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The Move to Highfields

A large gift of land allowed University College Nottingham to move to a new campus in 1928. This development was supported by an Endowment Fund and public contributions.

The transfer was made possible by the generosity of Sir Jesse Boot (1850-1931), who presented 35 acres of land to the City of Nottingham in 1921. Boot hoped this would solve the problems facing University College in its cramped Shakespeare Street building.

He stipulated that while part of the Highfields site, lying south-west of the city, be devoted to the College the rest should provide a place of recreation for the citizens of Nottingham. The 1920s saw the creation of University Boulevard and the landscaping of the lake and public park.

Initially the College was accommodated within one major new building named Trent Building. Designed by Morley Horder (1870-1944), its construction was one of the largest building projects in Nottingham in the 1920s. Trent Building, with its distinctive tower, still dominates University Park.

An Endowment Fund was launched to support the development at Highfields. Major benefactors enabled the provision of new courses and scholarships, and local people contributed through raffles and fêtes.

Further sources relating to this subject area are held by Manuscripts and Special Collections at King's Meadow Campus. See our website for information about our collections and catalogues.