Hughes Parry Hall, London
Hughes Parry Hall was one of eight intercollegiate halls of the University of London.
The Hall was part of the Garden Halls grouping administered by the bursarial team that was also responsible for Canterbury Hall and Commonwealth Hall. Pastoral and disciplinary matters were administered by a team headed up by the Warden.
In late 2013 the University of London received planning permission to redevelop the Garden Halls site. This redevelopment is currently in progress and involves the demolition of part of the original 1960s building, with only the tower block remaining. The hall's last residents moved out on the 14th of June 2014, after which the hall was closed.[1]
Facilities
With just over 300 residents, the hall was primarily intended for first year undergraduate students. Although the hall was open to students from all colleges, students from UCL, Kings and the LSE tended to dominate the student body. The hall was opened in 1969 and its design and facilities bore witness to the exigencies of that time: the fourteen-story tower block had shared bathroom facilities and there was little by way of communal kitchen arrangements (although the hall provided both breakfast and evening meals). There were squash courts, TV and games rooms, and an active student society, run by a committee drawn from the students. The hall also benefited from its location overlooking Cartwright Gardens in WC1 where tennis courts were available to residents. Every Christmas, the students were accustomed to wrap decorative paper around the life-size statue of John Cartwright in the Gardens that are named after him, although this tradition has been discontinued.
History
Although Hughes Parry Hall was affectionately known by students as "Huge Party Hall", it is in fact named after the distinguished lawyer and Vice-Chancellor of the University, Sir David Hughes Parry (1893-1973).
The hall was originally for male students only; it went mixed in 1971.
Wardens
The first warden, Dr Jeffery David Lewins, was appointed in December 1968. The first students were admitted in 1969 and the Hall was officially opened by the Chancellor of the university, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in February 1970. Dr Lewins spent ten years in the hall with his family.
From 1995 to 2009, the Warden of Hughes Parry Hall was Professor Martyn Rady. In 2009, Professor Rady was succeeded as Warden by his hitherto deputy, Dr Paul Stock. Fiona Elder retained responsibility as Bursar for Hughes Parry, for the other two halls in Cartwright Gardens and also for Connaught Hall and College Hall.
