Beit Hall

Beit Hall looks over the quad

Beit Hall, forming part of Beit Quadrangle, is a hall of residence and one of Imperial College London's oldest and most historic buildings. Beit Hall is named after Alfred Beit and is located on Prince Consort Road, next to the Royal Albert Hall in London. The north side of the quadrangle forms the Union Building, home to Imperial College Union, and is not part of Beit Hall. The Union Building was the site of the first Queen concert, and has hosted events associated with the BBC Proms.[1][2][3]

Beit Hall was built on architect Aston Webb's designs to accommodate Imperial College students. Parts of the building were originally used for academic purposes: [4][5]

  • Students' Union built in 1910–11
  • East side of the quadrangle: botany and plant pathology and physiology built in 1912–14
  • West side: biochemistry built in 1921–23
  • North/west side end: hostel built in 1925–26
  • South side of the quad, fronting Prince Consort Road: Beit Building built 1930–31

It accommodates 330 students.[6] During term-time, Beit Hall functions as student halls, whilst during the remaining 14 weeks Beit becomes a conference centre and hotel.[7][8] On the front façade is a relief of the coat of arms of Imperial College.[9]

Books left by students in Beit were collected into a circulation library of around 400 items for personal reading in the Union Building in the mid-20th century. This later became the Haldane Library and is now part of the main library collection.[4][10]

  1. ^ "Queen: Remembering their "first proper gig" 50 years on". 18 July 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. ^ "The first virtual reality BBC Prom is a musical postcard from the First World War". Evening Standard. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. ^ "First ever Virtual Reality BBC Prom will immerse audiences in First World War trenches". 8 August 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b Gay, Hannah (2007). The History of Imperial College London, 1907-2007. Imperial College Press. p. 418. ISBN 9781860947087.
  5. ^ "Beit Quadrangle, London". bradbrookconsulting.com.
  6. ^ From an article originally published in IC Reporter, the staff newspaper of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, October 2001 issue read on line
  7. ^ Official Imperial College conferences page
  8. ^ Beit Hall, London TravelStay Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  9. ^ "The College Crest, About Imperial". Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Libraries of Imperial College". Archives in London and the M25 Area. October 2000. Retrieved 23 November 2019.