| Type | Hall of Residence |
|---|---|
| Proprietor | University of Hull |
| Managed by | University of Hull |
| Main feature | Hall of residence |
| Other features | Student Accommodation |
| Public access | No |
| Country | England |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Grid square | TA03833 |
| Address | Ferens Hall, Harland Way, Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Postcode | HU16 5SE |
| Refreshments | Catered Hall |
| Parking | Yes |
Ferens Hall is the original and oldest hall of residence on a complex known as "The Lawns" for the University of Hull, England.[1] The hall was constructed on the outskirts of Cottingham towards the end of World War II as a barracks for the US Army Air Force with the name "Camp Hall". Ferens Hall has been used for a number of purposes since then. The University College of Hull which was initially part of the University of London purchased 'Camp Hall' for the token sum of 6d. Camp Hall changed its name to Ferens Hall 1957 in honour of Thomas Ferens, a benefactor of the University of Hull. The motto engraved on the Ferens Hall Shields is "Ferendo non Feriendo" (By bearing not by striking).[2]
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Since 1957 Ferens Hall has been used to house the students of the University of Hull, originally as all men's accommodation and then later as all women's accommodation and then finally as a mixed hall of residence. Ferens Hall was of the traditional type of accommodation for a university student with facilities such as a large library, Junior and Senior Common Rooms, games room and dining hall. Traditional standards included wardens, Dons (later to be changed to Assistant Wardens) and senior residents making up a senior staff with undergraduates forming the junior division of the hall. All the residents would sit down to morning and evening meals together.
Hall fees were very competitive in 1967. The cost for a year's accommodation was £150; this included all meals at the weekend, and breakfast and dinner on weekdays. This compared favourably with the £180 charged by Newcastle's Henderson hall at the time. From 2001 some restructuring occurred to this traditional hall including the closure of its canteen; since then Ferens students have been required to join students from other halls in the Lawns complex in sharing the Lawns centre facilities such as university catered meals, bars, and shops.
Ferens Hall has been described as "haunted" so much so that the BBC "Most Haunted" programme has asked permission to investigate paranormal phenomena on a number of occasions. The most common quote of paranormal activity is "students find it difficult to sleep some nights because of ghostly howling", and also "some days dark shadows can be seen in bathrooms". Some believe this could be the ghost of Alfie Turner who was the owner of the psychiatric hospital before it became Ferens Hall student accommodation. Apparently he was found hanging in one of the bathrooms, with his heart missing."[3][4] The story of Alfie Turner has never been confirmed by the University of Hull and the earliest internet references to Alfie Turner appear in 2002.
Great Floods of 2007
In June 2007 Cottingham in addition to a number of other areas was the subject of mass flooding. Ferens Hall did not escape this flooding and the damage although superficial to the accommodation section, was quite disastrous to the hall services. Flood damage included the destruction of the boilers and mains electrical grid located in the basement. Services have since been replaced with up to date technology and re-located to a raised position on the ground floor. Although the flooding occurred outside of university term-time the pastoral staff and their families were still in residence in addition to an international summer school.
Ferens Junior Common Room (AKA JCR)
Established at the start of hall life at Ferens Hall as a social hub for its residents. The JCR, although open and functioning prior to 1976, was officially opened by Lionel Blair in 1976. The JCR initially during the traditional hall years was home to a bar and a separate billiards room. Since the invention of the television in the late 1930s two TV rooms were added to the JCR. In the late 1970s it was common place for students to gather around the "TV" in the main TV room and watch episodes of Doctor Who and Batman.
The modern JCR has lost the regular use of its bar save for special and formal occasions. Students must now go to the Lawns Centre for alcoholic beverages. The billiard table remained in Ferens Hall until June 2009. The main JCR is now home to such equipment as a Juke box, Pool Table, Arcade Machines, Table Football and Table Tennis. There is now only one TV room with digital TV and high definition located in the first floor TV room.
