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A historical look at the
NATIONAL COLLEGE for
HEATING, VENTILATING, REFRIGERATION and FAN ENGINEERING |
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The
National College on the South Bank London
celebrated its 60th anniversary on 18th June 2007.
The
Heritage Group therefore thought it would be a suitable time to
refresh the memories of its old Students by
showing
pictures of the College Laboratories, Plantrooms,Library and Lecture Rooms, as a trip down memory lane for all those who attended. Also
included
are pictures of Ingall House, the accommodation
hostel in Dulwich Park Road
provided by the
College for
Students living outside of London. Written
records about the setting up of the College and a
list of its Lecturers from the 1960's is also given.
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The Heritage Group thanks and acknowledges the help of Tim Dwyer, a former Lecturer in the
Dept for Engineering Systems and Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment
at the LSBU, for providing the paperwork and photographs from the Library Archives for this
nostalgic look back in time for all those students of yesteryear.
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NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR HEATING, VENTILATING, REFRIGERATION AND FAN ENGINEERING T H E F I R S T M A J O R S T E P in the provision of facilities for technological education of the highest possible standard for those engaged in the heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and fan engineering industries was taken in January, 1948, when the Minister of Education established the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering at the Borough Polytechnic, London. Hitherto there had been little or no provision for advanced study and research in these branches of technology. A young man entering industry might, if he was fortunate enough to live within reach of one of the few technical colleges providing suitable classes, be able to obtain some specialised instruction to the standard of the examination of the Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers or of those of the City and Guilds of London Institute but beyond this point it was impossible to go. Even the Universities offered no specialised opportunities for higher technological training in these fields.
The National College
exists to remedy these conditions and so to ensure a
steady flow of properly trained engineers, skilled
in their profession, able to appreciate modern
scientific advances having a bearing on their work
and capable of exploiting them to the advantage of
these industries. In this way, the college is
designed to occupy a key place in advancing practice
in these industries to the highest possible level
and in maintaining them to the forefront of
engineering and scientific skill. The lack of
provision for adequate technical training for most
of those engaged in the industries concerned was a
cause of grave concern to those interested in their
progress and, in 1942, the Heating and Ventilating
industry had on its own initiative provided a
specialist full-time course on a national basis as a
part of its accepted educational scheme for
technicians employed in the industry. This scheme
was entirely financed by the industry and was so
completely successful that the Refrigeration
industry, a year later, took similar steps. In 1944, the Report of the Departmental
Committee on Higher Technological Education, which had
been set up under the chairmanship of Lord Eustace
Percy, was published. One of its recommendations was
that where, because of the comparatively small or
dispersed nature of an industry, it was impossible to
provide adequate facilities for technical education of
the highest standard on a regional basis, such
facilities should be provided at one college on a
national basis. In fact, the Report was an emphatic official
confirmation of the action which had already been
taken by the Heating and Ventilating and
Refrigeration industries.
The Ministry of Education quickly sought
to implement this recommendation and issued a
statement of policy with regard to national colleges.
This policy, in brief, is that where it can be shown that, in the
interests of both the nation and the industry, a
national college is desirable and that the industry
concerned is prepared to give its full co-operation
by sharing costs and by recruiting students and
teachers, the Ministry will establish a college and
accept responsibility for it. In view of this statement the
Heating and Ventilating and the Refrigeration industries severally applied to
the Ministry for the establishment of colleges to meet
their individual needs. They were received
sympathetically but the Ministry expressed the view
that rather than set up a number of small colleges
bearing a close relationship to each other it would be
a more effective proposal to establish one college
embracing heating and ventilating, refrigeration and
other allied industries whose training schemes could
be related and who were prepared to take part in the
project. After some negotiation the fan manufacturing
industry decided to join the other two in a joint
request for a college. A proposal was accepted by the
Minister of Education and the establishment by him of
the College followed.
