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Roehampton University
Froebel College

IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 99999 Froebel College
Held at: Roehampton University
Title: Froebel College
Date(s): 1884-1996
Level of description : Collection (fonds)
Extent: c 100 boxes, 4 cupboards
Name of creator(s): Froebel College
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The Froebel Educational Institute was inaugurated at a meeting held in the Westminster Palace Hotel on the 25th October 1892,
through the initiative of Mrs Julia Salis Schwabe and a group of liberal-minded men and women who formed the membership of the
Froebel Society (to give it its full title, Froebel Society for the Promotion of the Kindergarten System) which had come into being in
London in 1874. The Froebel Educational Institute (FEI) was inaugurated as a non-denominational college, and was intended to
promote the kindergarten system in Britain. One of their most strongly held convictions was that the training of teachers should include
practical experience, and consequently the FEI was provided from its inception with a co-educational Demonstration School with a
Kindergarten.
On 20th September 1894, the College formally opened in Talgarth Road, West Kensington, and Madame Emilie Michaelis was
appointed as the first Principal. FEI's first school, the fee-paying Colet Gardens Demonstration School, was opened in 1895, and was
followed by the Challoner Street Practising School in 1899 (the latter survived until 1918, when its pupils were transferred to Colet
Gardens). In 1896, the Michaelis Guild was formed as the alumni organisation for ex-Froebel College students.
In 1900, the FEI became the 'Incorporated Froebel Educational Institute', a registered company under the Board of Trade; the
governing body was known as the Committee of Members. Esther Lawrence succeeded Emilie Michaelis as Principal in 1901: she
remained in the post until 1931, overseeing the growth and development of FEI into a residential college based at Roehampton.
Esther Lawrence was closely involved in the founding of two of the oldest nursery schools in London - the Michaelis Free Kindergarten
in Notting Dale (founded in 1908, later the Notting Hill Nursery School) and the Somers Town Nursery School near St Pancras (1910).
In 1921, the FEI purchased Grove House at Roehampton and moved the students there in 1922. Colet Gardens School remained in
Talgarth Road and expanded into the old College accommodation. As the Roehampton site developed, there was a need for a school
in the grounds, and Grove House School was opened in 1929 (it closed in 1939). Student numbers were growing so rapidly that the
FEI purchased Templeton, a listed building in Priory Lane, Roehampton, in 1930. A new Principal, Eglantyne Mary Jebb, continued the
policy of expansion and growth, overseeing major extensions to the Grove House property designed by Verner Rees. During World
War Two, the College was evacuated to Knebworth and Offley Place, Hertfordshire, while the Demonstration School was moved to
Little Gaddesdon nearby. When the war ended, the Demonstration School moved to new premises at Ibstock Place in Roehampton.
Offley Place was retained as a rural training centre until 1953.
On the establishment of the University of London Institute of Education, FEI became one of its constituent colleges. Eglantyne Mary
Jebb retired as Principal in 1955 and was succeeded by Molly Brearley, who oversaw some major changes, not least the requirement
in 1960 that all teachers take a three-year training course. The following year, Molly Brearley introduced the pioneering one-year
Diploma in Education, the first offered in a College of Education. More expansions to the College took place under the direction of the
firm Norman and Dawbarn, notably several halls of residence and the Olive Garnett Building. Molly Brearley retired in 1970. Further
course developments included the introduction of the Postgraduate Certificate of Education in 1971, and an MA in Education in 1974.
A joint project with Queen Mary Hospital came to fruition in 1989, when the Redford House Nursery was opened, once again providing
a school on-site.
Plans to form a union of the four voluntary teacher-training colleges in the south-west of London began to take shape in the early
1970s, with the four acting as an academic unity to offer BA, BSc and B Humanities degrees, validated by the University of London,
from 1974. The Roehampton Institute of Higher Education (RIHE) was formally incorporated in 1975, with each of the constituent
colleges - Froebel, Whitelands, Southlands and Digby Stuart - retaining its own corporate identity. The title Roehampton Institute
London was subsequently adopted. Though its degrees were validated by the University of Surrey from 1985, full university status was
achieved in 2000, when the Roehampton Institute formally entered into federation with the University of Surrey and became known as
the University of Surrey, Roehampton.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of Froebel College, comprising:
College Government records, including minutes of the Committee of Members of the Froebel Educational Institute, 1900-1953;
minutes of the Governing Body of the Incorporated Froebel Educational Institute, 1953-1969; minutes of the Council of Management,
1970-[1993]; minutes and papers of the College Governing Body, 1970-1993; minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Association of the
Froebel Educational Institute, 1946-[1995]; minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, 1948-1954, 1978-1983; Annual
Reports, 1895-1933; lists of subscribers, [1899]; College regulations, 1953; and papers of the Academic Board, 1973-1984.
