Godless In Gower Street

On my way to Friends House today to do my volunteering session in the Quaker Centre, I thought I'd swing by UCL for old times sake. I worked as an administrator here in the Medical School before taking early retirement in 2012, and still have a lot of affection for it (though I haven't missed the job or the commute for a single day!) I also have many happy memories of the Bloomsbury area around here; I started my career in university administration at the School of Oriental and African Studies, just down the road, in 1994.

UCL was founded in 1826, as a secular alternative to the strictly religious universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which led Thomas Arnold to refer to it as "that Godless institution in Gower Street". It's an appellation which has been taken up as a badge of honour since by many staff and students - a bit like the original derogatory use of the word 'Quaker'!