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The March 1948 issue of the Polytechnic Magazine gives a history of the Waterloo Club as follows:

"It was in 1932 that a group of young Poly members took over a disused public house in Cornwall Road, Lambeth, carried out a number of alterations and generally adapted and equipped the building for use as a Boys' Club. These efforts were inspired by a study of the early work of Quintin Hogg in the Charing Cross Arches and Long Acre, and was " an attempt by members of the Polytechnic to carry the spirit of their Founder to the boys and young men of Lambeth." For some five years the activities of the Club developed rapidly, and at the end of the five years its members were putting in the field each Saturday some five football teams in the winter and two or three cricket teams in the summer, in addition to nightly indoor activities. Amongst the regular indoor activities boxing and physical training were exceedingly popular. The building contained a library, handicrafts room, chapel and billiard room on the upper floors, with the ground floor thrown open as a games room and canteen.

In 1937 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (upon whose Lambeth estate the original premises stood) prepared to re-develop the whole estate by clearing away the old cottages and slum dwellings, and erecting modern blocks of working class flats. To do this they were obliged to disturb not only the Waterloo Club, but also the Cathedral Play Centre which was being carried on in similar premises on their estate. The Commissioners agreed to erect a social centre as an integral part of the re-development scheme in which both the Waterloo Club and the Cathedral Play Centre could, with other local organisations, carry on their work. In the meantime, the Club found temporary accommodation in Lambeth Palace Road. It was only just before the outbreak of war that the new building, known as Ethelm House, was completed and opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Within a matter of days, however, war was declared and the various bodies who were to use the building felt unable to proceed until more settled conditions prevailed. In any case, the building was required for public purposes, firstly becoming an annexe to the Union Jack Club, and later a Rest Centre for bombed-out families.

Within the last twelve months the L.C.C. have de-requisitioned the premises, and much progress has been made in reorganising the Waterloo Club and the Cathedral Play Centre. Amongst the members of the Institute who have been taking an active part in t he work have been

W.Bailey (Harriers), E. T. Houston (Rowing Club), H. R[ King, R. James (Harriers), G. Sansom (Badminton Club), A. Nelson and D. Turner.

Many of the old boys who have returned from service in the forces have taken an interest in re-establishing the Club. The first phase of re-development after the War was the formation of an Old Boys' Section and the drawing together of a number of the old members, including some who first came to the Club in 1932 as boys of 10. Two of them in particular are playing a very big part in getting the Club reestablished.

It was envisaged before the War that the various bodies for which accommodation had been provided in Ethelm House would continue to work as separate bodies, making their own appeals for finance, etc. During the last few months it has become increasingly clear that greater efficiency

and usefulness could result if the premises were managed as a single unit. Accordingly, the Waterloo Club and the Cathedral Play Centre have combined forces and have become integral parts of an Ethelm House Social Centre while still retaining their own individuality.

A Committee has been set up to establish a Girls' Club in order that the Youth work of the Centre may be complete. This Committee includes representatives of both the Waterloo Club and the Cathedral Play Centre. The major difficulty at the moment is to obtain the necessary equipment and build up a group of voluntary workers. Funds are, of course, needed to carry on the work. The members of the Committee or the

writer of this note would be very happy to show any Poly members over Ethelm House, and especially any who felt able to devote

a little time regularly to help in running the Clubs.

Amongst those who have agreed to serve as Patrons of the Ethelm House Centre are Hon. Quintin Hogg, Lord Luke of Pavenham and Mr. J. Arthur Rank."

However there are no further mentions of the Waterloo Club in the Magazine after this date.

York Place Ragged School was founded in 1864 by the philanthropist and educationist Quintin Hogg (1845-1903), inspired by his observation of the poor in London. With Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird (1847-1923, later 11th Baron Kinnaird), he rented rooms in York Place (formerly Of Alley), off the Strand, for a boys' school, initially a day school, which subsequently began to open in the evenings. Hogg was himself involved in teaching the boys. Another of Hogg's Eton friends, the Hon Thomas Henry William Pelham (1847-1916), was also involved in its inception.

The Strand premises were gradually expanded, and a boys' home opened in 1866. The school was associated with a mission room. Later initiatives also catered for girls. By 1869 the institution had more spacious premises at Castle Street, Long Acre. York Place was retained as a home for young women.

Hogg, who was engaged in various philanthropic and educational enterprises, also founded the Youths' Christian Institute (later known as the Young Men's Christian Institute). The removal of this Institute to larger premises in Long Acre in 1878 marked its separation from the Ragged School, which ceased when the Board Schools made such institutions less necessary. The missionary work and boys' homes continued under others, but Hogg himself was increasingly absorbed with his Institute.

Marian Henrietta Hewlett (1843-1915) decided to begin art and domestic science classes for girls in Harrow in 1887. Under the auspices of the Harrow Band of Mercy, premises were rented at no 102 High Street in 1888, and public funding (for technical education) was received from Middlesex County Council from 1890 (and from 1894 its Technical Education Committee). Boys were also admitted. Students were drawn from Harrow and the surrounding districts. A new building for Harrow Technical School opened at Greenhill, in Station Road, in 1902 (extended in 1907 and 1932). Teaching included art, photography, commercial and domestic subjects, particularly in evening classes. The School of Art was increasingly important. Many of the instructors were part-time.

The name was changed to Harrow Technical College and School of Art in 1948. The first building on a 25-acre site at Northwick Park (acquired in 1936) was begun in 1954, completed in 1959 and formally opened in 1961. It housed the technical and commercial departments (Engineering, Science, Photography, Commerce, and Domestic Studies) - the School of Art did not move from Station Road until later. Following the White Paper on Technical Education in 1956 (Cmnd 9703) Harrow was designated an area college.

From the 1960s alterations were made in Harrow courses and status under the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), with more degree-level courses and an increased number of full-time and part-time day students and staff. Links were formed with polytechnics including PCL (the Polytechnic of Central London, formerly Regent Street Polytechnic). Harrow specialisms included photography, fashion and ceramics. Additions were made to the buildings at Northwick Park in the 1970s. In 1978 the college was renamed Harrow College of Higher Education.

In 1990 Harrow merged with PCL, which in 1992 became the University of Westminster. The Harrow campus was re-developed to house Harrow Business School, Harrow School of Computer Science, and the Schools of Communication and Design and Media (now the School of Communication and the Creative Industries). It was formally opened in 1995.