The building was designed by Foreman and Co, and based on a Cambridge college design. The 'guard house' was originally the senior officer's residence, when 'Camp Hall' was an American Army camp. There has been some discussion of the maintenance tunnels below the building which do not appear on any plans. In the 1970s these tunnels connecting the different parts of the building were sealed. However, over the years, there has been a number of students claiming to have found an, as yet undiscovered, entrance to the shafts that lead to these tunnels. The tunnels, were said to run from the small infirmary under Ferens Hall to the Brig, a single cell military prison under the old guard house, and to the boiler room that was underneath the Supply building. The Supply building was demolished in 1954 as it was thought to be unsafe. This is in the area that now holds the Lawns centre.
| Year | No. Residents | Fees (pa) | Year | No. Residents | Fees (pa) | Year | No. Residents | Fees (pa) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961[5] | 223 | £156.50 | 2000 | |||||||
| 1962[5] | 221 | £158.25 | 2001 | |||||||
| 1963[5] | 224 | £154.80 | 2002[6] | 196 | £2171.40 | |||||
| 1964[5] | 221 | £157.51 | 2003[6] | 196 | ||||||
| 1965[5] | 200 | £176.67 | 2004[6] | 196 | ||||||
| 1966[5] | 200 | £174.11 | 2005[6] | 196 | ||||||
| 2006[6] | 196 | |||||||||
| 2007[6] | 196 | |||||||||
| 2008[6] | 196 | £2643.06 | ||||||||
| 2009[6] | 196 | £2660.42 |
The first warden of the hall was Jim Treherne who had been warden of Camp Hall from 1951 onwards. The warden of Camp Hall lived in the 'guard house' until 1957, at which point it was taken over by various people, including Miss Ivy Saxby, Domestic Bursar. He and his family moved into the new building in 1957. In his diaries Jim Treherne recorded that Wednesday evenings often featured a visiting guest. He records the many visits made by Sir Brynmor Jones, Vice-Chancellor, and Philip Larkin, who was a regular and welcome guest. Students enjoyed monthly 'smokers' which were social evenings with a great deal of smoking and beer drinking.
The current warden of Ferens Hall, Philip White, was appointed in 2009.
Ferens Hall Personnel 1957–Present
| Year | Warden | Deputy Warden | Tutors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Jim Treherne | |||
| 1961-3 | Mr A. J. Treherne[5] | Mr P. Heath | Mr A. Dimopoulos | Mr R.C. Ward |
| 1964 | Mr A. J. Treherne[5] | |||
| 1965 | Mr A. J. Treherne[5] | |||
| 1966 | Mr A. J. Treherne[5] | Mr R.Smith | M R Harrop | |
| 1967 | Mr A. J. Treherne[5] | Mr H J Elcock | ||
Mr A. J. Treherne has been identified by reunion students from 1978 as still being their Warden and is Ferens hall's longest serving Warden of no less than 27 years.
| Year | Warden | Assistant Wardens | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Jake Glanville | ||
| 1999 | Jake Glanville | ||
| 2000 | Jake Glanville | ||
| 2001 | Jake Glanville | ||
| 2002 | Sally Campbell | ||
| 2003 | Sally Campbell | Katie | Andrew Levy |
| 2004 | Sally Campbell | Lexaris Anderson | Andrew Levy |
| 2005 | Sally Campbell | Lord Lexaris Anderson | Mark Karpinski |
| 2006 | Sally Campbell | Lord Lexaris Anderson | Paul Francis |
| 2007 | Sally Campbell | Lord Lexaris Anderson | Kristopher Weavil |
| 2008 | Sally Campbell | Lord Lexaris Anderson | Rebecca Fisher |
| 2009 | Philip White | Lord Lexaris Anderson | Awais Bilal |
| 2010< | Philip White | ||
Ferens Hall always had a good reputation for its social life. Many students were very successful academically, leaving to go on into the Law and other leading professions. There are several 'old boy' associations.