Subseries 01 - College

Identity area

Reference code

GB 2014 WS-02-HOU-01

Title

College

Date(s)

  • 1815- (Creation)

Level of description

Subseries

Extent and medium

Context area

Name of creator

(1560-)

Administrative history

College, the home of the Queen’s Scholars and the oldest house at Westminster, was effectively founded in 1560 when the school’s charter stipulated that there should be 40 Queen’s Scholars. Special weight in their selection was to be given to ability, good character and poverty. To become Scholars, boys had to pass an oral examination known as ‘The Challenge’, which shifted to paper in 1856.
Scholars had special privileges not accorded to other boys, such as the right to enter the Palace of Westminster.
The Scholars include John Dryden, the first Poet Laureate (1631-1700); John Locke (1632-1704), the empiricist philosopher; A. A. Milne (1882-1956), creator of Winnie-the-Pooh; and Kim Philby (1912-1988), of the Cambridge spy ring. The first female scholars were admitted to College in 2017.

Archival history

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

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Conditions of access and use area

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Finding aids

Allied materials area

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

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Accession area

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