Hatfield Polytechnic – 1969 Buildings
In 1969 Birklands Mansion was acquired as an additional site and the following year an observatory was built at Bayfordbury. A huge amount of work was done on the accommodation provision: in 1970 two new Halls of Residence were opened, Butler Hall and Fern Hall, increasing to Chapman Hall in 1971, and in 1974 Sidney Broad Hall and John Coales Hall. In 1978 the Ball’s Park site was acquired, which housed Business Studies and Social Science teaching. The Management Centre also moved there in 1980, after the closure of Birklands.
The Sports Hall opened on the Hatfield site in 1984, the same year that Bayfordbury Mansion was handed back to the County Council; the Observatory continued to be maintained by the Polytechnic. Finally in 1989, private developers began work on three buildings between the newly opened A1(M) and College Lane. They were leased by the Polytechnic and named the Todd, Lindop and Mercer Buildings in honour of the Polytechnic’s former Visitor, Director and Chair of Governors.
(Clockwise from top left) Bayfordbury students on the lawn, The Motorcycle club’s sponsored push in 1989, Ball’s Park Mansion, A double room in the Hatfield Halls, An Engineering student
People The Director of the Polytechnic in 1982 was Dr. John Illston, PhD, DSc (Eng), CEng, FICE. He was succeeded by Professor Neil Buxton in 1987, an economic historian and former Scottish hockey international.
Did you know…? l In 1974 was an event that changed many students’ lives: The Font bar
opened. In 1976 the Students’ Union Oracle Bar was renamed the Vale Bar, in honour of bar steward Vic Vale, who died during the year. It wasn’t until 1977 that ‘The Elephant House’ opened, named due to its unusual design.
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