E D U C A T I O N The College has two principal aims; to
provide for the highest standard of technological
training and for research. It gives a complete
specialist training for those who will ultimately fill
the
highest technical and executive posts in the heating
and ventilating, refrigeration and fan
In providing the
appropriate technical education the College
functions in three capacities. (1) National. Two full-time
courses are available. The tint of these is the
Diploma Course at present comprising two terms but
which may be extended to three terms. The
qualification for entry is the Ordinary National
Certificate in Mechanical Engineering or an
equivalent standard. The object of the diploma course
is to provide sound draughtsmen technicians for the
industries concerned and the course, in addition to
the specialist subjects covers appropriate ancillary
subjects which are provided the
Borough Polytechnic. Those awarded the Diploma are
given appropriate exemption from the examination for
Associate Membership of the respective professional
institutions. The second course is the Associateship
course which is post graduate in standard and is open to diploma students, degree students or
others with required entry qualifications. The
essential content of this course is advanced studies
in the specialist subjects and training in research.
The number of students in such a course will always be
comparatively small since the training is intended to
provide the industries with the technical specialists
and
(2) Regional.
So that
technical students, who are unable to undertake the
full-time diploma course, can prepare themselves for
the examination
for
Associate Membership of the professional institutions,
evening classes are arranged to cover the requirements
of these examinations. Students are only admitted to
these courses if over 21 years of age. (3) Local. For
its immediate local area the College provides
courses for operative students leading to the
Intermediate and Final Examinations of the City and
Guilds of London Institute. The number of students
coming forward has been so great that arrangements
have been made for the first two years of these
courses to be provided in other centres to enable
the College to carry out the work required for the
3rd, 4th and 5th years.
Since its establishment in 1948, the college has catered
for the following numbers of students:-
SESSION
PART-TIME DAY
FULL-TIME
EVENING
1949 – 50
77
146
84
1950 – 51
93
97
84 R E S E A R C H As the College is in the early days
of its development its research activities have
only recently commenced. Two researches have been started
dealing with noise transmission in ventilating
ducts and the performance and design of ejectors.
Temperature distribution in heated
floors. Dust conveying. Secondary refrigerant
calorimetry. Temperatures in cold room insulation. Use of engine indicators with refrigerant
compressors. Fluid temperature
measurement. A C C O M M O D A T I
O N
The College is housed in part of the
premises of the Borough Polytechnic but it was
deficient in laboratory accommodation. It was
fortunate that some ground was available adjacent
to the Polytechnic so that the governors with the
approval and assistance of the Ministry of
Education were able to take advantage of this site
to erect the new laboratory. A plan of the
building is shown at the end of this booklet.
About one-third of the space has been allocated
for a wind tunnel and general fan engineering,
another third for refrigeration engineering and,
the remainder for general use and research. It
will be seen that the building also includes a
library to contain text and reference books,
periodicals and pamphlets, and trade and
instrument catalogues. This fulfils an essential
need. A good
collection of appropriate and up-to-date text
books, has already been gathered together with
the generous assistance of some of the firms in
the industries. E Q U I P M E N T The governors wish to express with gratitude their appreciation and thanks to member firms of the Association of Heating, Ventilating and Domestic Engineering Employers, the Fan Manufacturers' Association and the British Refrigeration Association who have given valuable plant and equipment some of which is housed in the main building and some in the new laboratory. The equipment, the value of which amounts to several thousand pounds, has ensured that the College is with up-to-date facilities for its advanced studies.
In
designing the new laboratory the opportunity was
taken to install an experimental floor heating
system in the new floor. This does not imply that
floor heating, per se, is experimental but
that the installation in the laboratory building
has been designed to enable a large number of experiments to be
carried out. The plant consists of three electrode
boilers serving various sections of the floor in
which various pipe sizings and spacings are laid,
to enable the effect of these variables on the
floor surface temperature distribution to be
studied. One section of the floor is insulated
beneath the pipes so that a comparison of the heat
requirements
B U R S A R I E
S A N D The
Association
of Heating, Ventilating and Domestic Engineering
Employers offers bursaries covering the full fee
for the Diploma Course in Heating and Ventilating
Engineering to apprentices employed by firms which
are members of the Association and under the age
of twenty two years. It also provides maintenance
grants to enable their students to attend courses
free from financial embarrassment. Member firms
ha\e agreed that wherever apprentices are granted
bursaries they will continue to pay full wages to
them during the time that they are attending their
courses. This praiseworthy scheme was actually
initiated in 1944 and was,
R E S I D E N C E The terms of the Declaration of Trust of the College require the Board of Governors to establish, as soon as possible, a hostel for students who are attending the College from outside London. Pending the acquisition of suitable premises a register of approved lodgings - has been kept and students requiring living accommodation have been assisted in finding it by the Governors. Bearing in mind the very urgent need to provide a residence where it would be possible to build a proper student community, the Governors considered the question of the most suitable district in which a hostel could be provided. It was borne in mind that the Polytechnic playing fields are in Dulwich and that Dulwich itself is a very desirable residential area within reasonable distance of the College. It was therefore decided that every effort should be made to obtain a building suitable for conversion or a site on which a hostel could be built somewhere in this district. In the summer of 1949, therefore, the Chairman of the Governors and the Chairman of the Finance Committee, together with the Clerk inspected several properties in the area and at last were successful in finding one which they thought could, with considerable adaptation, be turned into a hostel. The property is now the College Hostel and is situated in Dulwich Wood Park.
