Twenty-five years of the University of Westminster
by Dr Elaine Penn
The fifth publication in the University History Project brings the University of Westminster’s story up-to-date. Published to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the institution gaining university status, University Archivist Dr Elaine Penn explores the evolution of the Polytechnic of Central London into today’s University of Westminster. The book evaluates successive UK government policies on Higher Education as well as the impact on universities of changes to London’s governance, such as the abolition of ILEA. It explores how the institution has remained true to its traditional values, supporting access to higher education for all regardless of income or background, and how it has successfully redefined them for the twenty-first century. In telling this story, the book shows how, twenty-five years on, the University continues to thrive as a confident, innovative and distinctive institution.
Price: £20
Please note that there is a 20% discount for staff, students and alumni. Staff wishing to obtain copies for use as corporate gifts should also contact Records and Archives. The pdf is available to download free of charge from the University of Westminster Press.
The Magic Screen
History of the Regent Street Cinema
by Joost Hunningher, Rikki Morgan-Tamosunas, Guy Osborn and Ro Spankie
Playing host to invention and wonder
To celebrate the renovation and re-opening of the Regent Street Cinema, its long and fascinating history has been told for the first time.
Built in 1848 for showcasing ‘optical exhibitions’, in 1896 the theatre was the site of the first UK public performance of the Lumière’s Cinématographe. It evolved into a cinema specialising in travelogues and nature films in the 1920s, becoming the Cameo-Poly after the Second World War. Regularly hosting premieres of continental films, the cinema achieved another first with its screening of La Vie Commence Demain in 1951, the first X-certificate film in the UK. After mixed fortunes in the 1970s, the cinema closed to the public in 1980.
This multi-authored volume tells the cinema’s history from architectural, educational, legal and cinematic perspectives, and is richly illustrated throughout with images from the University of Westminster Archive.
Price: £20.
Please note that there is a 20% discount for staff, students and alumni. Staff wishing to obtain copies for use as corporate gifts should also contact Records and Archives. The pdf is available to download free of charge from the University of Westminster Press.
The book is also available to purchase at the Box Office of Regent Street Cinema.