Hulme Hall, Manchester facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hulme Hall
The tower from the rear quad
Blazon: Barry of eight, Or and Azure, on a canton Gules, a chaplet Argent.
University	University of Manchester
Location	Victoria Park, Manchester, England
Full name	Hulme Hall and Burkhardt House
Motto	"Fide Sed Cui Vide" (Latin) "Trust, But Mind Whom"
Established	1870; re-opened 1887
Named for	William Hulme
Warden	Thomas Goodison
Residents	323 (+129)
Website	www.hulmehalljcr.co.uk

Hulme Hall is a historic student home at the University of Manchester. It's located in the Victoria Park area of Rusholme, Manchester. About 300 students live there.

Hulme Hall has many great facilities. These include the John Hartshorne Centre, which has a large lecture theatre and study rooms. There's also a library, a common room for students, a music room, and a dining hall. Students can also relax at the Victoria Park bar and visit the chapel.

This hall is the oldest student accommodation in Manchester. It was started with Owens College. The hall is named after William Hulme, a lawyer and landowner from Lancashire. His charity, the Hulme Trust, helped fund its beginning. Hulme Hall is a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historical building. It is one of five traditional student halls left at the University of Manchester.

A Look Back: Hulme Hall's History

William Houldsworth, one of the founders of Hulme Hall, in a cartoon from 1885.

The University of Manchester began as Owens College. As more students came from outside Manchester, there was a need for places for them to live. In 1869, several important people in Manchester decided to create a student hall. They wanted it to be linked to the Church of England.

Key leaders of this project included Manchester Members of Parliament Sir William Houldsworth and Hugh Birley. They were joined by Richard Copley Christie and Joseph Gouge Greenwood, who was then president of Owens College. Today, some of the buildings at Hulme Hall are named after these founders.

The first hall opened in 1870 at 174 Plymouth Grove. However, it faced money problems and closed in 1876. This was the first student hall connected to Owens College. It was also one of the first outside of Oxford and Cambridge in the country. Sir William Houldsworth and the Hulme Trust provided money for the hall. It was managed by a board of governors. Only male students from Owens College could live there at first.

In 1886, the hall made a deal with the Hulme Trust. The Trust agreed to give £1,000 a year, with half of it for student scholarships. The hall then reopened and was officially named Hulme Hall.

In the mid-1950s, the University of Manchester planned to have more student housing. By 1962, the University took over the running of many halls, including Hulme Hall.

New Buildings and Changes

Between 1966 and 1967, new buildings were added to Hulme Hall. These included five new student blocks: Christie, Oaklands, Greenwood, Birley, and Plymouth. A new dining hall, bar, and common room were also built. The largest block, Oaklands, has four floors of student rooms. It connects to the Christie block, making it a central part of the hall.

In 1968, a chapel was built. It was designed to be used for plays and music events, as well as religious services.

A big change happened in 1985 when Hulme Hall started accepting female students. This trial was successful, and by the end of the 1980s, the hall officially became mixed-gender.

In 1992, Burkhardt House was built. This block allowed students to cook for themselves, which was a popular new option. It added 129 more student spaces. Burkhardt House is named after George Norman Burkhardt, a former Dean of Science at the university.

Hulme Hall's Buildings

Hulme Hall moved to its current location in 1907. Over time, it grew by buying nearby properties. By 1926, it was the largest area in Victoria Park, covering about eight acres. In the 1960s, many old buildings were replaced with modern student blocks. In 1994, another courtyard was added between Burkhardt House and the John Hartshorne Centre.

The buildings at Hulme Hall are set around nice courtyards with trees. They mix older structures, like Houldsworth, with newer blocks.

Houldsworth Building

Houldsworth is the oldest part of Hulme Hall. It was built in 1907. The building was designed by architect Percy Worthington. It has a style called Arts and Crafts, with red brick and green slate roofs.

Houldsworth has larger rooms and kitchens than the newer buildings. It also contains the hall library, music room, and the main common room for students. This building was given Grade II listed status in 1974. It was renovated in 2017, getting new furniture and updates to its structure.

The Houldsworth block. The large windows above the cloister to the left are those of the old dining hall. The oriel windows are part of the JCR, with the music room below. On the right, you can see the tower.

The Chapel

The Hulme Hall Chapel is mentioned in famous architectural guides. It has a unique, circular design. The Bishop of Manchester at the time, William Greer, asked that the east window show a view of a beech tree. He believed that seeing nature was better than any human art.