Before any definite steps could be
taken it was necessary, of course, to obtain
Architect's opinion and the Governors instructed
Messrs. Norman and Dawbarn to examine the property
and if they thought fit to submit for
consideration their proposals for alterations and
adaptations.
This was done in consultation with
the Architects of the Ministry of Education and it
was decided that the plan was a practicable one.
Tenders for the work and estimates for the proper
furnishing of the premises were obtained and
approved by the Minister of Education, who most
generously made available a sufficient grant to
cover all the necessary capital expenditure. The
tender of Messrs. Marshall Andrew & Co., Ltd.,
31 Queen Anne's Gate, London, SW 1, was accepted and
work began in December 1949. It was hoped that
it would be completed by September 1950, but
owing to a number of unforeseen difficulties,
the work was not in fact finished until December
of that year. The
house itself provides accommodation for 43
students in small dormitories accommodating two
or more, but not more than seven students. There
is a large lounge, a separate games room and a
very comfortable quiet room where students will
be able to carry on their studies in a pleasant
atmosphere. The dining room is in the
semi-basement and is adjacent to a
well-appointed kitchen so that the minimum of
work will be necessary on the part of the
kitchen staff. The whole
The Governors felt that the term
hostel was not an attractive one and did not
convey with success the comfort and homeliness
which it is hoped will become a feature of No. 8
Dulwich Wood Park. It was therefore decided that
the house should be called "Ingall House" as a
fitting gesture in recognition of the very large
part that Dr. Douglas H. Ingall, the Director of
the College, had taken in the negotiations to
establish the College. In this way his name will
be long associated with the College which owes so
much to his enthusiasm and hard work.
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TEACHING STAFFHead of the
College . DAVID R.
SCOTT, MSc., PH.D., M.INST.R.,
A.M.I.H.V.E., A.INST.P., A.M.I.MIN.E.,
A.M.E.M.E. Senior LecturersW. C. OSBORNE,
BSc (ENG), A.M.I.MECH.E.,
A.M.I.H.V.E. E. W. SHAW, M.I.H.V.E.,
M.R.S.H. R. W. WEBB, BSc. (ENG.). R. AZAD, BSc., PH.D. F. J. HAGGER,
A.M.I.MECH.E. M.INST.R. J. D. JONES, B.Sc., PH.D. B. G. LAWRENCE,
A.M.INST.F., A.M.I.H.V.E. J. E. RANDELL, B.Sc.(MIN.), PH D. A. F. C.
SHBRRATT, BSc.,
PH.D. S. N.TAYLOR, MSc. E. WOODCOCK,
MSc.
Assistant Lecturers ... J. W. COWAN, A.M.I.H.V.E.,
A.M.INST.W. L. J. FISCHER,
DIPL. ING., A.M.I.MECH.E.,
M.I.H.V.E. R. C. SEDGELEY.
The ancillary subjects which form part of
each of the full-time courses are taught in
the appropriate departments of the Borough
Polytechnic, under the direction of the following Heads of
Department: Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics
... ... ... -
V. BREIRA-MENDOZA, MSc, TECH.,M.I.E.E. Department of Mathematics ...E.
A. BAGGOTT, MSc., PH.D, A.R.C.S.,
D.I.C. Department of Mechanical
J.
F. DOUGLAS,
M.Sc.