Papers relating to relations of the College with outside bodies, comprising general correspondence and material concerning
visitations and inspections, including the National Froebel Foundation, 1933-1951; the Board of Education (later the Ministry of
Education), 1934-1944; London County Council, 1920-[1953], including papers concerning the LCC Nursery School, Grove House;
Hertfordshire County Council, [1949-1950], mainly relating to the plans for College use of Offley; the Institute of Education, 1947-1960,
including minutes of the Committee of Principals; the ATCDE, 1942-1946; the Nursery School Association (now BAECE), and other
organisations concerned with early education, 1945-1946; and the Training Colleges Clearing House, 1951.
Financial records including annual accounts, 1908, 1910; General Ledgers, 1928-1941; Cash Books, 1921-1954; Petty Cash books,
1935-1949; balance sheets, [1928-1940]; monthly accounts, 1926-1960s; Student Fee Books of Froebel College, 1905-1906, 1910-
1911; files relating to College fees, 1950s; accounts for various scholarships and external grants, [1929-1949]; cash book for the
Students Aid Fund, 1898-1956; salary books, 1940s-1953; ledger for the Common Room Fund, 1936-1950; and accounts of the
Esther Lawrence Association, 1948-1966.
Material relating to buildings, including correspondence and papers concerning building funds and appeals, [1891-1960];
correspondence and financial material with architects including John S Quilter, [1899-1914], and Norman and Dawbarn, 1954; legal
papers and correspondence relating to Knebworth House, 1939; ground plans of the College, [1920s-1930s], including the new
Science Block and the Lulham Extension; plans by Fernand Billerey plans for alterations and extensions during the 1920s; files
relating to maintenance of the College buildings, 1920s-1960s; and Bursar's files, [1930s-1990s].
Publicity material, including prospectuses, [1889]-1958; papers relating to Open Days, 1964-1970; advertisements, 1925-1933; and
press cuttings, [1890s-1990s].
Curriculum material, including syllabi and course descriptions, 1942-1975; papers relating to examinations, including correspondence
with the National Froebel Foundation, 1940-1949, and the Institute of Education, 1957-1958; examination reports, 1940-1949;
Froebel Educational Institute notes on the College curriculum, 1963-1975; and syllabuses, 1946-1963.
Staff and student material, comprising staff registers, 1894-1929, including registers of visiting teachers, 1894-1901; visitors books
for students and staff at Knebworth and Grove House, 1943-1962; student registers, 1913-1962; student records, 1940-1990s,
relating to the PGCE course, 1975-1991, the Nursery Education Course, 1974-1976, the Diploma in Education, 1964-1984, and the
Diploma in Music, 1970-1982.
Material relating to student societies, including papers of the Guild of St Francis, the FEI Natural History Club, including accounts,
1901-1921 and minutes, 1907-1943; illustrated scrapbooks relating to College trips to Keston, [1924-1931].
Papers of the Michaelis Guild, notably minute books, 1896-1992; printed notices, 1905-1981; financial material, 1955-1977; and
historical material relating to the Guild.
Papers relating to the Library including working papers and notes of actions for the Library Committee, 1939-1971; account books,
1922-1979; Annual Reports, 1908-1957; accession registers, [1920s-1980s]; various stock books, 1920s-1962; minutes of the
Library Committee, 1930-1958; Library reports, 1925-1927; 'Meetings minute books', 1922-1930, 1969-1971; and accounts for Mary
Bennett's Prize, 1943-1951.
Materials relating to College events, including visitors books for the Spring Festival, 1925, and various exhibitions, 1948 and 1982;
papers relating to vacation courses and conferences, 1925, 1948-1952; and material relating to the 1982 Bicentenary arrangements
and 1992 Centenary celebrations, including correspondence, cuttings and brochures.
Miscellaneous material relating to the history of the Froebel Educational Institute, 1892-1978, including reminiscences of students,
staff and pupils; papers relating to the foundation of the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, 1974-1978, including instruments,
draft deeds, and College by-laws; and material relating to the history of Grove House, [1920s-1930s], including correspondence and
maps.
Materials relating to the Demonstration Schools of the Froebel Institute, including prospectuses, fee books, student registers, annual
reports, financial material and funding appeals for Colet Gardens Demonstration School (later Ibstock Place), [1894-1936];
prospectuses, magazines, student/staff registers, fee books for Challoner Street Practising School, [1905-1914]; prospectuses,
financial material and staff salary book for Grove House School, [1920s-1940s]; Annual Reports for Redford House, [1989-1992];
prospectuses, Annual Reports and trust deeds for Michaelis Free Kindergarten (later Notting Hill Nursery School and St Anne's
Nursery School); and minute books, Annual Reports and prospectuses for Somers Town Nursery, 1910-1946.
Student work, [1894-1970s], including scrapbooks, handwork examples, drawing and lettering copybooks, notebooks covering the
range of subjects taught in a Froebel College, including Nature Study and Handwork, and also Teaching Practice notes; there are also
various wooden games such as Froebel's Gifts, jigsaw puzzles, ABC games, picture and word matching games and number games.
