bridging the Digital Gap at Westminster<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob, our digital trainee, reflects on his year with the University Records and Archives team. This post looks at some of the work he has been doing to help preserve the digital heritage of the University. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Gordon Cullen Archive<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Archive of alumnus and urban designer\/theorist Gordon Cullen was added to the University Archive in 2015.  Since then we have been working to make it more accessible. In this post we look at Cullen\u2019s career and the work we have been doing on the Archive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Polytechnic Rambling Club<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 1885, the Polytechnic Rambling Club was one of the Poly\u2019s first clubs. The club is no longer part of the University but is still going strong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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VE Day 75<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 May 2020 marks 75 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe.  In this post we look at how the Regent Street Polytechnic reacted to the news.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Coronavirus and Wartime Britain<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current Coronavirus emergency has been likened to wartime Britain, so the Records and Archives team have been searching through the (online) archives from home to find a few comparisons with World War Two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ghosts and Pantos at the RPI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Royal Polytechnic Institution (RPI) was famous for its magic lantern shows and Pepper\u2019s Ghost illusion.  Learn more about them here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Annual Garden Party<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First held in 1906 for the opening of the Quintin Hogg Memorial Sports Ground at Chiswick, the Garden Party became an annual feature of Polytechnic life.  Learn more about it here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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