(ENG.), A.C.G.I. Engineering
D.I.C.,
A.M.I.C.E., A.M.I.STRUCT.E. Division of Liberal Studies ... J. BURNETT, M.A., LL.B., PH.D. Senior Lecturer in charge ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The governors
wish to thank the following for their help in making
this project possible and who, in doing so, have
provided a building, unique of its kind, of which the
industries concerned can be justly proud: The Ministry
of Education for generous financial help both in
connection with the cost of the building and with the
cost of furnishing and equipping it. Those members
of the industries who have supported the college since
its formation and who have contributed so generously
to the Building Appeal Fund. Messrs.
Norman and Dawbarn, the Architects responsible for the
design and lay-out of the building and, in particular,
Mr Kenneth Williams, A.R.I.B.A., who was the architect
in charge. Messrs. Inman
and Partners, the Quantity Surveyors who worked in
association with the Architects. Messrs. J. Roger Preston
and Partners, the Consulting Engineers responsible for the design and
installation of the mechanical services. Particularly
would the governors like to express their great
gratitude to Mr. Derek L Thornley,
AMIHVE, a former student of the college and a partner
in the firm, who had personal responsibility for this
extremely difficult task. Messrs. Higgs
and Hill, Limited, and their various sub-contractors
who, despite a very tight building programme and a
number of unforeseen difficulties, succeeded in
completing the work in time for the building to be
opened for the session 1960-61. THE FUNCTIONS
OF THE
COLLEGE :
The functions of the College are
set out in the Trust Deed which established the
college. They can be summarised as follows : (i) to
provide full-time courses of advanced instruction up
to, and including post-graduate work in heating,
ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration and fan
engineering
(ii) to
provide part-time day and evening courses in these
technologies (iii) to
train students in research methods and to promote
research. The
specialist subjects are taught in the college building
by college staff but the students receive instruction
in ancillary subjects in the Borough Polytechnic where
they use the many well equipped laboratories. They are able
to use the social and recreational facilities of the
Polytechnic and are entitled to full membership of the
Students' Union. Thus they enjoy the advantages of being members of a much larger student body. COLLEGE PREMISESWhen the
College was first opened it was given the
use of three rooms in the Polytechnic
Annex in Belvedere Place, a very old building used as
a Girls' School until the outbreak of war in 1939. The
largest of these rooms, the school hall, was
used as a laboratory and a certain amount of plant
designed to air condition one of these rooms was
installed at the expense of the industry. Another room
was used as a drawing office and the third as a
general lecture room. At the same time plans were
approved for the erection of a laboratory building in
the grounds of the Annex. This was completed in
1950. THE HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL
COLLEGE
This National
College was established by the Minister of Education,
on the 1st January, 1948, and it was first opened to
students in September of that year. Before this
time there had been little or no provision for
advanced study and research in heating, ventilating,
air conditioning or refrigeration, the branches of
technology taught in the college. A young man
entering industry might, if he was fortunate enough to
live within reach of one of the few technical colleges
providing suitable courses, be able to obtain some
specialised instruction up to the standard of the
examinations of the City and Guilds of London
Institute, but beyond this point it was impossible to
go. Even the Universities offered no specialised
opportunities for higher technological training in
these fields. This lack of
provision for adequate technical training for the
majority of those engaged in these industries was a
cause of grave concern to those interested in their
progress and, in 1942, the Heating
and Ventilating industry set up a committee to enquire
into ways and means of improving the situation. As a
result, this industry, on i t s own
initiative, provided in 1944 a specialist
full-time course on a national basis as a part of its educational
scheme for student apprentices. This course was The new
building was, of necessity, small, for the site was
limited but provision was made in it for a fan laboratory, a
laboratory for refrigeration plant and a cold store,
a-library and a number of small laboratories and work
rooms. Although the accommodation was cramped some excellent work was done in
these premises but it was obvious
that, if the college was to perform its
functions effectively and properly for the ever
growing student body, more room was essential.
In 1954 the governors
prepared plans for the alteration of the Annex
building to provide additional accommodation but the
Ministry of Education, after discussion of the plans,
advised that it would be better to think of the
provision of a new building on another site and
promised to consider sympathetically an
application for a grant for this purpose, provided the
industries would give an undertaking to help with the
cost of the project. It was
appreciated that it would be difficult to obtain a
suitable site for a new building in the immediate
vicinity of the Borough Polytechnic but it was
important, in the view of the governors, to maintain
the close physical relationship with the Polytechnic.