Photographs, [1890s-1990s], of Froebel College buildings and grounds, notably Grove House, Templeton, Knebworth, Offley, Colet
Gardens, and other colleges; students and staff, including student activities, teaching, and College social events; a separate box
contains photographs of students at the Froebel Educational Institution Demonstration School in 1928-1929, including Iris Murdoch.
Material relating to specific persons, notably Esther Lawrence (1862-1944), 1898-1931, including printed articles by her, mainly on
kindergarten and preparatory school teaching; biographical material compiled by Jane Read; original correspondence including
letters to Claude Montefiore and Arthur Symonds; personal notebooks and texts of speeches; and invitations to 'At homes', 1903-
1907. Papers of Madame Michaelis (1834-1904), one of the founders of the Froebel Society, including lecture notes, 1884-1895, and
a draft 'History of the founding of the new Education, 1831-52'. Research material mainly concerning the life and work of Friedrich
Froebel, and consisting of photocopies, copies and transcripts of original archival documents, photographs, and extracts from printed
works. Personal papers of Molly Root Brearley, [1940s-1980s], including volumes of notes for use in College assemblies, teaching
material such as lecture notes and course papers, extensive printed materials on educational topics, including articles and pamphlets
written by Brearley. Original writings of Dr Elsa Walters, including various short stories and an autobiography written in 1979.

Publications: Copies of The Link , the journal of past Froebel College students, 1910-2002; Froebel Society pamphlets, 1878-[1967].
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English, German
System of arrangement:
Most of the material is arranged according to a classification scheme. Parts of the collection are unsorted, or arranged roughly
according to date.
Conditions governing access:
By appointment only. Contact the Archivist for details. Some confidential material may be closed to the public.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copies available for research purposes, at the discretion of the Archivist.
Physical characteristics:
Some of the financial volumes are delicate and should be handled with care.
Finding aids:
There is a classification scheme by which the archive is ordered.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Expected
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition :
The Early Childhood Archive was created in 1977 through a project funded jointly by the Manpower Services Commission and the
National Froebel Foundation, and housed in the Library. In 1998 the Archive moved to new premises in Grove House and was re-
named the Froebel Archive for Childhood Studies.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals :
Existence and location of copies :
Related material:
Froebel Archive for Childhood Studies also hold extensive printed reference material relating to early childhood studies, including a full
set of Child Life, the journal of the Froebel Society.
Further material relating to the IFEI and the National Froebel Foundation is held at Templeton House, Roehampton and the British &
Foreign School Society Archives Centre, Isleworth, London.
Publication note:
The Froebel Educational Institute: a centenary review (FEI, 1992); Peter Weston, From Roehampton Great House to Grove House
to Froebel College: an illustrated history (Roehampton Institute, London, 1998); Peter Weston, The Froebel Educational Institute:
the origins and history of the college (University of Surrey Roehampton, London, 2002); Colet Gardens Demonstration School. Set of
6 postcards. (University of Surrey Roehampton, 2002); Jane Read, The Dissemination of Friedrich Froebel's kindergarten ideology
in Britain 1850-1900 (K.G. Saur, Munchen, 2000). .
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.
Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition,
2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Date(s) of descriptions : Feb 2002

INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Academic buildings | Educational buildings
Accreditation (education) | Educational supervision
Governing bodies | Educational supervision
Government educational bodies | Educational administrative structure | Educational organizations
Local educational bodies | Educational administrative structure | Educational organizations
Nursery schools | Schools | Educational institutions
Photographs | Visual materials
Preprimary curriculum | Curriculum
Preprimary teachers | Teachers | Educational personnel | Personnel | People by occupation | People
Preschool children | Schoolchildren | Students
Preschool education | Educational levels
Teacher education schools | Vocational schools | Higher education institutions
Personal names
Brearley | Molly Root | fl 1940s-1980s | educationist
Lawrence | Esther | 1862-1944 | educationist
Michaelis | Emilie | 1834-1904 | educationist
Montefiore | Claude Joseph | Goldsmid- | 1858-1938 | Jewish biblical scholar and philanthropist x Goldsmid-Montefiore | Claude
Joseph
Symonds | Arthur G | d 1924 | Secretary of the National Reform Union
Corporate names
Colet Gardens Demonstration School | London
Froebel Educational Institute
Froebel Society
Guild of St Francis | natural history club of Froebel College
Institute of Education
Michaelis Free Kindergarten | London
Michaelis Guild | alumni organisation of Froebel College
Roehampton Institute of Higher Education
Somers Town Nursery School | London
Places
Notting Hill | Kensington and Chelsea | London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe
Roehampton | Surrey | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe
Somers Town | Camden | London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe
St Pancras | London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe
Wandsworth