Student Life at Hulme Hall

Students at Hulme Hall can easily visit local attractions. These include the Whitworth Art Gallery and the Curry Mile on Wilmslow Road. All students at Hulme Hall are part of the JCR (Junior Common Room). They elect a committee each year to organize events for the hall. The head of the JCR has been called the Senior Student since 1985.

Sports and Activities

Hulme Hall has a strong history in sports. They often win the Stopford Cup and Behrens Cup, which are awards for sports between different halls at the University of Manchester. Students from Hulme Hall play many different sports. They represent both the hall and the university.

Hulme Hall offers students a multi-use games area, a squash court, and a gym.

The Victoria Park Bar

Since 1966, the Victoria Park Bar has been a popular social spot for students. It started as the Hulme Hall Bar and was open only two nights a week. In 2016, it was renamed the Victoria Park Bar. There is a weekly quiz night on Thursdays. The student committee also holds regular events there.

Formal Hall Dinners

Hulme Hall is one of the few traditional student halls at the University of Manchester that still holds formal hall dinners. These special dinners happen twice a semester. At formals, all students eat dinner together. Food is served to the tables by staff, unlike the usual cafeteria style.

There is a special "high table" where hall staff and the student committee sit. Guests invited by the student committee also sit at this table. Speeches are usually given by members of the student committee. At the Christmas formal, everyone sings "The Twelve Days of Christmas" after the speeches.

Hulme Hall is one of only two halls where students still wear gowns to formal hall. They wear University of Manchester undergraduate gowns. These gowns are dark blue with red piping around the shoulders.

Until the late 1990s, formal hall was held almost every evening. Students had to buy their own gowns back then. Now, since formals are less frequent, the gowns are provided by the student committee.

Gallery

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  The old cloister

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  The dining hall

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  The Rear Quad

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  The Rear Quad

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  A room in Houldsworth

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  The Snooker Room

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  The Victoria Park Bar

People Connected to Hulme Hall

Founders

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  William Henry Houldsworth

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  Joseph Gouge Greenwood

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  Oliver Heywood

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  Richard Copley Christie

Wardens

• Rev. Edward Lee Hicks (1886–92)
• Rev. Edwin Bourdieu England (1892-1903)
• Rev. John Henry Hopkinson (1903–14)
• Rev. Thomas Nicklin (1914–37)
• Rev. Arthur Henry White (1937–50)
• Rev. John Flitcroft (1950–64)
• Dr. John Norman Hartshorne (1964–83)
• Dr. Graham Peter Rabey (1983–85)
• Dr. W. Thain Flowers (1985–97)
• Dr. Jackie Wilson (1997-2011)
• Michael Mercer (2011–17)

Notable Alumni

Many famous people have lived at Hulme Hall. Here are a few:

• Arthur Aspinall, a historian.
• George Norman Burkhardt, who was Dean of Science at the Victoria University of Manchester.
• Clare Connor, former England Cricket Captain and the first female President of Marylebone Cricket Club.
• Ashley Dukes, a playwright and theatre manager. He founded the Mercury Theatre.
• Freya North, an author known for her "chick lit" novels.
• Maurice Oldfield, who was the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 1973 to 1978.
• Benjamin Wallfisch, a composer who writes music for movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Shazam!.
• Robin Waterfield, a classical scholar and writer of children's stories.

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  Liv Boeree, a science communicator, television presenter and former professional poker player.

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  Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. He stayed at Hulme Hall in 1912.

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  Michael Napier CBE KC, a former president of the Law Society.

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  Eric Partridge, a famous writer of English dictionaries, especially for slang.

Hall Colours and Symbols

Hulme Hall has used the symbols (called "arms") of its main supporter, William Hulme, since the 1880s. The hall's colours are navy, gold, and red. These colours were officially set in 1924.

Students who excel in sports or other activities can earn special "colours." These are different ties that show their achievement:

• Navy with the Hulme arms – the regular hall tie.
• Navy with the Hulme arms inside a laurel wreath – for "half colours."
• Burgundy with the Hulme arms inside a laurel wreath – for "full colours."
• Burgundy with the Hulme arms – a special award from the Senior Student.

Coat of arms of Hulme Hall

Adopted c.1890s Crest A lion's head coupled Gules on a cap of maintenance (Gules turned up Ermine) upon the helmet of a gentleman. Escutcheon Barry of eight, Or and Azure, on a canton Argent, a chaplet Gules proper. Motto Fide Sed Cui Vide (Trust, but Mind Whom)