This problem was solved, however, with the sympathetic
help of the governors of the Polytechnic who agreed
that part of the site set aside for the development of
the Polytechnic should be released for the purpose of
the College. It was possible, therefore, to
negotiate a lease of the site in Southwark Bridge Road
very close to the Polytechnic Main Building. Messrs.
Norman and Dawbarn of Portland Place, W.1, were
appointed Architects for the project and were
instructed to prepare suitable plans of a building to
provide about 40,000 square feet
of accommodation. Messrs. Inman and Partners of 7 New Square,
London, W.C.2, Quantity
Surveyors, were appointed to act with the Architects. When the plans were finally
approved tenders were invited for
the work and, as a result, a contract was entered
into with Hliggs and Hill,
Limited, Crown Works, South
Lambeth Road, SW8. London,
Messrs. J.
Roger
Preston and
Partners
of 15 North
Audley Street, London, W.1, were appointed
Consulting Engineers
for the mechanical
services to
the building and the contract
for
this work was placed
with Benham and
Sons Ltd., of 66 Wigmore Street, London, W.I. THE NEW BUILDING
The new,
five storey building has provided a College
excellently equipped with laboratories for heating,
ventilating, air conditioning, fan engineering,
refrigeration and heat transfer, as well as others
designed especially for research projects. There is
also a large workshop and an anechoic chamber. Provision
of non-specialist rooms has been made on a generous
scale and students have the advantage of a large
reading and study room adjacent to a well equipped
library. A
feature of the building is the modern Lecture
Theatre which seats two hundred people and has its
own air conditioning equipment. A very generous donation from G N
Haden and Sons Ltd., in memory of their late
Chairman, Mr. George Nelson Haden,
O.B.E, M.I.Mech.E, a former governor of the college, made
the provision of this room possible. The governors have been
pleased to name it "The
George Nelson Haden Lecture Theatre“.
THE MECHANICAL SERVICES
The services
provided for the building have been designed to serve
the dual purpose of utility and instruction. A
representative selection of heating, ventilating and air conditioning
systems suitable for modern buildings has been
installed and these can be observed
and tested under normal working conditions by the students.
The Heating
Plant Laboratory contains a number of heat
generating appliances which supply hot water and heat
throughout the building including low
pressure hot water oil fired boilers, an oil fired
steam boiler, a gas-fired steam boiler, heat
exchange equipment and an electrical thermal storage
vessel to be used during off-peak tariff periods.
The numerous
circuits necessary to serve the heating systems are
provided with automatic controls and pumps of various
types. Among the different methods of heating employed
are low-temperature embedded floor panels, low
pressure hot water heating using various types of heat
emitting appliances and suspended ceiling heating. A portion of
the building is also supplied with electric heating.
All the
laboratories on the lower levels are provided with
mechanical ventilation employing ducts conveying air
at conventional velocities, the inlet air being heated
in winter, whilst the Refrigeration Laboratory is
equipped with an exhaust system for the rapid removal
of fumes.
The two upper
floors of the building, containing lecture rooms,
Library and students' study rooms are air conditioned,
and on one of these floors the air conditioning system
incorporates a dual-duct distribution system, the
ducts for which convey air at high velocity, whilst on
the other the air conditioning is by means of
diverse types of air handling units, to which a supply of
chilled water is available. Self-contained air
conditioning units of various types are also
demonstrated. A feature of practical interest is that
the refrigeration and air conditioning machinery
required in connection with the system for these
floors is accommodated on the roof, together with a
water-cooling tower and evaporative type condenser
which serves the machinery at these levels, and for
the Lecture Theatre.
FINANCE
The original
tender price for the building was £261,750 but this
included a provisional sum for the mechanical services
to which some major additions were made during the
course of the construction of the building. The final
accounts have not yet been agreed but it is thought that
the cost, ultimately, will not be less than £300,000 including
professional fees. When the
Ministry of Education approved the project it was
agreed that a grant of £237,076 towards its cost would
be made and that the difference between that and the
final cost would have to be met from funds raised by
an appeal launched by the governors. An appeal was
made to industry in March 1959, asking for £50,000
either in cash or in gifts of equipment to be used in
the mechanical services. To date £48,751 has been
received in cash together with equipment to the total
value of £16,873 a really magnificent response. |
